Flint, MI. Teens from the Diocese of Lansing gathered for a third year in Flint, MI for “The Mission”, a week long summer project to serve the city’s poor. St. Paul Street Evangelization has always been a part of this effort, training 18 of the 80 teens to be street evangelists.
After a one day training, they spent the next 3 days, all day, sharing their faith with the people of Flint, MI. At the end of the Mission two teens were chosen to attend the St. Paul Street Evangelization National Leadership Training Institute at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
Here are some of their stories:
Some teens were approached by an atheist, and engaged him in conversation. Though he said that he did not believe in God, he was really angry at Him. He shared that long ago, when his mom was sick, he prayed, “If you take my life and save my mom’s life, I will know you are really God.” But his mom died two hours later. This was 40 years ago. Talking with the teens, he had a conversion on the spot, breaking down in tears. They prayed together, and he took a rosary and other materials, shaking each of their hands.
A young couple walking around with twins, approached the teens who gave them a rosary. They did not attend church, and the husband shared that he had lost his job. The mom kept wanting to know more and more about the rosary. She even came by later again to really make sure she understood how to pray the rosary, and took a Fatima CD as well.
One teen, who was struggling with her own faith, gave a rosary to a young man in an arm cast. He was a Catholic who had not been in church for a long time, and his dad had committed suicide two years earlier and regretted the loss of time with his father. Feeling compassion for this young man, the teen encouraged him, and her own heart was convinced of the importance of ongoing evangelization. She recalled, “I knew he was filled with anger and sadness. We explained to him that through prayer and the Sacraments your faith can be strengthened and it is never too late to turn to Jesus.”
Here is one teen’s words on her experience:
“I was really nervous to evangelize. I prayed each day to God to give me the courage. I saw God in everyone we met. A lot of people were struggling with something and God motivated them to speak to us about faith and prayer. People are searching for help – aching in their hearts – and we as Christians need to help others find Jesus. Some people need to hear others encouragements to come to God to actually do it.” – Emma
Do you see how much good can be done, by sharing Christ with others? Join your efforts to ours!