Captain Henderson describes the current vision for the Army’s work in Narva: “The vision is to see The Salvation Army, Narva Corps, model the love of Jesus by including HIV positive people in our fellowship, demonstrating love, support, and acceptance towards HIV positive people, our society’s modern-day lepers.”
He explains that the mission of reaching unsaved and unchurched people will be accomplished through an outreach program that offers:
• pastoral and professional counseling free of charge.
• AA/NA and HIV support groups in the Army facility.
• practical material assistance to HIV/AIDS sufferers and their families.
• cross over opportunities for program participants to be-come part of the corps family
To facilitate achieving these goals, the corps has recently been partnering with a local free clinic that serves HIV positive women. Currently, they are praying for and seeking a person to serve as director of the project.
In February 2005, Dr. Ian Campbell, the Army’s HIV/AIDS health consultant, brought his team to Narva to assess the city and help further develop the work, holding meetings with doctors, officials, and HIV positive individuals. Their faith is strong that God will provide the right person to direct the project.