Ybor City, FL
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The following is a continuation from yesterday’s story and comes to us from team leader Lori with our St. Peter the Apostle team in Trinity, FL:
There are a lot of homeless in Ybor. Please pray for:
A young man who just got a job in demolition and is hoping it’s the break he needs to get off the streets. We prayed over him, he picked out a Rosary, and he walked away all smiles.
Jahsyr – 21-year-old with whom I was blessed to have a nice conversation. Jahsyr believes in God and relies on his faith in Jesus to get him through a lot of pain that he carries – alcoholic mom who has not been a mom to him and no dad in his life. Jahsyr asked a lot of smart questions about the ways Catholic beliefs differ from the Jamaican Evangelical Protestant church he grew up in. Please pray that this young man can get off the streets and finds healing through the love of his Heavenly Father and the comfort and motherly care of Mother Mary through her intercession.
Cindy – I came across her as I walked back to the parking garage to go home. She asked for money and I’m cashless these days so I apologized and said I wish I could help but I didn’t have any on me. She mentioned it was her birthday so I stopped to talk to her. She’s 68 years old and she’s been homeless on the streets for a few months. I asked if anyone was helping her like social services and she said they were but she was waiting for paperwork to go through. I didn’t want to leave her without doing something special for her birthday (regardless whether that was true or not – I really don’t care), so I offered to buy her something to eat since it was dinner time. I got her the pizza slice she asked for from the pizzeria around the corner as well as a Gatorade. I told her I would pray for her but I wish I had thought to offer to pray over her right there, to assure her of God’s love for her and that He’s with her in her present suffering and would never leave her. A learning moment for me. I feel very humbled and blessed that God placed this lady in my path so I could do some small kindness for her.
I think my biggest personal takeaways from this first outing are:
How FUN it is! The three of us were there chatting, laughing, and faith sharing when no one was walking by. God was present for sure – “where two or three are gathered.” The joy on the faces of fellow believers to see us. The peace on the faces of those we prayed over who are going through trials. What a joy and a blessing to participate in this ministry.
How generally nice people were. I was afraid of hostility or interrogations on doctrinal matters but we encountered nothing of the sort.
How blessed I am in many ways. I am so thankful to God because there was a time in my life when I was very nearly homeless myself – a long time. I don’t know why I was spared that particular cross when others aren’t. I have other crosses in my life, for sure, that God helps me carry, and I thank Him that He kept me safe during some dark times some years ago when things could have turned out much differently for me. And, I’m amazed by the depth of God’s love for me (and each and every one of us) because He kept me safe during times when my back was turned to Him in stubborn and prideful unbelief. I know that even those who are suffering so much right now have had – and still have – moments in their lives of God’s grace and I pray they recognize those moments like young Jahsyr said he did and rely on God’s grace to get them through.
I’m excited to start our parish St. Paul Street Evangelization team in September where we’ll be going to Sims Park and hopefully various market events as a non-profit vendor as well as any other opportunity that arises on a monthly basis. It really is a lot of fun and a true blessing – for us as much as for those we encounter.
Praised be Jesus Christ!