Ben Counseling in the Community and with the Government

To those who are following my adventures into Developing World counseling, I thought I would fill you in on some news. I have been working in the community with the Government of Swaziland on developing new initiatives for bringing HIV/AIDS counseling into rural communities. Mostly, I've been sitting in meetings, but coming up after our trip, we anticipate further community counseling. Not part of the government work I'm involved in, I have been meeting with a teenager and his parents this past week. HIPPA doesn't look too kindly on my divulging of any information about the patient, but I can tell you that the child has really stretched me! Not only is the language barrier a challenge, but the reason the parents have pursued counseling for the child is out of my league! Many times I've thought, "Wow, I'm just not prepared for this!" But then someone reminds me, "This is Africa! If the child doesn't get assistance from you, they won't receive any!" Even a little help is better than no help, so I continue with our sessions! I covet your prayers in this matter!

I have so many things on my plate right now, but all of them give me so much joy that I am excited to wake up early in the morning to meet the new challenges of the day! This is truly a dream of mine being lived out!