Hugh’s June 2008 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

If you come into this expecting to save everyone, you will be dissapointed. You will not get most addicts to stop using crack, you will not get everyone a job and you will not get most Christians out of their nice, safe suburban churches and get them actually engaged in loving people who have less than them.

These things often do not happen.

But sometimes they do.

And sometimes, you are grateful for what you can get, like the guy who calls you, so excited because he got a two week ticket at the day labor place. Or the couple you help get a place to live, and they actually pay you back for the deposit you fronted them. The church that takes you in and asks ‘What can we do to help you?”, and then they do it. The ‘bag lady’ who offers to lend you money when you mention you left your wallet at home.

None of these things are big, I know. But, then again, one image Jesus uses again and again is how things start small and grow into something extraordinary. And the longer I do this, the more convinced I become that God’s love expressed through relationships is pretty much the only thing that will change things out here and in fact, anywhere.

So, out here we are not trying anything too big. We are trying to love people, to get to know them and get them to know us. Don’t get me wrong; we want to change the world. But we know that history tells us that the only thing that has ever changed the world was a small group of dedicated folks.

This Revolution (and don’t be confused, we are talking about no less than that) comes about by having supper with Ramon. It comes from making sure Betty has Tylenol. It is about taking Tammy and Brian shopping for groceries. It is about playing in the park with Terry and Jamal. It means watching William lay on the sidewalk and draw, and laying down next to him and asking questions about his art. It is walking to get a milkshake with Chris and Steph. It is plotting a cookout for your neighbors with Alyssa and John. It is a Revolution where the weapons are relationships and the stakes are priceless.

So that’s what we do… small stuff. Unimportant stuff. Minor stuff. Revolutionary, world changing stuff. Some of you are out here with us, are supporting us, are beside us, pushing against boundaries, fighting for the people society has given up on. And some of you are not. For you, we invite you to believe, just a little bit, that another world is possible, and then come alongside us and help us to build something really, really… small.

Love Wins. Always.

Hugh Hollowell

http://lovewinsalways.org