Geovany Granera was walking outside the hospital where he is a doctor, when he saw a man who was very upset standing under a tree. Geovany went over and asked him what was wrong. The man said the emergency room had turned him away because he was infected with HIV. Doctors did not want to treat him or even touch him. The man had bad sores all over his arms, and no one would help him.

As a doctor, Geovany began to see more and more the discrimination that HIV/AIDS patients received in Honduras. There was a lot of fear and ignorance surrounding the disease. People with HIV were shunned by family and friends and even doctors. People were afraid they could easily contract the disease and wanted nothing to do with anyone who had it. Geovany, also a pastor of Iglesia Gran Comision in Choluteca, Honduras,  decided he and his church needed to help do something about the discrimination.

Geovany saw that almost all of the patients he saw with HIV had one thing in common: hopelessness. Although people are able to receive free medication from The Global Fund and the Honduran government, many of them do not follow through because they are poor, they are ostracized from their friends and family, and they see little reason to continue to live.

Geovany believed his church, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, could help provide hope for HIV patients. A relationship with Jesus would bring forgiveness for their past sins and hope for the future. They would experience the love of Christ through a community of Christians who genuinely loved them.

One way the church has tried to accomplish this is through support groups. Two women from the church go to the homes of people with HIV once or twice a month to provide support and encouragement. The church has organized support groups for people affected and infected by HIV. They have shown people that they are not alone and that people do care for them.

A second way the church has helped to provide hope is Casa Hogar Vida (House, Home, Life). Casa Hogar Vida is a big project with several aspects to it. There is an orphanage that currently has six children, whose mothers died of HIV. Another aspect is the neighborhood that is being created. Right now, there are 39 simple houses that have been built in this neighborhood, with plans for many more. Some of these houses have been given to people for free and some are sold for a very affordable price. Living in these houses are people who have HIV and people who do not have HIV. The goal is to create a community where people live together in community, regardless of whether they have HIV. This neighborhood gives hope to people who do have HIV that they can be a regular part of a community.     

Geovany has many stories of people the church came into contact with who were desperate and without hope, and as a result of the gospel, they have found new life. Geovany says he can see a difference between HIV patients who have Jesus in their life and those who do not.

One of these people who has changed is Ramon. Geovany began a relationship with Ramon when they met in the hospital and Ramon had found out he had HIV. Ramon didn’t want to take medicine for his illness because he had no reason to continue to live. He would be an outcast and have no one in his life. He planned to kill himself and his children.

But people from the church shared the gospel with Ramon. He decided to put his faith in Christ. He started to see hope for himself and his children. He began to change.

Ramon now lives and works at Casa Hogar Vida. I see him frequently, and it is easy to see that he has hope in his life, a hope that could only come through what Jesus did on the cross.

Part of our work in Honduras LT has been to assist the church in their journey to bring hope to those living with HIV. Four girls who are part of the LT program have been joining the support groups and making home visits. Three other LT participants work every day at Casa Hogar Vida – doing different projects, spending time with the orphans and other children in the neighborhood and trying to build a sense of community among the adults living there.

Being here for the summer, I often think of the ministry of Jesus and how he reached out to those on the fringes of society, how he spent a lot of time with the sick and hopeless. It’s exciting to see the church here in Choluteca doing their best to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.

In Christ,

Ed