Another bucket of joy

Hey guys!

Time is flying here at photogenX! We are soooo excited with what God has in store for us through our outreach opportunities, and it seems like we have a very strong core group to push through and spark a revolution of change in the world. We will be leaving for Panama on June 25th and will be living with indigenous tribal people there for a while. After that we have a few opportunities...one being launching "Voice for the Voiceless" in the Spanish-speaking world! Another of these opportunities is to go into orphanages in Panama and just love on the kids there! We will be holding a conference with almost all of the major churches in the entire nation trying to bring a voice to the voiceless in Panama. We do not want to be there for three months and then just leave, we want a lasting mark to be left there, and that is where the local churches come in! Hopefully they will be inspired to help there fellow citizens, the ones neglected in their backyard!

We do, however, have a huge obstacle to overcome....we need 10,000 dollars by next Thursday (April 30th). This expense is for our around the world tickets that we will be buying to cover all of our airfare for the year. When you see the amount of traveling we will be doing for 5,000 dollars a piece, you realize how great of a deal it really is. Nonetheless, 10,000 dollars is a HUGE amount of money to acquire in that time....we appreciate all that you are doing, the total support received this month was just told to me today by EPIC international...The tally amounted to 875 dollars, which is a great number....but we are definitely drawing up short. We need all of you guys to be our "street team" and try and find people willing to support social issues like the ones I am presenting on this blog, and like the ones I have described in personal letters/conversations with you. We must understand, this money is not for us, it is for the oppressed and poor who have been shoved to the margins....the children being sexually assaulted 30 times a day in a huge part of the world, and the people burdened down by war, displaced and homeless....with no family left because of the greed and evil of man. We must do SOMETHING....even if it is a small amount. So please, inform people! Whether it be your peers, your friends, your family, or your co-workers, just inform them on an issue and ask if they would like to help stop it...I think you would be hard pressed to find a middle aged father or mother who would say no to helping to stop child trafficking around the world....at least I would hope...(see, I am turning into an optimist!)

So anyways, on to a familiar issue: AIDS

AIDS is:

 Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome caused by HIV( human immunodeficiency virus)

Effects:

 Progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors. HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane of the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV( semen, saliva, blood, breast milk).

Statistics( which are actually LIVES....not just numbers, so please keep that thought at the front of your mind...it is KEY):

33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the world

Of these 33 million, 30.8 million are adults

Of these adults, 15.5 million are women

There are 2 million children living with HIV/AIDS in the world

There are about 2.7 million newly infected people each year

370,000 of the newly infected are children

Over 2 million AIDS deaths per year

270,000 of these deaths were children

More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981. 

Africa has 11.6 million AIDS orphans.

Young people account for 1/2 of all new HIV infections.

In developing countries, 9.7 million people are in immediate need of life saving drugs. 

Of these 9.7 million, only 2.99 million(31%) are receiving them.

-these statistics were taken from www.avert.org and are the most recent statistics, released june of 2008.

We will be in South Africa( Lord willing), in September. We will be there for three months before moving to Egypt and the Middle East to tackle issues there. During this time we will be exposed to countless people affected by AIDS and HIV.... 

Un-education about these diseases are leading to widespread epidemics in the sub-saharan region of Egypt...they are told and believe such myths as: if you sleep with a virgin you will be cured of your disease.

Obviously, lies such as these only spread the disease like wildfire...you take another life, along with that life's innocence and infect it with AIDS that will assuredly be spread to someone else once that girl finally marries....it is just a recipe for disaster...

But truth can set them free....

We love you. Christ loves you.