{"id":1128,"date":"2009-10-19T21:31:40","date_gmt":"2009-10-19T21:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=1128"},"modified":"2010-12-22T12:48:25","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T17:48:25","slug":"7362","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/10\/19\/7362\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Power of Touch\u2019 Sends Message of Love to AIDS Victims"},"content":{"rendered":"

SONGKHLA, THAILAND (October 19, 2009) \u2013 The ministry of the Sustainable Development Research Foundation (SDRF) to people with HIV\/AIDS began when its president, Nujon Singpila, met Srinuan, a woman infected with the virus.
\n
\nNujon sat down next to Srinuan in the woman\u2019s house and held her hand. Startled, Srinuan asked, \u201cHow can you do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nujon replied, \u201cBecause I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe you would do that!\u201d Srinuan replied. Srinuan would later give her life to Christ. Now healthy, she has traveled around southern Thailand starting ministry groups to reach out to people with HIV\/AIDS.<\/p>\n

\"NujonDuring an interview in Chicago this week, Nujon explained to news editor Stan Friedman how the \u201cpower of touch\u201d is transforming the lives of people considered untouchable. Evangelical Covenant Church missionary Jim Gustafson translated (accompanying photo shows Nujon with Gustafson during the interview).<\/p>\n

To read an earlier story about the new center and its relationship with the Department of World Mission, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Q: What is it like for you to see these people with HIV\/AIDS who have no one to care for them?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see them as having AIDS. I see them as people who are at risk or have a disadvantage or are marginalized because their bodies aren\u2019t working normally. I see them as people who don\u2019t have the resources they should have.<\/p>\n

Actually you can see that they have AIDS because you look at them and know. As you walk into the communities, you see that they have AIDS, but they want to be embraced, they want to be hugged, they want to be encountered. And as we encounter them, it gets to the point of weeping, because it gets so heavy in terms of its meaning. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t see them as AIDS people. I see them as people in need.<\/p>\n

Q: What does hugging mean to these people in a culture where it is not common?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Even families \u2013 fathers, mothers and kids – don\u2019t hug. There\u2019s no cultural freedom for that. There\u2019s a huge difference when people hug. The root of it is relationship. Deep relationship. It\u2019s a symbol that we are deeper in family at that point than sometimes even in our own families because we are free to hug. It\u2019s a connection, and it\u2019s an affirmation of relationship.<\/p>\n

As I hug people, especially in the HIV\/AIDS community, it\u2019s like I\u2019m saying I\u2019m all yours. I\u2019m totally and without reservation, yours.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s an embracement of commitment to them as well. And they know that I\u2019m not pulling myself away from them and saying \u201cYou poor people\u201d or that I\u2019m not trying to be arrogant. I am saying, \u201cI am with you.\u201d That\u2019s God\u2019s word: \u201cI am with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I sit in their hearts, and as I sit in their hearts, I\u2019m embraced by them.<\/p>\n

“People who are infected with AIDS are afraid of normal people . . . they\u2019ve experienced so many bad things from them . . .”<\/h6>\n

Q: Why are people with HIV\/AIDS looked down upon?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s because people are afraid of the AIDS. Intellectually and academically they understand that they won\u2019t catch it just by being with people who have AIDS. But it\u2019s because of the fear that just being near people with AIDS will cause them to get the disease.<\/p>\n

Q: Do people ask if you are afraid of touching people with AIDS?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just that the normal people are afraid of people with HIV\/AIDS, but people who are infected with AIDS are afraid of normal people. They\u2019ve experienced so many bad things from them, that there\u2019s a natural fear.<\/p>\n

Q: You mention AIDS communities. Are these places where they are living together?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that they\u2019re living in the same places, so that they\u2019re geographical communities. It\u2019s a relational community. Even though they may be in different parts in the south, it is like they are in the same house and the same family because their relationship is so strong.<\/p>\n

Q: How have you been affected by spending time with people who have HIV\/AIDS?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As I touch, as I eat food with them, they are so open and so embracing that it just comes into my heart, and it floods me with that relationship. I\u2019m overwhelmed by the grace of God at that point with that relationship, even more than with people who don\u2019t have AIDS.<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SONGKHLA, THAILAND (October 19, 2009) \u2013 The ministry of the Sustainable Development Research Foundation (SDRF) to people with HIV\/AIDS began when its president, Nujon Singpila, met Srinuan, a woman infected with the virus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Power of Touch\u2019 Sends Message of Love to AIDS Victims - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/10\/19\/7362\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Power of Touch\u2019 Sends Message of Love to AIDS Victims - 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