Since 2004, this organization has stood by its original mission: to increase awareness of viral hepatitis in the United States, through education and training of the health and wellness provider and the individual, the community and its leaders; making available hepatitis and HIV screening and testing based on a sliding scale fee, along with referrals that connect community with services, and to be health advocate for the underprivileged community. In 2004, our motto was,“It’s not about color. It’s about care. It’s about a cure.” The foundation upon which the organization was created was – and continues to be- Christian, in character and content, with a focus on serving as Christ did according to His instructions on serving the poor, the widow and the prisoner: Since 2004, our organization has grown in so many areas – services, people, attitudes, purpose. When we began testing for HIV, it brought to light the issues surrounding HCV/HIV co-infection, and the need to modify how we taught others about risk, prevention, and treatment. We traveled across the country, teaching at health fairs, churches, and sometimes stood on the corner just to ask questions that would spark conversation on health and behavior. By 2008, I had been participated in so many conferences and hosted so many meetings, than I could no longer gauge the effectiveness of the programs the four of us created for the purpose of reaching out to African Americans, Hispanic/Latinos and Native Americans. So, we hosted another conference, only this one would enlist the aid of doctors, nurses, social workers, organizational leaders and pastors to address the issue of hepatitis C in communities of color. The conference would be held in Washington, D.C., and by the end of the three –day summit, the “African American Council on Liver Awareness” was formed. A twelve-month agreement was made that we would concentrate our efforts to educate, train and further develop hep C programs that would be received by communities of color across the United States. By the end of 2008, we had created two programs one for the church community and the other for the citizen. At the end of 2009, I decided it was time for me to stop traveling and to focus on home. I was feeling drained physically, spiritually and realized that even with all the support I had, I was taking on 85% of the workload. I needed to delegate, and for the next two years I would have a team of nurses, Medical Assistants, counselors who would not only give of their time, but would receive a wealth of knowledge when it came to working with different cultures. I learned how to delegate responsibility and to allow the talents and skills of others to shine through. But I also learned something else much more important. Now, if you work in the field of Christian non-profit, then you know how easy it is to lose sight of the reason you became one. Your passion gives way to pride, and the offerings of endurance, patience and faith you initially petitioned God for, at some point turn into maneuverings and compromises for grants and services from places that really don’t see what you see. Next thing you know, you are miles away from your mission statement. You’ve got the recognition and attention, the grants and the services, but you can feel it in your heart. Something was lost. I lost touch with something that I was beginning to miss more and more. It really hit me when my mother died on Mothers’ Day this year. At that moment, I recognized that I could no longer be in charge. I had to surrender. It was time to stop being the commander of my fate, and learn to say with my whole heart, “Here I am.” And now, it’s 2011, and the organization is evolving again – not that it ever stopped – into something even more wonderful. We’ve always referred to ourselves as an “outreach,” but it was important to me that people recognized that the mission was to be a “missionary” addressing not just the physical needs, but to be a spiritual lamp, if you will. Our services remain the same, but the heart is in the midst of a transformation. We continue to focus on the underprivileged, the underserved, but I am giving over my life to prayer and supplication relying more on faith in God than in myself. Now, I’m not trying to prepare anyone to the idea that we will be without funds from now on, because frankly, I don’t know if that’s what will happen. I only know that right now my focus needs to be on Him, following the desires of His heart, wherever that leads.