Our first outing was a doggone success!

Created: Sep 2, 2024

In the New River Valley, Protestantism and relativism dominate discussions of spirituality, while Catholicism timidly whispers Truth in the humble one-parish towns. Our three-person group had mild expectations of success evangelizing where Virginia Tech meets Main St. in Blacksburg, VA. We were pleasantly surprised to hand out about 40 rosaries and 20 miraculous medals in the 2.5 hours we were out and about!

Our evangelization started in Christiansburg, before we even arrived at site. We gave $30 and 5 miraculous medals to a Hispanic family asking for donations near a Food Lion, and had a brief conversation in Spanish. In Blacksburg, after a quick prayer in the parking garage, we walked a few blocks and set up on a popular street corner.

Our first 30 minutes were rather slow, and we were also learning how to evangelize to the demographic: 90% of people were young adults, and most were in a hurry. 5:00-6:30pm went by in a blur. I was surprised to learn that "no one wants prayers" -- a fellow evangelist helped me realize "Do you need any prayers in your life?" was not an effective solicitation! We learned the value and importance of offering a free rosary, and rarely had opportunities to befriend and pray in depth. Luckily, we had some print-outs that invite students to the campus Newman Center, so between the attractiveness of Our Lady's rosary and an easy method to invite others, we trust the Holy Spirit worked -- and will continue to work -- in their lives.

We had two especially notable encounters. First, we met JB and his dog Kali. He placed his rosary around Kali's neck, and she walked around for about 20 minutes while we chatted! It was awesome to see one of God's creatures help us evangelize.

Our second encounter was with Brian. Brian was working at a fast food restaurant on the street corner. Right before we packed up to leave, he came out and asked us what we were doing, and expressed interest in becoming a baptized Christian. He plans to attend a local RCIA class, and we'll be helping him on his journey. God is Good!