Sebastian, FL
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The following report comes to us from team leader Peter with our team in Sebastian, FL:
Two of us set up a table next to the Sebastian Library entrance. We immediately met Carmel while setting up. She was waiting for the library to open. When she heard us talking about Catholic things, she said she was Catholic, but hasn’t been attending because her husband, Terry, doesn’t like the new priest. He liked the previous priest much more because he greeted parishioners at the church entrance both before and after Masses, and his homilies were in the Jesuit tradition. When he returned to pick up his wife, she brought him to us. We had a long discussion about various options for him to consider. He acknowledged he should be attending Mass, and promised his wife he would try one of the other parishes. They were both delighted with the decision, and he also took a registration form for an upcoming men’s retreat. When they mentioned their two daughters were away from the Church, we recommended prayer, being a good example and that they both read Brandon Vogt’s book “Return: How to Bring Your Children Back to the Church.”
Angie visited us with her 8 year old home-schooled daughter, Kiara. We spent a long time with them, and at some point one of us took the mother aside to minister to her privately while the other entertained her daughter. Her daughter was remarkably mature for her age, and knew a lot about Jesus, the Bible, right from wrong, and charity in the home. She attributed her knowledge to her mom and the Bible story channel for kids on YouTube, “Super Book.” After informing them of all the benefits of attending our parish, they wanted to attend, and Kiara said she wanted to be baptized.
Later on, we met Mark, who said he is currently trying to find a church, and he thinks the Catholic Church might be the right one. He asked what we believed about the Trinity, and liked what he heard. He said he had been visiting with the Jehovah Witnesses, but they don’t believe in the Trinity. He asked how we refer to God, whether Lord, Jehovah, Yahweh, etc. We discussed the names of God, and then he told us what he was reading. He believed what he was reading in the Book of Enoch, The Ethiopian Bible and the Books of Jubilee. He was convinced Jesus went to Ethiopia and India, but the early church hid that because they were embarrassed by the fact. We explained why we didn’t consider those books reliable, and assured him Jesus did not go to India, and he was only believed to live in the Alexandria, Egypt area during his boyhood. He took quite a bit of literature, and seemed motivated to attend Mass at our parish in the near future. He accepted prayer from us before he left.
We spoke with a very soft spoken elderly lady who doesn’t watch TV, and instead prefers to memorize scripture. When she asked if the Catholic Bible was different, we explained how the Protestant Bible is missing seven Old Testament books and how that all came to be. She asked how she could get a copy, and we referred her to the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension Press.
Our entire two hours were filled with fruitful conversations, one after the other, as if the Lord had them lined up for us. As soon as one left, another appeared. Praise God for making hungry hearts for Him.