Brave Heart Ministry

Missions Ablaze has found that there is a great need for proper sexual education in the world today.

With this in mind we found that Mr. Patrick Eades from Georgia has a excellent program called Brave Heart, that addresses this issue with much success. We invited him to introduce this program into South Africa, which he did in 1998. Since that time we have seen almost two hundred and fifty thousand students and young people, we found that almost 85% of them makes a commitment to remain "sexually pure" until marriage! The moment they find out what really happens when they start sleeping around, and the consequences are spelt out to them, they cannot but respond to the call for purity!

So we are inviting you to carefully go through the following information and contact us with any of your questions.

Our topic we want to discuss is Sex and more Sex and again Sex, the whole world is shouting it out in all forms that you can imagine! What the world out there is saying is that it is cool to have Sex whenever you want to, wherever you want to, how many times ever you want to, and it will be all O.K. You can visit any Pregnancy Crisis Clinic and ask them how many children come to them pregnant, the figures will blow your mind!

Never mind how the stats of pregnancies and the stats on HIV positive people rises, the world are still saying it is cool to have sex whenever you want to, wherever you want to, how many times ever you want to, it will be O.K.

Have you ever asked why people become sexually active? What makes a well brought up child to indulge into pre - marital sex?

We found the number one culprit to be "Peer pressure" It has such a devastating effect on people that it is scary, even to mention. People today are more concerned with what other people think of them, and their "image" with those people than what they are concerned about their good moral standards!

Children, Teens, and even Young Adults, by their thousands, are indulging into so called " free love "with the advocating of " Safe Sex", they are bluffed into using these seemingly safe methods to get rid of their "Peer pressure", and to be able to sit down and discuss experiences with their friends! They are then also able to swing the pendulum in the direction that they can now apply "Peer pressure"!!

Phrases like:-

"If you love me you will let me"

"You don't want to tell me that you are still a Virgin?"

"You can't get anybody, what's wrong with you!"

"Come on, get into the act, everybody is doing it!"

are the order of the day in most of the Teen group discussions today!!

The thought that 65% of these young people end up with having an STD is horrible, yet it is the truth. Although the propagators of "Safe Sex" flies their banners high, and claims that their methods are failproof, the devastating facts that stares us in the eye, is that the statistics show that we are reaching the levels of epidemic proportions!! There is just nothing that works, that they can produce that will guarantee you that you can safely have Sex!

In the province of Kwa - Zulu Natal South Africa, the growth rate has now turned negative. Also of the patients in hospitals, four out of five is positive with an STD!!

Wherever you look on T V, in Magazines, on the Radio the drive towards Sex is just overwhelming. Gone are the days that you had the chance to watch T V, knowing that all the scenes will be good for the whole household, there will always be foul language, there will be violence, there will be sex, the only difference is the amount of naked scenes might be more or less!! These days it is normal to see Homosexual scenes on your regular telly. The moral standards have dropped so that even the P G movies is many times undesirable to watch! Lately one of the mainline South African stations have porno movies, late on a Saturday night! This is National TV This is free, not a paid channel, there is no barring available on the channel, so any child can watch it!!

STD's

What exactly are STD's?

At Brave Heart we have renamed STD's with a brand new name, as we found that STD's does not really describe the awesome results of the disease!! So our name for STD's has changed to "CROTCH ROT!!" CROTCH ROT is named so because your Crotch is rotting!!!

For those already dealing with an STD, we are not trying to embarrass you by using this new term, we are trying to help those without an STD to understand how bad it can be!

So CROTCH ROT is our new name for STD's

CROTCH ROT

Crotch Rot comes in two basic flavors

Bacterial includes Herpes, Syphilis, Chlamydia, these are curable.

Viral includes HPV, HIV, Aids, these are not presently curable.

There are many more diseases, but we will only name these few.

STD Pictures:

These are graphic pictures of human genitalia, and should NOT be viewed by young children

Genital HPV Infection

What is genital HPV infection?

Genital HPV infection is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is the name of a group of viruses that includes more than 100 different strains or types. Over 30 of these are sexually transmitted, and they can infect the genital area, like the skin of the penis, vulva, labia, or anus, or the tissues covering the vagina and cervix. Some of these viruses are considered "high-risk" types and may cause abnormal Pap smears and cancer of the cervix, anus, and penis. Others are "low-risk," and they may cause mild Pap smear abnormalities and genital warts. Genital warts are single or multiple growths or bumps that appear in the genital area, and sometimes form a cauliflower-like shape.

How common is HPV?

Approximately twenty million people are currently infected with HPV. Fifty to 75% of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. About 5.5 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year.

How do people get genital HPV infections?

The types of HPV that infect the genital area are spread primarily through sexual contact. Most HPV infections have no signs or symptoms; therefore, most infected persons are completely unaware they are infected, yet they can transmit the virus to a sex partner. Rarely, pregnant women can pass HPV to their baby during vaginal delivery. A newborn that is exposed to HPV during delivery can develop warts in the larynx (voice box). What are the signs and symptoms of genital HPV infection? Most people who have a genital HPV infection do not know they are infected. The virus lives in the skin or mucus membranes and usually causes no symptoms. Other people get visible genital warts.

What are genital warts?

These usually appear as soft, moist, pink or red swellings. They can be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large. Some cluster together forming a cauliflower-like shape. They can appear on the vulva, in or around the vagina or anus, on the cervix, and on the penis, scrotum, groin, or thigh. Warts can appear within several weeks after sexual contact with an infected person, or they can take months to appear. Genital warts are diagnosed by inspection. Visible genital warts can be removed, but no treatment is better than another, and no single treatment is ideal for all cases. Who is at risk for genital HPV infection? Anyone who has sex is at risk for genital HPV infection. How is genital HPV infection diagnosed? Most women are diagnosed with HPV on the basis of abnormal Pap smears. Pap smears are the primary screening tool for cervical cancer or pre-cancerous conditions, many of which are cell changes related to HPV. Current HPV tests are fairly sophisticated and expensive and are commercially available for women with an abnormal Pap smear. They cannot identify which HPV infections will lead to cervical cancer or pre-cancerous conditions. Research is underway to determine the role of HPV tests for cervical cancer screening.

Is there a cure for HPV?

There is no "cure" for HPV, although the infection usually goes away on its own. Cancer-related types are more likely to persist. What is the connection between HPV infection and cervical cancer? All types of HPV can cause mild Pap smear abnormalities that do not have serious consequences. Approximately 10 of the 30 identified genital HPV types can lead, in rare cases, to development of cervical cancer. Research has shown that for most (90%) women, cervical HPV infection becomes undetectable within two years; only a small proportion have persistent infection. Persistent infection with certain types of HPV is the key risk factor for cervical cancer. A Pap smear can detect pre-cancerous and cancerous cells on the cervix. Frequent Pap smears and careful medical follow-up, with treatment if necessary, can help ensure that pre-cancerous cells in the cervix caused by HPV infection do not develop into life-threatening cervical cancer. The Pap test used in U.S. cervical cancer screening programs is responsible for greatly reducing deaths from cervical cancer. The American Cancer Society estimated that about 12,800 women in the United States were diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer in 2000. In 2001, approximately 4,600 women will die from cervical cancer.

How can genital HPV infection be prevented?

Abstinence is the most effective strategy to prevent HPV infection. Two uninfected individuals who have no other sex partners besides each other cannot get genital HPV infection. The following practices for sexually active people will help prevent infection:

· Do not have sex with anyone who has genital sores or unusual growths in the genital area or the anus · Be aware that condoms can reduce, but do not eliminate, the risk for transmission to uninfected partners.· If you are a sexually active women, you should have a regular Pap smear to screen for cervical cancer or other precancerous conditions.

The Role of STD Detection and Treatment in HIV Prevention

Testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can be an effective tool in preventing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. An understanding of the relationship between STDs and HIV infection can help in the development of effective HIV prevention programs for persons with high-risk sexual behaviors.

What is the link between STDs and HIV infection?

Individuals who are infected with STDs are at least two to five times more likely than uninfected individuals to acquire HIV if they are exposed to the virus through sexual contact. In addition, if an HIV-infected individual is also infected with another STD, that person is more likely to transmit HIV through sexual contact than other HIV-infected persons (Wasserheit, 1992). There is substantial biological evidence demonstrating that the presence of other STDs increases the likelihood of both transmitting and acquiring HIV (Fleming, Wasserheit, 1999).

· Increased susceptibility. STDs probably increase susceptibility to HIV infection by two mechanisms. Genital ulcers (e.g., syphilis, herpes, or chancroid) result in breaks in the genital tract lining or skin. These breaks create a portal of entry for HIV. Non-ulcerative STDs (e.g., chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis) increase the concentration of cells in genital secretions that can serve as targets for HIV (e.g., CD4+ cells).

· Increased infectiousness. Studies have shown that when HIV-infected individuals are also infected with other STDs, they are more likely to have HIV in their genital secretions. For example, men who are infected with both gonorrhea and HIV are more than twice as likely to shed HIV in their genital secretions than are those who are infected only with HIV. Moreover, the median concentration of HIV in semen is as much as 10 times higher in men who are infected with both gonorrhea and HIV than in men infected only with HIV.

How can STD treatment slow the spread of HIV infection?

Evidence from intervention studies indicates that detecting and treating STDs can substantially reduce HIV transmission at the individual and community levels.

· STD treatment reduces an individual's ability to transmit HIV. Studies have shown that treating STDs in HIV-infected individuals decreases both the amount of HIV they shed and how often they shed the virus (Fleming, Wasserheit, 1999).

· STD treatment reduces the spread of HIV infection in communities. Two community-level, randomized trials have examined the role of STD treatment in HIV transmission. Together, their results have begun to clarify conditions under which STD treatment is likely to be most successful in reducing HIV transmission. First, continuous interventions to improve access to effective STD treatment services is likely to be more effective in reducing HIV transmission than intermittent interventions through strategies such as periodic mass treatment. Second, STD treatment is likely to be most effective in reducing HIV transmission where STD rates are high and the heterosexual HIV epidemic is young. Third, treatment of symptomatic STDs may be particularly important. The first community trial, conducted in a rural area of Tanzania, demonstrated a decrease of about 40% in new, heterosexually transmitted HIV infections in communities with continuous access to improved treatment of symptomatic STDs, as compared to communities with minimal STD services, where incidence remained about the same (Grosskurth, Mosha, Todd, et al., 1995). However, in the second trial conducted in Uganda, a reduction in HIV transmission was not demonstrated when the STD control approach was community-wide mass treatment administered to everyone every 10 months in the absence of regular access to improved STD services (Wawer, et al., 1999).

What are the implications for HIV prevention programs?

Strong STD prevention, testing, and treatment can play a vital role in comprehensive programs to prevent sexual transmission of HIV. Furthermore, STD trends can offer important insights into where the HIV epidemic may grow, making STD surveillance data helpful in forecasting where HIV rates are likely to increase. Better linkages are needed between HIV and STD prevention efforts nationwide in order to control both epidemics. In the context of persistently high prevalence of STDs in many parts of the United States and with emerging evidence that the U.S. HIV epidemic increasingly is affecting populations with the highest rates of curable STDs, CDC's Advisory Committee on HIV and STD Prevention (ACHSP) has recommended the following:

· Early detection and treatment of curable STDs should become a major, explicit component of comprehensive HIV prevention programs at national, state, and local levels;

· In areas where STDs that facilitate HIV transmission are prevalent, screening and treatment programs should be expanded;

· HIV and STD prevention programs in the United States, together with private and public sector partners, should take joint responsibility for implementing these strategies.

The ACHSP also notes that early detection and treatment of STDs should be only one component of a comprehensive HIV prevention program, which also must include a range of social, behavioral, and biomedical interventions.

For more information as well as help,
why don't you contact us:

 Missions Ablaze

Brave Heart Ministries