Pontiac, MI.

Click here to learn more about Anne, our regional missionary in Michigan
The following report comes to us from regional missionary Anne in Pontiac, MI:

Listening to people comes easy for me. A long career in healthcare meant listening one way. But now I listen differently. I listen for something we might have in common for starters. But Anne found that before I did. Anne was a senior woman leaving the soup kitchen with a bag lunch and multiple heavy bags full of groceries she’d selected off the “free” tables. As she walked past our table to the parking lot I asked if I could get the bags to her vehicle. She happily agreed and pointed out which vehicle was hers. I returned and she saw my name tag and said, ”my name is Anne, too!” After a brief discussion about smaller matters, we offered her a Rosary explaining how to use it to pray and offered to pray for her. Her back was the issue. We prayed and then encouraged her to “try it out” (by walking) and it felt a bit better. Let’s pray again then! We prayed again and it improved a little bit more. The second time she was determining if her back felt better by walking, I suggested that we walk toward her vehicle as she was quite elderly and getting out of cold seemed wise.

As we stood at her vehicle assessing her back I felt called to ask her about her daughters. Her eyes glazed over. “I have only one daughter and she died four years ago.” I asked her daughter’s name and about how her daughter died; the entire story of over 10 years of heart issues poured out. It was almost as if time stopped for both of us. Of course we prayed again! This time the prayer began with thanksgiving for her daughter’s life and the love between them as Anne helped her navigate doctors and travel to places like the Cleveland Clinic. Anne left with a thankful and joyful heart.

Praised be Jesus Christ!