My brother in Christ Terry and I had our first St. Paul Street Evangelization outing at the Huntington Beach Pier Plaza. Our Lord gave us a beautiful sunny and breezy day to share our love of Christ with the many people visiting Huntington Beach. In total, we handed out well over 150 Rosaries, Miraculous Medals, and crosses. More importantly, we had meaningful conversations with over 20 people from many different faith backgrounds. We met people from Brazil and Canada, as well as people from all over the United States. Here are a few of our more memorable encounters.

We met Robert, Kayla, and Lola, who were living at a local sober living house. When we first encountered them, they told us they were Protestant but were very interested in the Rosaries. Each of them took one, and we gave them literature explaining how to pray the Rosary as well as information about the Catholic faith. We also gave them information about local Catholic churches if they wanted to attend Mass. While Terry was talking with Kayla and Lola, I had a good conversation with Robert. He opened up about some of his struggles and the time he had spent in jail. He also told me that he felt like he was in a spiritual battle. I asked Robert if he would like me to pray with him, and he said yes. I prayed with him, asking the Holy Spirit to protect him, strengthen him, and give him peace.

We also had a wonderful conversation with Lucille, a local Catholic. She thanked us for being out there publicly professing our faith and was very interested in SPSE. We explained what street evangelization is and how the SPSE approach works. She expressed an interest in becoming involved, so we directed her to the SPSE website. I also told her about the upcoming evangelization training at our parish, and she said she would like to attend.

The Holy Spirit seemed to save one of our best encounters for last. Terry and I met two gentlemen, and while Terry spoke with one of them, I began a conversation with Jesse. Jesse had many good questions about Christianity and Catholicism in particular. He was especially interested in the sacraments, so we spent quite a bit of time discussing them. Jesse explained that he had been baptized Lutheran but felt strongly drawn toward the Catholic faith. He had studied Church history and already had a very good understanding of Catholicism.

As our conversation continued, I felt a gentle prompting from the Holy Spirit that Jesse might be ready for something more than simply having his questions answered. I told him where our parish was and that I usher at the 11:15 Mass. Then I told him, "When you are ready to come into the Church, come and find me, and I will walk that journey with you." I don't know where the Holy Spirit will take Jesse from here, but I pray that our conversation planted another seed and that someday I will see him walk through those church doors.

All in all, Terry and I had a tremendous first outing. We distributed many sacramentals, had some wonderful conversations, prayed with people, invited people to Mass, and hopefully planted many seeds for the Holy Spirit to cultivate. What struck both of us most was how present the Holy Spirit seemed throughout the day. We went out simply willing to serve, and God continually placed people in front of us.

Terry and I left the Pier Plaza grateful, humbled, and honestly a little in awe of what the Holy Spirit had done through such a simple act of saying yes. We were very happy to finally get our first outing under our belts, and we are already looking forward to getting back out there and seeing where the Holy Spirit leads us next.