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AUGUST 2011
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SOUTHERN BAPTISTS : A PRAYING PEOPLE IMPACTING A LOST WORLD
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The call of the city
In 1987, the first of a series of Where's Waldo books was published. In each book readers are challenged to find a character
named Waldo dressed in a distinctive red and white striped shirt, bobble hat and glasses, who is hiding among dozens of
people in a crowded place. Well, ministry in the city can be much like that. Today, the majority of the world's population lives
in cities. Nestled among the buildings, alleys and crowded apartments of these cities are multitudes of people who, much like
Waldo, are hidden among the masses — woven into the fabric of city life — in view but seemingly invisible. The landscape is
filled with people and so many things that clutter and
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cloud our view. The city vibrates with sounds that can dull
our hearing and desensitize us. But in these sounds — the ^
cacophony of the city — are voices calling out to us. There
is the call of people from all walks of life who have an ache A
in their hearts for which they have no answer. However, Ar
there is also the voice of our Lord calling people to Himself w*
and commissioning believers to GO and share His love. I **
Listen to the voices: The N family: A family of five — ■ 1
poor, uneducated, filthy and living in a one-room dwelling P
piled high with garbage and dirty clothes. In desperation f * ^ ^
they call out to idols to save them. The
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family: They *
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fl
gather recyclable trash to exchange for money. The blind fpL
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husband is led around by his wife who pushes their cart.
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Si M* 1 11
Sitting inside the trash and tied with ropes is their young¬
est son, badly deformed and deranged. They are visible
but untouchable in this city. The S family: A wealthy,
devout Buddhist architect and his wife who were led to
Christ by their Christian daughter who never gave up on
them. The T family: Facing death, out of desperation,
Mrs. T begged the temple leaders in a megacity for a miracle. Unexpectedly, the temple leaders sent her to a local church, the
only "help" they knew that held this kind of power. And God did perform a miracle both physically and spiritually. "As He (Jesus)
approached and saw the city, He wept over it" (Luke 19:41, HCSB).
God, we pray that Your compassion and salvation will continue to flow through the cities of our world.
Waiting to die
As we walked in our city, we found an elderly grandmother,
Ah-buh, sitting in the middle of the alley on a rough
bench. Her husband was sent to war many years ago never to
return home, leaving her to raise their two small children. In
order to survive, the family chopped and charred small pieces
of wood to sell for fuel. Years later, her daughter married and
moved away. Her son also married, but died an early death. He
was to be her caregiver. Following her son's death, the daugh¬
ter-in-law quickly cast Ah-buh aside. Ah-buh said, "I am sitting
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here waiting to die." Broken. Abandoned. Hopeless. Lifeless.
Whenever we visited with Ah-buh, she was always happy
to see us and eager to hear stories about life and the Good
News of Jesus. Then one day we were told that her daughter
came and took her away to an unwelcomed place. Once again
she was hidden from our view. In a city of almost 3 million
people, many are lost and go unnoticed. Father, we ask You
to open doors to share LIFE with the people of this city and
other cities around our world
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