Our team was present at the Chili Cook-Off for another consecutive year. This time, we were confronted by some of the worst weather in our team's history -- frigid temperatures and wind gusts! Despite our tent being blown over and a certain level of chaos for the items on our table, we had a joyful and fruitful outing.

A special thank you to Dan Weed, a parishioner of Immaculate Conception who is also involved in groups such as the Knights of Columbus. He joined us on behalf of the Cemetery Committee in case those services were of interest to people visiting our table. Despite intending to stay for one hour, he stayed for two, and ended up actively engaged in evangelizing visitors himself! In one conversation, a man came up to our table expressing his hostility towards organized religion. By the end of his conversation with Dan, he was vulnerably sharing about difficulties he's having in personal relationships! Dan was clearly a natural and a blessing to have, and we were grateful for his presence.

We also want to thank Zach Clark, who had his own table representing State Farm, and graciously bought some chili for our evangelists. A generous act that warmed hearts and bellies!

Please pray for the many people we encountered and spoke with. Please also pray for these specific intentions that were entrusted to us:
- "Pray for me, please. I am diabetic and need to get my blood pressure better. Thank you."
- "For Betty Schoff and the Gracen family."
- "Need prayers for me, Franck. For my family, especially my daughter Lynn. We need more presence of God in our life."
- "I need prayers for myself, Dariana. The devil tempts me and tells me things that are not true. I also need prayer for the people of Palestine."