by Alex Pearson

“Hey you! Yeah you, I got something to tell ya!” These were the words that ushered me across an icy street in St. Louis to talk with Roger, a homeless man who has been gracing the streets of St. Louis with his presence for most of his adult life. He showed me a place to sit on this freezing cold night, a heating vent outside the downtown Tums factory, and amidst the smell of the fruity, chalky rush of air he told me about his week.

Roger spoke of how the usually empty downtown had been filled with a rush of people. Groups from all over the world. He told me how he had been leading unofficial tours of his city for groups from California, Canada, and Japan. He was amazed by their geniality and kindness as visitors. The reason Roger was running into all these groups, and the reason I was in St. Louis in the first place, was a global missions conference called Urbana.

Urbana is a triennial conference put on by InterVarsity, an organization that works with college students to start bible studies and foster Christian community on their college campuses. At this Urbana there were more than 16,000 students, representing more than two-thirds of the world’s countries. It was a truly global event.

My own school, Whitman College in Walla Walla, was fortunate enough to send twelve students, including myself, to the conference. Our fellowship has been experiencing a time of growth, specifically centering on prayer. The growth, and spiritual gifts have been pouring out on us by the Holy Spirit, deepening our community’s bond with one another. Going into Urbana we were quite open to God working through us during our five-day stay in St. Louis.

For me personally, the real draw to go to Urbana was this sense of a global Christian community, but after experiencing the five days of worshiping, reading scripture, and spending time with all these people from all over the world I was left with a real sense of how close God has knit our global community.

It was a kind of large-scale solidarity that seemed to mirror the bond that has developed in our own fellowship. I was struck with a real sense of pride for my brothers and sisters in the church, especially after hearing their many stories. From a family living in Sudan, trying to bring about peace through the Gospel’s powerful message of forgiveness, to a man in Mexico City, desperately trying to serve the people of slum communities in fully holistic ways. These people, many of them not white and not Americans, reminded me how diverse, yet close, the family of God really is. In the vast gathering I was struck by the importance of every person there.

Urbana was an incredible time for many reasons. The wonderful speakers, the amazing worship, the countless seminars, all of these things brought so much joy to my heart and reminded me of the hope God has given to us through Jesus. But the story He gave me that truly stuck was Roger’s. Only ninety days out of prison and living on the streets he reminded me of God’s power. How God would choose him to welcome and keep His people safe in a strange and new city. That night all Roger asked was to be heard, and all I could tell him was that I was listening.

Alex is a Sophomore and English major at Whitman college where he loves to write stories, read, and play in the snow.