Adversity

Today was an interesting day because it was our first visit to Terrance Cardinal Cook Center. I had been anticipating this day since the beginning of the trip because i knew this was the largest rehabilitation center on the East Coast for individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS. Upon arriving i was befriended by Mr Butts, one of the  most interesting men i've met thus far. His story of struggle and faith in God to guide him through the process of a potentially fatal disease was extraordinary. This man had it all, successful parents, money, good family, popularity amongst his peers, etc. However, one bad decision led him to contract HIV through sexual means. This has changed his life around because now Mr Butts has become closer to God and believes that God is putting him through a test to cleanse his soul. He believes that the decisions that were made by him in his past were made for a reason. Mr Butts does not regret anything he has done in his life because he believes, as he himself states, "God is watching everything that human beings do, and if they do bad they will be tested. It is the adversity you go through, and the way you react to the adversity that shows truly what you are made of." Mr Butts is the man who is fighting adversity, every second of his life. HIV just tends to be the adversity that he is faced with.

Monday, March 21st

...under construction...

Sunday, March 20th

^{Our day in the alphabet….}

A – AIDS is multi – dimensional

B – Be simple

C – Creative ways to present sex

D –  Determine how to educate

E – Service can be educational

F –  Far reaching can be the effects of one experience

G – Go all out

H – Help those in need

I – Investigate your values

J – Join forces with those around you

K – Kick bad habits

L – Love, Live, Laugh

M – Make moves

N – Nudity!!

O – Open Minds all the time

P – Personal Perspectives

Q – Quality not quantity of service

R – Ray Bans

S – Sus, and Sex not necessarily together

T – Trust

U – Unity

V – Values

W – Win

X – Expand your horizons

Z – Zen


Today we went to the Sex Museum, bargained our way through China Town, got some delicious New York pizza, and participated in an HIV/AIDS 101 workshop.  We also learned how to Dougie :)

Saturday, March 19th

Today was the official start of our ABS! We arrived at the Greenbelt station just in time to meet Cheryl, our fantastic and friendly bus driver. After a quick detour to Baltimore, we were on our way to New York! When we arrived we quickly learned the ins and outs of the New York metro system and made our way to the church. Christine’s parents met us shortly after and we enjoyed a wonderful home cooked meal of baked ziti, meatballs, salad, and we were introduced to the art of make-your-own cannolis. A cat tried to join us for dinner but was locked in the pantry and there was a lot of talk about metaphorical and actual pop-tarts. Being that is was our first night in the city, we decided to do a little sightseeing and went to Times Square and Rockefeller Center. After an eventful day and picture taking, it was decided that the song of the day would be “All of the Lights” by Kanye West.