Here is an update from our 3rd Saint Paul Street Evangelization (SPSE) outing to the Anderson Jockey Lot on July 9th, 2023.

Ernesto and I again set up from 8 am to noon at an open table. We struggled with a shade canopy for a little while and gave up, enduring the sun for the rest of the time. I have a better pop up canopy but opted out this time to try a new one - didn't work. Thankfully we both had good hats and cold water. More importantly we both got to work on our tan line a bit. I also brought my puppy Huan, a 7 month old all white and fluffy very well behaved Great Pyrenees, who hung out under the shady side of the table (much smarter than us). His smug cuteness certainly attracted a lot of people our way.

We encountered more native Spanish speakers than on previous outings. Thank you all who have donated so far! I was able to purchase 100 of the Spanish version of the Catholic Answers "Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth" ("Columna de Fuego, Columna de Verdad") booklet which gives a brilliant defence of the Catholic Church, the need for salvation and how to join. I also have hundreds of Spanish pamphlets ordered from SPSE and will soon order Spanish Catholic Bibles. Thanks to a gracious donor I may also be able to order a back wall for my canopy so that we can hang pictures of our Lady of Gaudalupe or other icons.

Here is the run down of who we met today:

Rena, a Hispanic lady who took a Rosary, the pamphlet "Como Rezar el Rosario", and the Catholic Answers booklet "Columna de Fuego, Columna de Verda". Then a Mexican gentleman took a Rosary, a "Como Rezar el Rosario" pamphlet. He said he is Catholic and in Mexico was the grounds keeper of a church named Our Lady of Carmen (or Carmel).

Angie and Greg graciously received a Rosary and a "How to Pray the Rosary" pamphlet. We explained that the Rosary is a Gospel centered meditation and petition to heaven. They are both Christians from Pelzer, SC. We asked if they needed any prayer. Angie asked us to pray for them as they have her elderly mother moving in with them tomorrow and will be caring for her with Hospice. Both her father and mother were recently hospitalized and her father passed away very recently. We prayed together right there. Both were very thankful.

Soon after a hispanic man took a Rosary, a "Como Rezar el Rosario" and a "Las Buenas Noticias" pamphlet. Right after him a hispanic woman came over and took a Rosary and a "Como Rezar el Rosario" pamphlet. She told us her mother is Catholic and she is as well, but doesn't really know how to pray the Rosary.

We then met Harry Smith who told us his father was a well traveled missionary, evangelist, and pastor in Greenville for the Wesleyan church. Ernesto explained to him the need for Christians to come together in these difficult times and that Christ never intended the disunity that we see today amongst us. Harry told us he was always fascinated by the Catholic Church, acknowledging that the Catholic Church always stood firm on the Truth and the Bible without changing. I confirmed to him that we believe Jesus revealed all we need to know for our salvation once and gave it to the apostles to hand down, reminding him of the verse that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8). He graciously received the Catholic Answers booklet "Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth".

Another hispanic gentleman took a St. Jude medal and we offered the "Columna de Fuego, Columna de Verda" booklet which he took. We then met Hernandez and Elvia Cruz who took a Rosary and a "Como Rezar el Rosario" pamphlet. They may have not been practicing so Ernesto encouraged them in the need to draw closer to God again because of all the problems facing our world.

I went away for a brief moment and when I came back a hispanic man with two fellows of his were having a heated conversation with Ernesto. Apparently the man, who was from Mexico, had studied to become a Catholic priest in seminary for six years and dropped out, converting to evangelicalism. He was telling Ernesto that what the Catholic Church taught was all lies. Ernesto said the man would not give him much time to respond to any of his arguments like that he believed the Rosary was falsely invented, that prayer should only come from the heart, and not by way of the Rosary. He also said things like the idea of clerical celibacy was invented by a pagan queen who allowed her subjects to have sex but not to marry. Ernesto tried to tell him the Church in One, founded by Christ himself. The man asked him where, and asserted the Church was not founded in Rome, but in Jerusalem and walked off.

We then talked with Clara who took a Rosary and a "How to Pray the Rosary" pamphlet. I explained the Rosary as being a meditation on the Gospel which is the power to save for all who believe. She is a Christian and I invited her to join the Catholic Church explaining that Jesus never intended the division and multiple denominations. She left while taking the final word saying she believed it didn't matter what you believed as long as you believed.

We met Alejandra and Julio who go to Our Lady of Lourdes in Greenwood, SC. They were excited to see us there and took a 3 Minute Catechism (3MC) DVD. Then a lady from Mexico graciously took a Rosary, a "Como Rezar el Rosario" pamphlet, a "Las Buenas Noticias" pamphlet, a "La Confesion: Con Acto de Contrición" pamphlet, and a 3MC DVD. A woman named Bonnie then came by, took a Rosary and a "How to Pray the Rosary" pamphlet after I explained we were there to share our Catholic Faith and the Gospel.

Daniel Jimenez Ramirez and Maria Candelaria Trejo stopped by the table. Daniel took a Rosary, a "Como Rezar el Rosario" pamphlet, and a "Columna de Fuego, Columna de Verda" booklet. He spoke to Ernesto for sometime explaining about how he grew up Catholic, and still is but doesn't go to Mass very often. He believed it is very important for people to pray and was taught how to pray in the morning and evening as a child. Ernesto encouraged him to draw closer to God as God wants to be closer to him. We then met Dolores from California who was here to visit her mother. She took a Rosary and a "Como Rezar el Rosario" pamphlet. She said she knows the basics of how to pray the Rosary but wanted something more in depth for which the pamphlet sufficed.

Peace,

Caleb