On Saturday September 27th I was very fortunate to be a part of the St. Paul’s AIDS walk team here in our very own neighborhood of Hillcrest. For those who aren’t familiar, the AIDS Walk/Run is an opportunity to remember those who have been lost to the disease and to raise funds to support the more than 20,000 San Diegans living with HIV/AIDS.
Being relatively new to San Diego, and subsequently St. Paul’s, the event was filled with new faces, new friendships, and many reminders of how far our world has come in treating and understanding HIV/AIDS, and yet how much further we have to go in meeting the needs of those living with the disease while we fight to find a cure. Never having lost anyone I know and love to AIDS, seeing images of men and women who have been lost to this disease, some at a very young age, has stayed with me. These faces remind me that HIV/AIDS is more than just a diagnosis. It is a condition that affects people around our world who live, laugh, love and are loved.
The walk was an opportunity to remember the human beings behind the diagnosis, human beings that God loves and watches over each and every day, and to consider what I can do to best support their needs.
-Bryan Williams
Bryan is new to San Diego and the St. Paul’s community, and is enjoying settling into life here
