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I would say with confidence, that in any city the night brings on a completely different world than that of the day ...

Before I left for school earlier this year, it was a frequent service of mine to go with a local group called "No Walls Ministry" -- a homeless outreach which, instead of setting up a soup kitchen, would actually visit the homeless in their own territory: in woody thickets, under bridges, in the alleys, on the benches, in the streets. We brought food and fellowship, offered blankets and prayer, and were often out until 1 or 2 in the morning, until we'd either completed our run or run out of supplies.

Pittsburgh is a relatively safe city compared to many, but it still has its dangers. I watched a friend be mauled by a dog not ten feet in front of me; I stood under a concrete "cave" where a bullet ricochetted off the wall behind us. I heard stories of drug fatalities and murder and men found dead and all kinds of sadness and fear that was rooted in sins committed by and to people. My heart broke again and again.

It'll really change your perspective. Many Christians think you need to go overseas to enter missions: they completely forget the mission field in their own backyard.

I passed this bridge many nights and would always manage to forget my camera. Fortunately, I had both time and the camera handy with me the last Friday I spent in the city, that summer. If memory serves me right, it is the "6th Street Bridge" -- the Roberto Clemente Bridge over the Allegheny river in Pittsburgh.

Description
I would say with confidence, that in any city the night brings on a completely different world than that of the day ...

Before I left for school earlier this year, it was a frequent service of mine to go with a local group called "No Walls Ministry" -- a homeless outreach which, instead of setting up a soup kitchen, would actually visit the homeless in their own territory: in woody thickets, under bridges, in the alleys, on the benches, in the streets. We brought food and fellowship, offered blankets and prayer, and were often out until 1 or 2 in the morning, until we'd either completed our run or run out of supplies.

Pittsburgh is a relatively safe city compared to many, but it still has its dangers. I watched a friend be mauled by a dog not ten feet in front of me; I stood under a concrete "cave" where a bullet ricochetted off the wall behind us. I heard stories of drug fatalities and murder and men found dead and all kinds of sadness and fear that was rooted in sins committed by and to people. My heart broke again and again.

It'll really change your perspective. Many Christians think you need to go overseas to enter missions: they completely forget the mission field in their own backyard.

I passed this bridge many nights and would always manage to forget my camera. Fortunately, I had both time and the camera handy with me the last Friday I spent in the city, that summer. If memory serves me right, it is the "6th Street Bridge" -- the Roberto Clemente Bridge over the Allegheny river in Pittsburgh.