Somerville, NJ
Click here to find a team or start one of your own!
This report comes to us from team leader Alpa with our Somerville-Immaculate Conception parish team in NJ:
It was another wonderful day at the mall, with Edith and Maureen as prayer warriors and Mary Ann, Lita, Mirna, Kathleen, Diana and I as evangelists for our three hour shift. We had too many wonderful encounters to detail. It was an active and busy time, and we were excited at how busy our booth was!
As evangelists, we follow SPSE guidelines. That is, we don’t evangelize children, and always pray together before an outing. We were excited to be there, and proceeded to set up our table. Before we’d said our prayer together, two teenage boys came up wanting a rosary for “Good Luck” in their sports. Mirna immediately responded, “we have our Lord that we call upon for help.” They respectfully took a rosary with a smile, a thank you, and left. As I pondered that quick exchange, I remembered that our awesome God takes us where we’re at. These young teenagers were respectful, open and kind, and involved in their sports. We don’t know their story, but they associated a rosary with God. Yes, their words, “I want Good Luck” made us cringe, but Mirna’s response was perfect. It’s our Lord who we call upon for help, to turn our hearts to Him. Our Lord cares about everything in our lives, including sports.
Two other encounters were beautiful. Both were dads with their teenage children. Both were Catholic and thanked us for being there. They took a rosary for themselves and for their kids, and a pamphlet on how to pray it. Both wanted to know more and asked about the Mysteries of the rosary and to show them where they were in the pamphlet. They were thirsting for God in their life. We prayed together acknowledging that God was drawing them to himself and wanted to bless them and their families. Next, we spoke to a mom and her teenage daughter who stopped for a rosary. The mom told me that she takes her daughter to Mass every Sunday, but drops her off and picks her up. Certain Sundays she goes inside with her, but it’s sporadic. I asked why she doesn’t attend Mass, and she just shrugged. I asked the teenager why she felt so strongly about going to Mass by herself, and she said she feels very peaceful and it helps her mentally. She then said she struggles with anxiety. I asked her and her mother if they’ve ever prayed the rosary, and they both said no. I encouraged them to pray it, especially when feeling anxious, and at night if she’s unable to fall asleep and feels restless. She emphatically agreed. I told the mom to try to go inside with her daughter, since she’s already at the church. She smiled and said she’d consider it.
A woman approached us and took a rosary and a brochure. When asked if she needed any prayers, she asked for prayers for her marriage and her husband. So Diana, Kathleen and I prayed with her. She was very moved and hugged each of us. She said the best things in life are free, hugs and prayers and thanked us for being there to pray with her. God is so good!