Donor Stories

 

We arrived at a modest church in the Bundi village in Uganda after a short, bumpy ride on a red clay road carved into a tropical forest. There, Bishop Hannington Bahemukae of the Charismatic Episcopal Church introduced us to about fifty men and women who spoke Bwisi.

Today was their graduation day. This group wasn’t graduating from high school or college, although you’d be hard-pressed to tell from the way everyone was dressed. The women were wearing dresses that were probably once owned by reluctant bridesmaids. The men also were dressed smartly.

All of them had a message to communicate to visitors. It was a message of love and hope, despite the fact that each was infected with a terminal disease that orphans children and destroys families—HIV. On this day, they were graduating from a Wycliffe workshop that helps people experience God’s love and know His truth, in spite of their disease. During the workshop, one of the attendees accepted Christ.

The need for this workshop is readily apparent.

“All Africans are either infected or have been affected by AIDS–maybe not in their immediate core family, but certainly in their extended family and friends that they have known,” said Robin Rempel, literacy and Scripture-use coordinator in Uganda and Tanzania. “It has touched everybody here.”

Lydia Teera was the first African I met—and also the first person I’ve ever met who is HIV-positive. Her father died of the disease when she was seventeen. A year later, the disease took the life of her stepmother, orphaning Lydia and her brothers and sisters, who were soon split up. They now live in different parts of the world.

By the end of the day, I had met many with similar stories—each filled with hope and thankful for Wycliffe’s ministry, which provides literature and information explaining how to live with the disease and prevent its spread. More than that, Wycliffe has translated eighteen books of the Bible into Bwisi—providing access to the message of hope and love found in God’s Word.

“It all starts with Bible translation, but it goes way beyond that,” said Bob Creson, president of Wycliffe USA. “We create a better environment for people to live in today, and, of course, the Scriptures provide a better environment for people to live eternally.”

Kabasakay Spice, a local Bwisi woman, said through an interpreter, “When you get this disease, you lose all hope, and you think that the only thing remaining is dying…but when we read [the Bible], we were taught that you can prepare for your children, and that gives us a lot of encouragement to live.”