Things got “a bit exciting” in Boise, ID. Only two SPSE evangelists were available, Tony Chow and Lucy Stamm, and Tony needed to leave early. The team, as usual, kept busy offering Rosaries and information. Then Tony said goodbye.

Lucy offered a Rosary to the next man walking by. He had one from a previous week, so she invited him to look at the brochures. He chose the one on marriage.

A second man approached, flipped up his longboard, and stood there giving off a sense of barely contained rage, “a ticking time bomb”. Lucy handed the pamphlet to the first man and turned to the second.

He began with insults. But the Holy Spirit kept the evangelist calm and confirmed “a mild answer turns back wrath” (Prov 15:1). The skateboarder then told his story. Raised a strict non-Catholic Christian, he’d been hurt badly. Then he turned his back on Christianity and all “organized religion”, and was trying to make up one of his own.

His philosophy blended popular secular beliefs. And it had no hope. He said there was no afterlife at all, this life was all there is. At that, the Holy Spirit gave the evangelist words. She showed him, based on natural observation, both that humans differ from animals, and that the human soul is immortal.

Meanwhile, Tony saw Lucy was suddenly juggling the two live wires. Postponing other plans, he returned. The man at the table, he learned, had a prison record for, let’s say, more than parking tickets. That discussion concluded, Tony joined the one with the skateboarder, who gave his name as “Dick” and who repeated his story. When he reached his belief about life after death, Dick now said he thought life continued. Also, the rage had left and he seemed to have regained hope. The team invited him to stop and talk with them again.

Thank you, Team Boise! When someone has been deeply hurt, our first job is to rebuild trust. Since Jesus Christ is Truth (cf. John 14:6), the evangelists knew that leading Dick back toward truth (cf. Rom 1:20) would lead him back toward Jesus. Being an SPSE evangelist is exciting! Are you a member? If not, please pray about joining us today.