Ahead of Easter, our team set up a table to evangelize at a local parish's annual Easter event for young families. It was our first time going out to this event, and the pastor and parish staff were happy to see us there as we encouraged not only the practicing Catholics that were there, but also those families who have not be receiving the life-giving sacraments regularly. First we have a report from Station Leader, Angela:

"We set up at an Easter egg hunt at a nearby parish. We were told to expect that most of the people we encountered would be families with kids in CCD/Religious Education, but who didn't necessarily attend Mass regularly. The group that was most attentive to us were the middle school volunteer helpers. Many wanted rosaries or medals, and we even gave away 4 YouCats. We gave several books to parents who were interested in learning more about their faith, but the one that stands out most was a father of two. He said he wasn't Catholic, but was there at the personal invitation of a parish employee. I asked if he would be interested in a book about the Catholic faith and he asked me for a recommendation. As usual, I handed him Trent Horn's "Why We're Catholic", which he took along with a copy of the Reasons to be Catholic pamphlet. He allowed his children to take rosaries. Please say a prayer that this man and his family may come home to the Catholic church!"

We also gave away a couple more "Why We're Catholic" books to others, including to a young mother who already was strong in her faith, but wanted to go deeper. As Team Captain, I had a few positive interactions as well.

One mother came up with her two young children, who asked her if they could have a Rosary. They picked the colors they wanted and I asked if they knew how to pray the Rosary. The mother said I did, and I encouraged her to take some information home to sign up though the parish's Formed.org subscription so her and her kids could continue streaming good and wholesome content there. A bit later a teen preparing for confirmation came up, who was there with his older sister. He kept coming back, looking through our various items, and had a lengthy conversation at one point with our other Station Leader, Mary Beth. He gladly took a St. Benedict medal. Towards the end, he was talking with me, and told me his confirmation saint for his reception of the sacrament next week was Augustine. We prayed together for St. Augustine's intercession, and I gave him a "Praying to the Saints" pamphlet so he could always remember how important the intercession of the saints before God's throne is... especially St. Augustine's! I also gave him and his older sister books; a YouCat for him and "Why We're Catholic" for his sister, which she gladly took. Before he left, I could see the young man reading through it already! We also prayed with his sister, who is on fire for the faith and prayed for all the young people at the parish, and that they might persevere in faith.

Two other teen helpers came up to the table, and I found out they are also preparing for Confirmation. As they were not familiar with what a catechism is, I told them that just like Sacred Scripture passes on the truths of our faith, so does Sacred Tradition. But we need a way of interpreting these revelations, and that is the teaching authority of the Church, the Magisterium. I told the two young ladies that the YouCat is a version of the Catechism specifically made for teens, and that it would help them as they prepare for Confirmation and beyond. They gladly took those with them. We had brief conversations with many others and gave away several rosaries and medals, too.

We look forward to going to more events here, but in the meantime, please keep praying for all those we encountered!