On a recent trip to the Northwest, I had a brief layover in San Francisco. While waiting to board the plane, I picked up the Saturday edition of The San Francisco Chronicle. It was encouraging to read a front-page story covering the “Battle Cry” event, sponsored by Ron Luce of Teen Mania. Mentioning that over 25,000 youth had gathered in the city, it also ran the opinions of several city officials. Sadly, one of them stated, “We don’t want you here. We moved to this city to get away from people like you!”
Also appearing on the front page of the same paper was a story and a picture of an attractive former runway model. She became pregnant and then got married. She began to use drugs with her husband and went on to have three children. Later, her husband was put in prison for second-degree murder. She ended up on the streets, homeless and her children were taken away from her. When I turned the page to finish the story, I gasped. The most recent picture of her showed the ravaging effects of heroin and cocaine. She was only 39 years old when she died of organ failure just days before the article was published, but her picture made her look like she was 30 years older.
How ironic! In a city where hope is being offered, some people would rather live with the consequences of darkness than welcome the benefits of living in the light! No wonder Ron Luce has issued this battle cry! The stakes indeed are very high!
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By: Glenn Burris Jr., general supervisor
