One story that really stood out to me was the one about the Lepers in the Bed. I can't believe that he was trying to become closer to God and started praying to a chair, and the people which should be taking care of him came in and shot him. That stopped my heart. Not only did that make me sad, it made me very mad. How could people think that they have the right to kill anyone. Also, they didn't even give him a chance to explain himself. People are so fast to just assume the worst in our country. Reading these intense stories really start to get me thinking about a lot. I have always imagined its hard in the Bronx, but I could never imagine these things she has heard. Not only has she heard these stories, she helped them and worked with them spreading the love of Jesus. I really like what she is doing and she is the type of christian which our society needs. Hopefully something can rub off on all of us.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
March 25thhh
I am really starting to enjoy Breathing Space and I am liking Neumark more and more. It is so crazy how many stories she has to tell. Every single story is so descriptive and is sooooo powerful. Like we talked about in class, Claiborne has a different way preach his message to people than she does. I'm not quite sure I would really want to meet him, but I would love to sit down and talk to Neumark. I am a strong believer in teaching a man to fish. Just like in Panama City, the only thing that "Repent You Whores" does is cause confrontation. How are you going save anyone when you look down on them? Neumark cares about every single person no matter who they are. She not only helps them she respects them so much. I really look up to that and can tell why she made such a strong impact, and I'm amazed on how well she writes about it.
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I agree with you Pete. Heidi's approach to living with and teaching the people of the South Bronx is so great. I think that she is much more mature in her faith than most of us could say, in that she really does care about each of the people in her book...as she should :) and she has made her life intentional by spreading the love of Christ to all of them. Sometimes, the best thing we can do as Christians is just to love people and be an example. Like you said, preaching to people about their sins can make them feel threatened and annoyed at your claimed superiority (if you preach it that way). Calling someone a Whore doesn't exactly tell them they are a cherished child of God... Heidi gets that, and I think she is able to see Christ inside of everyone she meets. We could all learn a thing or two from her...
ReplyDeleteright one pablo man! without respect, nothing can successfully be accomplished between two people. I would definitely prefer socializing with Neumark than Claiborne, because she seems more down to earth and easier to socialize with. I think this is so, because she is so open to the beauty of diversity. If that crazy P.C. evangelist could have just respected the people he was trying to reach, he might have had hope for the reciprocated respect back.
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