Swine Flu

I have to admit I have very mixed feeling about this whole swine flu outbreak. On the one hand I understand people's uneasiness with a new virus that spreads so easily and has such unknown health implications. Certainly it spreads easily, as does the regular flu. Certainly the swine flu can cause serious health issues in people who already have compromised immune systems, as does the regular flu. Some people have even died from the swine flu, and yet I heard on the morning news that 35,000 people die every year in the US from the regular flu. I'm not saying the swine flue should be ignored or that we shouldn't pay attention to it. But I don't think we ought to panic either.

And I must admit that I find it really interested that we are so stressed out about this when there are other known viruses, that are still spreading and are known to be deadly.

In July I will be going to Namibia, Africa on a mission trip. We are going to a children's home called Children of Zion Village. It's home to 58 children who have been affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in some way. Many of the kids are orphans because their parents died of AIDS. Some of the kids are wards of the state because their parents are unable to care for them because they have HIV/AIDS. A few of the kids have HIV themselves. We'll be going to help care for these children, to help give even a tiny break to the full-time missionaries who have devoted their lives to caring for these children. But mostly we go, to let these children know that God loves them and cares for them.

But these are far from the only children who are affect by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The virus continues to spread at alarming rates, not only over seas but here in the US as well. It's not a new virus. It doesn't have a fancy name. We know some ways to prevent the spread of the virus, and we know some ways to help people who have the virus to live longer healthier lives. Talking about HIV/AIDS won't sell alot of newspapers or bring tons of hits to my blog. But the fight against the spread of this virus is long from over.

We need to keep educating people. We need to find more ways to help prevent the spread of this virus. Maybe that's helping people get tested, maybe that's helping people understand behaviors that put them at risk. maybe it's handing out clean needles, maybe it's handing out condoms. maybe it's building relationships with people, treating them like a person instead of a disease. maybe it's something that no one has ever thought of or tried before.

God calls us to care for the poor, the widow, the orphan, the sick, the prisoner, and all those other people who make us really uncomfortable. It doesn't matter what they've done. It doesn't matter if they brought this virus upon themselves by acting carelessly (which by the way, many people have been infected with HIV/AIDS through no fault of their own). But it doesn't matter. God calls us to care for them, to let them know that they are still valuable in the eyes of God, to let them know that their sickness doesn't define them, that they are children of God.

So whether it's someone with the swine flu, the regular flu, HIV/AIDS, cancer, or whatever else, don't panic if they come near you. Take care of yourself to be sure, but also care for them. Find a way to show them the love of God. Afterall, the way we love our neighbors is the way we love God.