Annonymous, you just made me change my senior thesis to something much more plausible and inclusive. Thank you much, my dear friend.

As admirable as Shoshon's efforts are, Anonymous deftly shines the spotlight on an important factor undermining much of the work Christians undertake with the best of intentions. If you view yourself as morally, ethically or even spritually above others doing similar work (as implied in, "if Christians won't do this work, who will?") you, almost by definition, lack the respect for others necessary to work with non-Christians.

What I read and hear here is a man full of compassion, and burdened for the hurting. He makes one statement you jump on and yet you ignore the rest. He knows he is one organization working with a number of others. Read all of the articles including "Portland's Quiet Abolitionists" before jumping on one sentence. As Peter said, let's work together to better the lives of those who need our help and love. But yes, anonymous, Christians often are neglectful in reaching out to the hurting and that is why Shoshon is appealing to them to wake up. I applaud his honesty and boldness to step forward and get involved.

Shoshon I just want to let me know that you have encouraged me today. In 15 minutes I have to leave to pick up a 13 year old foster girl from school. I didn't have to drive her to school yesterday because she ran away and was missing. This morning she told me about her experience after she and her 13 year old foster sister were picked up by a couple of young men. Like you, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by what is going on in this city. These girls so desperately want attention and they can be so naive about what it means to walk down 82nd Street at night. Lately I have been feeling like I am not making a difference, but you reminded me that even though it is emotionally draining, we are never given more than we can bear.

Anonymous, you are right. Christians often appear self-congratulatory, when what we are doing very often is following the lead of and building on the hard work and loving care of others, whether Christian or not; and we do this sometimes for the better, sometimes not. In either case, God has gone before, planting seeds. I do believe that the lead article in this series points to the fact that this work being done in Portland is not "Christian" in origin or in its ongoing efforts. Rather, it is the work of various agencies and individuals working together for what is clearly the common good.