Burke resident Alec Zacaroli admits that the first time he saw workers pray at the Umtha Welanga AIDS hospital in South Africa, it frightened him a little. Their prayers were so forceful, so passionate, that they would often stomp their feet and scream at the top of their lungs in their desire to be heard by God.

"God’s presence was so strong, he was staring down my face, breathing down my neck," said Zacaroli.

Then he saw how the workers at the hospital, the ambulance driver, the manager, the chief caregiver and other employees went to each patient to sing to them. If a patient could stand, the workers helped him or her up so that they could dance. If they could not, they sat by their bedsides and sang to them.

"A piece of my heart was torn out that day and put on the wall at Umtha Welanga," said Zacaroli. "And it’s there to this day."

WHEN ZACAROLI got home, he and his wife Amy helped to form 25:40, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting AIDS in South Africa. On Sunday, Nov. 30 at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church on Lee Chapel Road in Burke, 25:40 sponsored those workers to come to the D.C. Metropolitan area as part of the a cappella group The Keiskamma Gospel Choir. The series of six concerts throughout the region would help raise money for the South African hospital and awareness for World AIDS Day Dec. 1. Using their voices and the occasional tambourine, the group gave speeches, told stories of how AIDS had affected their personal lives, sang and danced for the more than 80 people in the audience.

Eunice Mangwane, manager at Umtha Welanga, spoke of her two daughters and grandson who has been diagnosed with HIV. She recalled the rumors that had spread among the black South African population when AIDS first began to rise. Just out of the shadow of Apartheid, they swore they were being bewitched by white people, who flew airplanes over their villages and sprinkled AIDS powder over them. HIV, she said, had washed away all the hope that Nelson Mandela had brought with him after his release from prison. The disease was not dropped from airplanes but had an equally devastating effect. Mangwane stressed the importance of being positive, a trademark of the group’s gospel choir that was in full effect Sunday.

"The HIV will remain a virus, not a monster. And I will remain a human," she said.

IN INTERVIEWS after the concert, members of the Keiskamma Gospel Choir said their message was one of positive perseverance and deep belief in Christ. Some on the choir were HIV positive, while others had family members and friends who live and die with the disease every day. Nomthie Manjezi said they were all united in their determination to overcome it.

"If you are HIV positive, this is not the end of the world," she said.

Thandi Mcaka shared those sentiments.

"We encourage [people living with HIV] to live openly and positively, with no fears," she said.

Zacaroli said God was not on Wall Street or K Street, nor was he in the halls of Congress or the White House.

"Our reactions [to AIDS] range from indignance at the victim to indifference," he said. "When we turn our back on AIDS, we turn our back on Jesus."

Some members in the audience expressed awe at the positive attitudes displayed by the choir. Fairfax Station resident Kaite Linder said she had learned about the disease in school and on the news, but coming face to face with people diagnosed with it was a new experience for her.

"Sitting in front of them, it’s a completely different experience," said Linder.

Springfield resident Zoraya Stern said she was surprised and moved at how happy the choir members were despite the hardships they had endured.

"What struck me the most was listening to the power of their voices and with such joy," she said.

The choir repeated the forceful prayers Zacaroli spoke of at the concert Sunday. Bernardino Berrio, from Texas, said the style contrasted with the prayers one would normally encounter in an American church.

"That was like a teaching for us. It shows that we don’t know how to express our love and pain," he said.

The Keiskamma choir also performed at James Madison University on Tuesday Dec. 2. They will also be performing Friday Dec. 5 at the Calvary Baptist Church in Washington D.C.; Saturday, Dec. 6 at Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Fairfax; Sunday, Dec. 7 at Westmoreland United Church of Christ in Bethesda, Md. and later in the day at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in College Park, Md.