the urban jungle

I visited a neighborhood not long ago where crime is rampant. Several houses in the community were boarded up, some of them burned out, and most tagged with graffiti. No one is on the streets after dark because the possibility of trouble with local gangs is so likely.   Tennis shoes and blue or red bandannas adorn telephone wires throughout.  The two primary gangs vying for control? Crips and Bloods, of course.  Alcohol and drugs are a staple for adults and kids alike.  Abuse of all kinds is a regular part of life, especially among the youth. Unemployment is far too high, most residents exist in survival mode, and the concept of hope is almost nonexistent. 


If you were to guess where I visited, you might have thought of Detroit, Chicago, or New York.  The urban issues I witnessed are common in cities like Atlanta, St. Louis or Dallas. But I was close to home than these places...and not nearly as urban.  My destination was the San Carlos Apache Reservation (via Arizona Reservation Ministry) outside the town of Globe in eastern Arizona.  I've been to this place many times, and each visit overwhelms my sensibilities.  So much despair, so much struggle, and so much destruction of human life and possibility.  And the other factor that never ceases to astound me is the existence of the complex urban issues that seem so out of place here.  


All this makes ministry here doubly difficult.  Not only do workers need to understand Native American (and Apache, specifically) culture well, but they must also know how to deal with urban culture, and all the facets associated with it.  Either one of these is a full-time undertaking, but this is one place that both must be carefully considered.  


In all this challenge, our team witnessed hope.  Many of the kids with whom ARM works were different than they used to be.  They were responsive, positive, polite and expressive.  They interacted with us more deeply than they would have a couple of years ago.  They were smiling, laughing, enjoying.  As simple as these things are to us, they can be major accomplishments for those of San Carlos.  And we were encouraged.


So the next time you think about urban ministry, see tagging along a wall, or shoes dangling from a wire, remember that urban doesn't just happen in cities anymore.  That there are kids struggling to survive mean rural streets that are teeming with urban challenges.  And that we need people willing to commit their lives to understanding multiple cultures all wrapped up in the same neighborhood.  It's a crazy world.


And it's getting crazier all the time.