Hi everyone, this is Nick, the team captain for our Joliet area team. Once again, our Joliet Team found ourselves out at Downers Grove Fest. For the second year in a row, the Knights of Columbus assisted us in getting a booth not just for one day, but for all three major days of the festival! Although I could only stay a short time this year, my young son was able to untangle some rosaries and pass those out to other children, and also connect some chains and medals for passerby. I engaged in a few conversations, as one of our evangelists was in front of the booth, and I was behind. After they spoked with pour person in front, they came to me, where I prayed with a few people. One of them was a nurse preparing for her exam. We prayed together that all would go well. She was very thankful for us being there, and said she was a practicing Catholic to our other evangelist. It was great encouraging her!

Below is the report from our Station Leader, Rachel, who was the main organizer for the weekend's events at our booth:

The two most powerful encounters that I can't stop thinking about were actually with toddlers. One little girl was drawn to look at the picture of Mary on our sandwich board. Later that same day, a little boy (maybe 2 or not even) was passing by with his mom and wanted to stop to look at the picture of Jesus on our sandwich board. She pulled him a few feet away, and he shrieked loudly and ran back to look at Jesus for a few more seconds before continuing on. Both of these moments were very brief, but I was touched by how our sandwich board was bringing truth at the eye level of even the smallest visitors.

While we don't get into deep conversations with unaccompanied minors, that's who makes up the bulk of our visitors at GroveFest, including many not even in their teens yet. Many of these were drawn to the Holy Face of Jesus, which we paired with the "O Come Let Us Adore Him" Eucharist cards that briefly share the kerygma and invite visitors to try out Eucharistic adoration. One boy, maybe 12 or 13, very sincerely asked for a Bible. I saw many other children who were with their families look interested in what we were offering, even though their parents kept walking.

On Sunday, one girl around 8 or 9 stopped by with her mom. Unprompted, the girl asked, "Mom, why didn't we go to Mass today?" Mom said they would be going later. Pray for all of these children whose hearts are so open to their creator, even if they hardly know him intellectually.

I talked on Friday to a young man named Gregory, who is sure he wants to be Catholic and prepare for baptism. I gave him a flier for our adult initiation process and will be following up with him. I also talked on Sunday with a young man named Ben, who is new to the area and hasn't connected with any particular Christian community yet. He also wants to be baptized and said he knew that he had to work on putting off the old self and putting on the new (Ephesians 4:22-24). He had attended an evangelical service that morning and wanted to know what was different about the Catholic Church. I talked about the fullness of union with Christ the Bridegroom, and I gave him an adult initiation flier and invited him to check out 5 pm Sunday Mass just a few blocks up the road.

We had a few tough encounters early on. One older woman was very drawn to the rosaries we offered. She said she had been a parishioner at a local Catholic parish, but that they didn't want her when she "came out." She's part of a mainline Protestant community now, but she said she missed the Rosary and other aspects of the Catholic faith very much. It's so hard to know how to respond to someone who is really hurting. I told her all it takes is one good confession to come back. She just shook her head sorrowfully, but she took a rosary. May our Mother Mary help show her the way to healing found in Christ the Bridegroom.

Another woman was not happy that our Bibles didn't include the Book of Enoch — she said we needed that information regarding fallen angels and evil spirits. She also referred to the Rosary as idol-worship and said the Bible (presumably with the Book of Enoch included) has all we need. I explained that many people throughout history were not able to read or access a Bible. Even today, many people struggle with reading due to ADHD or other learning difficulties, and in some parts of the world people can be killed for having a Bible. I explained that we encourage Scripture reading for those who are able to, but the Catholic Church is inclusive of people who can't read or access the Bible but still need to know about Jesus. She seemed to at least consider some of what I said.

Pray for all of these precious souls.