Douglasville, GA
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This report comes to us from team leader Jeremy with our team in Douglasville, GA:
We returned to my favorite annual event in downtown Douglasville for evangelism: the Stranger Things block party. Douglasville was the filming location for a number of scenes in the first couple of seasons, including the police station and the arcade. The party attracts fans from all over Georgia: lots of young adults/teens and families with young children. The show explores a hidden spiritual dimension dominated by dark powers: there tends to be a heightened spiritual interest in this crowd.
Two encounters were especially meaningful for their providential details. A young man walked by wearing a Motley Crue T-shirt displaying the cover of their 1989 Dr. Feelgood album. For Halloween at my Catholic school last week, I had dressed up as a “rock star” that resembled a member of this band, carrying my electric guitar around playing riffs. A student asked if I could play the song “Kickstart My Heart” (from the Dr. Feelgood album); I didn’t remember how but promised him I would figure it out by the time they finished a quiz. As students were turning the quiz in, I started playing the riff. The student excitedly asked if he could look up the lyrics to sing it. As he started to sing, I remembered the song was about a near death experience from a drug overdose (which is why his heart had to be ‘kickstarted’!) and thought maybe I shouldn’t be playing this at a Catholic school. Then I look up from my computer screen and see our chaplain, a priest from Cameroon, standing right next to my desk! He had never set foot in my class before and I didn’t notice him walk in. I was nervous that someone had summoned him to observe me playing this raunchy metal music, but it turns out it was just a coincidence: he was visiting classrooms out of curiosity to see the costumes. It was one of the funniest, most ironic moments in my teaching career.
As this young man approached, I asked if I could share a funny story about Motley Crue and relayed this experience. He and his friends thought it was hilarious! What an icebreaker! He asked if he could have a rosary, sharing that he had been baptized in our local parish (but seemed like he had not been confirmed). He wanted to get one for his mother. His two female friends were not Catholic and were curious to hear about how to pray the Rosary, so I used it to share the Gospel with them. His Dr. Feelgood t-shirt was the easiest, quickest icebreaker I’ve probably ever had as an evangelist!
Another encounter was with a young black lady who came back to us for a rosary after her friend received one. No church affiliation but spiritually curious. She showed me a tattoo on her wrist that had Psalm 46:5 with ‘Grace’ written below it. She didn’t know what the verse said, wrongly referring to it as Proverbs. I pulled it up on the Bible app and read the chapter. Verse 5 reads: “God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.” I immediately thought of the multi-purpose gym building at our church behind the well-known marble statue of Jesus that locals recognize. She remembered the building. I pointed out that it is called “The City” building and connected this coincidence to the verse. This seemed to immediately heighten her interest in visiting our church!
All and all, it was great to be back out on the street after a few months hiatus and a reminder of why this work is important. Praised be Jesus Christ!