Hi y'all,

Ernesto and I had another blessed day at the Jockey Lot in Anderson! Here is a report of all we met:

Ken is from Georgia and grew up Baptist. He engaged us for some time mainly expressing his indifference to denominations and a distaste to those who bash other Christians or say that others are going to Hell. We agreed that no authority other than God can condemn anyone to Hell. Ernesto challenged him by saying there is only one church that was founded by Christ, the Catholic Church and that we desire the unity of all Christians. He accepted a Good News pamphlet, but said he could search the internet to find out more about what Catholics believe.

David is a Jewish convert to Catholicism. He took a small metal picture of St. Jude and we shared our faith together. He talked about meeting Scott Hann and going to Steubenville. He was happy to see us out there. We then met Pete and Tracey who are from Georgia. Pete took a Miraculous Medal to give to his granddaughter who he says is in trouble now that she is in her 20s and in college in Atlanta. They are asking to pray for her, whose name is Katelyn.

Again many Hispanic families came by and took Rosaries and other materials. Amalia and Antonio Barcenas took a Miraculous Medal and a Rosary. A young college student took an English Bible. He said he is Hispanic but can't read Spanish too well. He is living in Greenwood and studying hospitality management. He grew up Catholic but hasn't been going to Mass. He was very interested in going again and took many different pamphlets, some medals and some Rosaries for family members. Another young Hispanic man, Carlos, also came by and took an English Bible and some other material.

We met Lee, an Asian lady with broken English who identified as Baptist. She asked us to tell her one Bible verse that proves the Catholic Church and another that proved the Baptist Church. Instead Ernesto explained that the Baptist denomination has only been around for a few hundred years, but the Catholic Church is the Church founded by Jesus which wrote half the Bible and composed it for us. Essentially the Bible is Catholic. She then asked us about Mary asserting that Jesus said no one goes to the Father but through Him. We of course agreed. Ernesto and I then explained that all the saints, Mary included, do nothing outside of Christ. That we cooperate in His work of intercession. Ernesto explained many Old Testament prefigurements of Mary like the Ark of the Covenant. She alluded to the fact that we are only vessels of God, like the temple, so I tried to explain that in the temple, which is holy, there are instruments that are considered more sacred than others, like the Ark. In the same way are Mary and the saints. Without God's grace indwelling we are nothing. We all agreed. She took a pamphlet on "What About Mary". We then met another Asian lady, Lynn who said she is Methodist. She took a Rosary and a "Good News" pamphlet.

Duane and Linda stopped by. Duane took a Miraculous Medal. Linda said they are not Catholic and I said they were welcome to become one. Linda said that she stays away from anything Catholic because we worship Mary. I simply said we don't, we worship God, and that was a very serious misunderstanding. She said, "Then why do y'all say 'Hail Mary'?" I said, "Because it's in the Bible. Read the Gospel of Luke when the angel Gabriel says to Mary 'Hail Mary, full of grace.' That's how he greeted her." She gave me a surprised look. She then said, "Well I don't agree that anyone should go to a priest to confess their sins, only to God." I said, "We go to God through the priest and believe God forgives our sins. However the Pharisees didn't want to believe that Christ could forgive sins because they thought He was only a man and not God. But Christ said to His apostles that He gave them the authority to forgive sins. The same authority that His Father gave Him. That's in the Bible too." I said there are a lot of misunderstandings about what Catholics believe and gave her three pamphlets (Common Objections, What About Mary, and Confession). She said she would definitely read them.

Peace,

Caleb