Ybor City, FL
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The following story comes to us from team leader Lori with our St. Peter the Apostle team in Trinity, FL:
I was so blessed, humbled, and thankful recently to spend a few hours with the Tampa St. Paul Street Evangelization team, led by Bill, in Ybor City. For those who aren’t familiar, Ybor City is a historic & trendy urban neighborhood near downtown Tampa. Bill has been leading the Tampa team for many years and I appreciate the experience of evangelizing with him for my first ever outing as we near the official launch of our parish St. Paul Street Evangelization team at St. Peter the Apostle! I learned a lot from him and his team member, Jerry.
Some of the folks we encountered:
Carlos – a young teen who was out with his family who all stopped to pick up free Rosaries and literature about how to pray with it. Some were Catholic and others were not. Carlos was a sweet boy who loves Jesus. Let’s please pray that he remains innocent in this world and his love for God only deepens. Carlos was carrying single roses and handed me one with a shy smile before they left.
Griffin – a young man from St. Paul, Minnesota, visiting friends. He approached and immediately apologized and said he meant no offense, then asked some pointed, but friendly, questions about things he had issues with when it comes to the Catholic Church, which Bill answered with a lot of knowledge and eloquence. It was a good conversation and Bill told Griffin that he had a lot of respect for him that he stopped to talk with us instead of making assumptions. Griffin is seeking and said he struggles with organized religion but grew up in a church-going family. Please pray that this young man finds the Truth in the Source of Truth.
An older teenage couple on skateboards stopped and shyly picked out Rosaries and the pamphlets about how to pray with them. The boy (maybe 17) lit up when he talked about his love for Jesus. Please pray for this young couple that they continue to grow in their love for the Lord and allow themselves to be guided by Him.
So many others – Ybor is a very popular area with plenty of foot traffic. Lots of folks stopped to chat, for prayer, to look at literature, to accept our offer of a free Rosary or medal, and even to thank us for being out there. Most people, as to be expected, declined our offers but were very polite with a “No thank you,” or even a “No but God Bless you,” and others just ignored us, which is fine.
I just so happened to be there when the cops were called on the Tampa Team for the first time in Bill’s many years of doing this ministry. A slightly overly-eager “Ambassador” (city employees who answer questions for tourists and are extra eyes for the Tampa Police) called the cops because he said we were obstructing the sidewalk. We weren’t really as it’s a wide sidewalk, but we of course obliged and moved to the area closer to the road where the officer said we could go. No big deal.
Praised be Jesus Christ!