Last week, the Big Tent Christianity event was held here in Raleigh, NC. It was a good event, powerful speakers and lots of great conversation. I (Hugh) spoke on the topic of Justice and got to share a stage with Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. (The text of my talk is available here). All of that was pretty neat… but none of that is the really good part.
On Saturday night, my good friend Mike Morrell and his lovely wife Jasmin opened their house to all the attendees for a party to raise money for Love Wins Ministries. The house was packed, mass quantities of food was consumed and prizes were raffled off. And, we raised a shade over $250 for the ongoing work we do here at Love Wins. But I still have not gotten to the good part yet.
Here is the good part:
I have known Trish for about six months. She moved to Raleigh from Charlotte to escape an abusive ex-boyfriend. She thought her friends here in Raleigh would take her in, but their own resources were strained, so in a matter of weeks Trish found herself homeless. She showed up at the shelter, completely unprepared for what was next: Getting in the system, the endless standing in line, the dehumanizing assumptions, the grind of it all. Along the way someone gave her my card and said that she should talk to me.
We talk for about an hour the first time we meet. Her story is all too typical, and since she is from a middle class background, the hardest job I had was convincing her there was no safety net to catch her. She stayed in the shelter for nearly a month, applying for jobs every day, every day going back to the shelter, jobless. Along the way, she made friends with another lady at the shelter, and when this lady got a job, she invited Trish to come live with her. Over the next few months, everything went well. She got occasional temp jobs, helped out around the house and met and fell in love with Jim, a big, strong man ten years her senior who has one over-driving ambition: To take care of and protect Trish. And right now, Trish needs to know she is protected.
So, when Trish and the friend had a falling out a few weeks ago, there was no way Jim was going to let Trish go back in that shelter, even if she could. Jim works a permanent day labor job, which means he makes about $65 a day, and gets paid every day. So every day, they would rent a motel room and get up the next day, Jim to work and Trish to find a job. And every day, the combination of food, motel rent and laundry fees and bus tickets ate into their funds, putting them further and further behind.
So Friday, I get a call from Trish. We sit in the park as she tells me it is untenable. She does not know how they can go on – the expense of living eats into almost everything Jim makes, leaving them no way to save money or get ahead. The only thing they know to do is give up the room and sleep on the streets for several weeks to save money to be able to get a place. Understandably, this scares the hell out of Trish.
Normally, this is where I would have to say something pastoral, and be present, and hold her as she cried. But today was different, because today I had $250 that I had not budgeted yet.
So I call a landlord I know who rents rooms by the week. He had a large room furnished with a bed and a dresser for $120 a week, with a $50 deposit. It’s far from being the Ritz, but it’s clean and the door locks – I am not sure you can expect more than that for $120 a week.
So Friday night, Jim and Trish moved into their new place. By Tuesday night, Jim will have the next week’s rent covered, so they can save money up to eventually get into something better. And for the first time in a while, they have hope. And if that is not the best use of $170, I am not sure what would be.
So, on behalf of my friends Trish and Jim, I want to say thank you to the good people at Big Tent Christianity who came to the party and bought those raffle tickets. To you, it was only a couple of dollars, but to Trish and Jim it is hope and future.
PS: As I was typing this up, Trish called me to let me know how everything is going. They are safe and feeling loved. They still need some linens and would love to have a TV and a microwave, but that will have to wait. But the best news is that while they were sitting on their front porch yesterday, Jim asked Trish if she would marry him. (She said yes!)
This is a fabulous example of micro-finance at work. With $170 you were able to create a possibility of transformation in two people’s lives, to create just enough leverage to give hope for a new future. This is an inspiring example and to me embodies giving at its best – giving a gift just big enough that the recipient can create a positive cycle and be empowered to make change in their life. And – this hope fueled the possibility of a marriage, these two individuals now get to be a team on the journey of life. Thank You, Hugh, for all that you do, for bringing hope and possibility into the lives of so many.
Thanks for this. You’re making a huge difference.
Right on Hugh. Awesome story. Thanks for posting the details of it all.
Love it.
That is wonderful that they are housed and feeling loved…But I did not read that they got the best news ever of salvation being in Jesus Christ alone. Did no one else see that these two are living together? What kind of wickedness is that? Oh well, just goes to show the emergent/progressive movement is more concerned about doing good things than people being saved.