Christiansburg, VA
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The following report comes to us from team leader Zach with our team in New River Valley, VA:
Our small town had a “Christmas-in-July” themed farmer’s market event at our local park. We’ve never attempted to evangelize at a park before, but we thought it might be a fruitful venue in the evening hours, especially with the market being open. We were correct! In two hours, we passed out about 20 rosaries or so, and exchanged a few phone numbers (including with a hospital staff member who is looking for people to bring/pray rosaries with patients). Additionally, our team was blessed to have three new evangelists attend!
We were rather astonished at the number of non-practicing or former Catholics who stopped by to chat and get rosaries for their kids. We gave them some invitation cards that our parish priest developed for us and prayed with most of them. Two young girls wanted prayers, but I only heard the first girl’s request, so we prayed for her friend who is going through family-loss-related grief. As they were walking away, I heard that the second girl wanted prayers for her chicken, so I quickly called out to them, “May your chicken be blessed in the name of Jesus!”
We spoke with Santa for a bit, joking that St. Nicholas is a Catholic. He mentioned he was a Church of God minister, and he thanked us for evangelizing, which is always so special to hear from our Protestant brothers and sisters. Next, we passed out a few “Join Our Team” pamphlets to some parishioners from the area. However, our sweetest moment was connecting with someone from the farmer’s market staff, who approached us during a lull in the market. She is a non-denominational Christian discerning Catholicism; she was inspired by Pope Leo’s demure post-election introduction and Catholic media like the Hallow app. We added her to our young adult group chat, and hope to continue walking with her as she grows closer to Christ :]
Finally, knowledge of our rights and the legal printouts came in handy! A member of Parks and Recreation attempted to remove us from the premises, but we emphasized that we were not soliciting and simply practicing our First Amendment rights. He took a picture of our documents and asked that we inform their office next time we set up in the park — we’ll try to remember that for next time! SS. Nicholas and Benedict, pray for us!
Praised be Jesus Christ!