Kenner, LA
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The following report comes to us from team leader Dr. Jamillah in Kenner, LA:
We decided to have a definite day to evangelize. So we chose the first Saturday of each month to go out door to door. Evangelizing on the first Saturday coincided with the First Saturday devotion. Unfortunately, our team had little chance to evangelize due to the constant rain. Since we live in a suburban area, there are no central business areas of the city other than various strip malls. On our first sunny Saturday after several months, we were able to go door to door in one of the working-class neighborhoods. There were three of us; two went to the door and one remained on the sidewalk to record the needs of the people. It seemed that God was waiting for us to console three women in the neighborhood.
We encountered one woman who was grieving because she had lost her son, daughter and grandchild. Her son was the manager at a large store and was shot by a disgruntled customer who asked for his money back but didn’t have the receipt. No other details were provided, but she also lost her daughter and her five-year grandchild. The evangelists spoke words of hope and strength. In an attempt to bring her to more positive communion with God, we suggested that we ask the pastor to counsel with her. She confessed that she had not attended Mass for a while but indicated that she’d return to Mass and felt it would benefit her. She asked for prayer for her health and spiritual wellness.
As we went further down the street, we encountered a widow whose husband had recently passed away. She also had not attended church in a while. The evangelist spoke of the intention of God for sending us to her, “it is not by accident” that we had knocked on her door. Again, the evangelists gave Hope to the grieving.
Our final encounter for the day was a young lady who had trouble sleeping the night before and was praying for answers to a particular diagnosis she’d just received. She was happy to see that her prayer appeared to have been answered when we knocked on the door and offered consolation. It uplifted her because she now could see a path toward a more spiritual answer to her concern. This brought relief of pain. All three of those searching for answers to their pain and grief were asked if we could give their phone numbers to the parish priest. Her request was within our directive. Console and list those needing consolation who would agree to have a priest contact them for further spiritual guidance.
Praised be Jesus Christ!