Boise, ID

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This is the first in a three-part story from team leader Lucy in Boise, Idaho:

People need God. So, thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort.

A repeat visitor, the homeless veteran who uses a walker, was distressed. He came right to the table and picked out a Rosary. Then he told us that he’d unexpectedly lost his father the week before, on Father’s Day. He hadn’t been able to be there with him, and his father didn’t want any kind of memorial service. Lucy encouraged him to cling closely to Christ, Who can bring meaning out of suffering. Our visitor is grieving heavily; please pray for him.

Frank, a man passed us by on his bicycle, then turned back to pick out a Rosary. For some time, he stayed to talk with Chuck about his life. Frank is “an ex-Catholic” who had much financial success, but then “partied too much” and his marriage fell apart, although his children are all “successful.” He is homeless, still drinks and has cancer, but is convinced that “staying optimistic and getting back to work” will fix everything. He is sure the world needs God to avoid doom; but he thinks he just “has to stay happy in the moment” to get by. He wondered who created God. The evangelist mostly listened, but tried to point to the primacy of God in our lives and our desperate need to humble ourselves before Christ, Who saved us. Pray that Frank relies on himself less and less, and lets God’s will become the foundation of his life.

Bob works at the hotel that anchors our business park and was taking a walk on his break. He and his wife pray the Rosary daily. His wife gets up early to watch a televised Mass every day. When asked if he wanted a Rosary for someone else, he did take one. Bob had recently lost his 55-year-old sister-in-law. (His brother is in a memory-care facility.) Before she passed, Bob was grateful that he could call her three times a week and pray the Divine Mercy chaplet with her. He thanked us for being out there. He came immediately back right after leaving to ask if the Rosaries are blessed. May God bless Bob and his wife and keep them faithful.

Praised be Jesus Christ!