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The following report comes to us from Bill, the leader of our team in Tampa, FL:
We’re back… Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Viva Christo Rey! In keeping with Diocesan and local restrictions the Tampa Chapter suspended operations from March to May. But boy did we come back with a BANG in June. Six of us (Mike, Richard, Joe, Sarah, Dorothy and Bill) showed up at a very busy intersection in suburban Brandon; near numerous shopping centers and restaurants. We started at 10am and kept waving and smiling until 2pm. Logistics were perfect: easy parking and lots of traffic. Best of all waving signs avoided any close contact concerns we had with resuming our normal table activities.
What we did was spread out to all four corners of the intersection and held up our signs, waving and smiling at the people in the cars driving by. We were met with horn toots, thumbs up, rolled down windows thanking us, praising Jesus and all other manner of support. It was such a positive experience at a time when I think the people needed one.
Some great stories from our experience:
Mike has been doing this since we started in 2016. I never saw him so excited. As he crossed the street when he finally took a break he yelled to me, “Jesus is with us, he is real!”
I did bring a chair and placed it on the grass near the sidewalk. It was technically the property of the “First Watch” restaurant. We used it as a central location for our extra signs and small coolers. I knew they’d have the right to tell us to get off their property, but I figured if that happens, I’d just move the chair 4′ to resolve the issue. Well “First Watch” was the best. Not only did they let us keep our setup, but they sent out a tray of cold smoothie drinks and told us how much they appreciated what we were doing.
A couple actually parked their car and came over to tell us how much they appreciated our activity.
Well, we had such a good experience that we all agreed we should keep this activity as part of our regular rotation after the pandemic is over. If you live in or visit the Tampa area, please come evangelize with us. We typically do the 3rd Saturday of each month. To find out what we’re up to email me: bill@brown.org.
Praised be Jesus Christ!