"Governments can and must bring needed medicines and programs; the church can participate in those, but the church also has a special role in providing spiritual comfort, strength, and prayers for encouragement to people in need," says Don Messer, author of Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence -- Christian Churches and the Global AIDS Crisis and executive director of the Center for the Church and Global AIDS.

When Don Messer discovered copies of The Upper Room daily devotional guide in the waiting room of Maua Methodist Hospital (MMH) in Kenya, he was led by God to contact Upper Room Ministries about publishing a special collection of prayers for persons suffering with HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

Messer's initiative has led to the publication of Prayers for Encouragement: Hope for Persons Living with HIV & AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis, and Other Serious Diseases.

A year ago, Messer was in Kenya at the Maua Methodist Hospital in the Meru area where there is a large population of Methodists -- and a raging epidemic of HIV/AIDS.

According to Messer many people come to Maua Methodist Hospital to be tested, to get counseling, and now to be treated with anti-retroviral drugs.

"It's a pretty stressful time when people come to be tested and face these issues.

"I discovered two, old, battered up copies of the Upper Room in the waiting room. They were over ten years old; these old battered copies of The Upper Room. And I realized that people sitting out there -- mothers, wives and husbands -- [whoever] was sitting there must have been worrying and thinking and praying and they'd turned to these Upper Room magazines for guidance and support.

"Although the pages were torn and the edges were rough, people had read these repeatedly seeking biblical counsel and strong spiritual advice. So that's what inspired me to suggest to the Upper Room that we could use a book like that for all 40 million people living out there in the world. And fortunately the leadership of Upper Room Ministries was very responsive and we have moved in that direction very quickly," Messer said.

"I feel God called me to see this and to report this to the Upper Room. God has been moving and seeking to bring comfort and healing and strength to people who are suffering around the world," Messer said.

"Where there is human suffering and crisis, Upper Room Ministries wants to provide openings to God's healing and reconciling grace. When Dr. Don Messer contacted us we knew this was consistent with who God has called us to be," said Stephen D. Bryant, editor and publisher of The Upper Room devotional guide.

"The HIV & AIDS pandemic is bigger than our human capacity. We must make the very best use of medical research, medicine, social work and education...they all play a part in solving the crisis. However the motivation, depth of compassion and perseverance to care for those infected and affected must come from prayer. Ultimately, we are depending on God for a solution," Bryant said.

On the African continent, 25 million adults and children are living with HIV/AIDS, the bulk of these persons residing in Sub-Sahara Africa. This week -- and every week -- nearly 40,000 Africans will die of the disease.

Messer stated that "Governments can and must bring needed medicines and programs; the church can participate in those, but the church also has a special role in providing spiritual comfort, strength, and prayers for encouragement to people in need."

Bryant said that "What is unique to this resource (Prayers for Encouragement) is that a number of meditations are written by persons who are HIV+ with full-blown AIDS ... persons seeking God's healing presence while living with stigma, discrimination, and rejection from family and friends."

Though this is the first time Upper Room Ministries has specifically published a resource for HIV/AIDS, in addition to this new resource, Upper Room Ministries has provided booklets of meditations and prayer to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq and their families, persons in the path of the Asian tsunami, and to churches affected by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

The resource is significant because while a plethora of health and service organizations offer information and support regarding prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, resources from a Christian spirituality perspective are scarce.

Upper Room Ministries, in conjunction with the Center for the Church and Global AIDS compiled the booklet for those suffering with AIDS and other life threatening diseases.

While the meditations represent the faith journeys of persons who live with HIV/AIDS and persons involved in HIV/AIDS-related services, two United Methodist bishops, along with well-known, respected medical and church leaders, are among the writers.

The project is being funded by friends and supporters of Upper Room Ministries and the Center for the Church and Global AIDS. (Donate Online -- Designate HIV/AIDS Booklet)

Prayers for Encouragement: Hope for Persons with HIV & AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis, and Other Serious Diseases is available in English, French, Portuguese, Kiswahili, and Xhosa language editions. Spanish and Korean editions are in production and will be available in early 2008.

The booklet will be distributed through Upper Room Ministries' global editorial and distribution network, United Methodist leaders, clergy and lay persons who are in ministry with persons affected by HIV/AIDS, community, national and international health and service organizations.

Upper Room Ministries is an ecumenical organization that produces resources for encouraging deeper spiritual formation, including The Upper Room daily devotional guide, five other magazines, and a line of books and programs for youth and adults. For more information contact, Dale Waymack at dwaymack@upperroom.org.