Slum Track Follow-Up
by Scott Bessenecker
Dear slum track compadres:
We are now nearly three months out from Urbana 06 and I thought it would be useful to check in.
If you are like me it is a continual battle to remember the poor in prayer and in my lifestyle choices. This Lent, I am trying to stick to a simple diet of two meals per day of rice and beans. While this discipline not saving the world, or even freeing up tons of cash; it is a way to keep me connected with the majority of people on our planet. It’s now hard to sit down to a meal without praying for those who don’t have a choice as to what they will eat.
Are you finding ways to keep your hearts soft to the realities of those living in slum communities? What are one or two simple next steps you are taking? Feel free to stop by my blogsite (thenewfriars.com) to comment on how you are trying to keep from becoming insulated to the needs of the poor.
If you’d like to hear from someone living among the poor, take a look at this article from Steve Tripp who is serving with Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor (Craig Greenfield, heads up this ministry and led one of the seminars in our track). Steve reflects on the agonizing dilemma of how to respond to the beggars surrounding him in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
If you are up for a longer read, check out John Hayes’ book, Submerge: Living Deep in a Shallow World. John chronicles his journey into areas of desperate poverty, and the creation of InnerCHANGE, a Christian order among the poor. John, too, was one of our seminar leaders at Urbana 06.
Or, if you are interested in how those outside the church are trying to respond to the challenge of slums, you may want to read some of the introductory sections (which are free) on the latest World Watch Institute State of the World 2007 (which is not free). This work suggests that slum communities are the number two problem in Africa right behind HIV/AIDS.
Some of you are ready to spend the summer living and ministering in a slum community of the developing world. There are still some spots open on the Global Urban Trek, but they are filling quickly. Perhaps your church or another campus ministry has opportunities for you to immerse yourself in the realities of the urban poor. I recommend approaching these short term projects with a being mentality versus a doing posture. Invite Jesus to open up possibilities for you to develop transformational friendships with the poor, and step then out in faith when that opportunity presents itself.
Finally, if you just want to catch up on the latest happenings in slum communities as reported by the BBC in the last month or so, check out the three short videos featuring slum communities in the news: (or do a search for “slums” at bbc.org).
Remember, in spite of all of the desperate conditions for people in slums, God is good and his mercy endures.
Love,
Scott
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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