Tampa, FL.
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The following report comes to us from team leader Bill with our team in Tampa, FL:
It was such a blessing to be back on the streets again on a cool winter day here in sunny Florida. This was our first time doing face-to-face evangelization since COVID first hit, and it couldn’t have gone any better. Not only did the weather cooperate, but we had a lot of foot traffic both with and without masks. We had ours on, and no one gave us negative feedback concerning being out in public during the pandemic. We had a fine turnout from our team (regulars – Mike, Reuben, Stacia, Bob; newbie from Jesuit HS – Jorel; and special guest from the Chicago NS Team: Mark). Everyone had their share of great interactions. Here are just a few:
God healed the foot (at least partially) of a man named Paul through Mark’s prayers. He went from complaining of his inability to walk without pain to walking with a big smile on his face. Next we met Nancy, who after seeing the many Rosaries on our table, came up and said she used to pray it with her mom. I offered her one for her mom, and she broke down crying since her mom had recently passed away. (Way to go, Bill.) We immediately said prayers for the repose of her soul. Later on, a woman named Adele asked Jorel to pray for her son who was discerning the priesthood. What a blessing to have a young man on our Team. Later on, a number of visitors asked where they might attend Mass tomorrow. Evidently there was a girls HS volleyball tournament nearby and some of the schools were Catholic.
An interesting side note: It happened a few times that one of the guys would offer a medal/rosary to a passerby who would politely decline. Not twenty feet further down the sidewalk Stacia would offer the same item to the same person and they would end up engaging in prayer and conversation. I’ll be the first to admit women seem to be more approachable than men.
Praised be Jesus Christ! A heartfelt thanks goes out to all who evangelized with Bill that wonderful day. Regardless of what COVID does, the Tampa SPSE Team is going back out to the streets.