Because it’s World AIDS Day, you’ve probably seen the statistics, how the HIV/AIDS infection rates are down, the difference treatment makes in transmission rates, and how the costs of treatment have dropped substantially.

Even with all the improvements, the numbers are still frightening.

Because the numbers are people. And that includes the children in our ministry.

We have Mission of Mercy projects in several countries devastated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. And we strive to find the children who had little say in contracting HIV from their mothers during birth. Children who find themselves caring for siblings because mom and dad both wasted away. Children who watch their role models disappearing, one by one.

There are many fantastic organizations doing tremendous work in Africa and elsewhere, finding ways to stop this epidemic. But we felt that you should know that you are fighting HIV/AIDS, too. Here’s how:

When Mission of Mercy enters a country, we do not go in and start everything from scratch. We partner with churches and missionaries and other organizations who are already there, who know the community, and who need more resources to truly change the lives of children.

That’s why we partner with New Life Home in Nairobi, Kenya, to help them rescue abandoned babies from the brink of death. Many of these tiny ones have contracted HIV at birth – but early exposure to antiretroviral treatment can reverse the infection, a true miracle. And so the New Life Home continues to pour love and care into these once neglected infants, most of whom go on to be adopted by loving families.

We also partner with churches like Celebration Church Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, which has faithfully ministered in Zimbabwe’s second largest city with meager resources and outsized hearts. You can hear how HIV/AIDS has affected one pastor’s ministry, and meet two boys whose lives have changed because of the disease, in this video.

We are in Zimbabwe because of our partner, Children’s Cup, who has steadfastly cared for children and communities in Swaziland and Mozambique, three countries with some of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world. Swaziland tops that list, as 1 in 4 adults live with HIV/AIDS. In Zimbabwe, that figure is 1 in 7; in Mozambique, 1 in 9 adults live with the disease.

But here is the difference you are making – because you sponsor a child or support ministries like the New Life Home, these children do not have to be defined by a disease. Their future is rewritten by the love of Christ and the hope He brings, that God sees them and knows them and can redeem even the most difficult situation.

Because of your support, these children who are so often overlooked can interact with caring adults who take time to learn their name and notice when they aren’t feeling well or miss a few days at the project. Adults who will check in on them and make sure they have enough to eat or get medical treatment if needed. Adults who pray for them and speak truth and encouragement into their hearts.

We’re talking about the staff, yes, but we’re also talking about you. Your spiritual and financial support open doors of opportunity for children who will flourish when finally given the attention and provision every child deserves.

We’ve seen it in the lives of children like Mlandvo, and Ruben, and Hibraimo. And it’s not just children living in the shadow of an epidemic – it’s children all over the world.

You may not have known that you were helping us fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic when you decided to support a ministry or sponsor a child, but you are. By standing up for a child, you are fighting many battles -- against disease, discouragement, and darkness. And you are making a difference – the difference – one child at a time.