The truth will set you free: the ministry of HIV testing
As we expand our HIV voluntary counseling and testing to rural areas, we are finding something that surprised us all. Not only are people willing to be tested, but they want to be tested.
At first we were afraid people would not want to be seen being tested because of the stigma it might produce. However, as we discovered at an outreach in Jengre, this is just not the case. We had people waiting in line before we arrived each day and we could not test all those that wanted to be tested, even though we tested 700 people in two and one half days.
One of the more interesting things was the freedom people find when they learn that they are in fact HIV-negative, that they really did not have HIV. Many people are living every day of their lives in fear that they are infected. Every time they get sick they wonder whether this is going to be the end. During our testing outreaches we see people leaving with singing and rejoicing once they hear the news. One woman told us that it took her six years to get courage to be tested. It turned out that she lived in fear for six years for nothing, she was negative.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. — 2 Tim 1:7
While there may be things in our life that we would like to keep hidden, God knows all. If we cannot face our own problems, God cannot help us get through them. Whether our test result is positive or negative, he already knows and is waiting for us to come to him for help or rejoicing. Either way He wants to be involved. The truth will set you free, positive or negative. Knowing is the first step in living your life in a way that is going to be better for you and glorifying to God.
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