Boise

Country: United States
State or province: Idaho

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Lucy Stamm
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Connections, Old and New - 2023-02-19

February 26, 2023

We wish everyone to recognize and trust Jesus Christ. So thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort.

A heavyset man in a wheelchair stopped for a Rosary. He couldn't see well enough to tell what colors we had, so e. Lucy helped him make his choice. He got one for each of his two caregivers, but said he already had one of his own hanging on his refrigerator and preferred to use that one. He accepted pamphlets for the caregivers and e. Lucy's encouragement to have them teach him the prayers and then to pray it daily.

One of my daughter’s high school youth ministers (now with gray hair) stopped, glad to see us still out there after so many years. He was accompanied by his wife and 2 children. E. Lucy described how her family's bedtime routine of praying the Rosary together (only 5 decades, about 15 minutes) was one of her favorite childhood memories. The two boys each chose a Rosary and the parents seemed interested in trying to establish the nightly Rosary routine in their home.

An extended family stopped. About six of them, children and adults, chose a Rosary apiece. Several of them preferred the Rosary pamphlet in Spanish, which we were glad to be able to give.

Another gymnastics tournament was being held in the sports arena. A father and one of the child gymnasts stopped for a Rosary. He was proud of his daughter's latest 5-medal winning streak. They explained that this was a higher level of competition than the tournament a few weeks ago.

A man stopped for a Rosary, happy to say that he was Catholic. When asked what parish he attended, he sheepishly admitted that he hadn't connected with a local one yet. (He claimed to be from another country, but had no accent. But maybe he just has a good ear for dialects.) We gave him a copy of our map to area parishes and helped him identify the one closest to his neighborhood.

Another couple stopped, also not connected with a local parish. They also received a copy of the map, as well as a Rosary and the booklet on how to pray it.

“Doug”, a homeless man, walked by the table declining the free Rosary by saying he was “just a Christian”. But then he started back toward us, and e. Chuck went to meet him. Doug apologized and said he wasn't rejecting us as Catholics, he just wanted us to know that he wasn't Catholic. E. Chuck showed him how the Rosary is focused on Christ, that the reality of the Church has been seen throughout history, and that she is made up of the Saints in heaven as well as us now striving to be saints. Doug shared his struggles as well as the prayers that God has answered for him: that he is sober, is in recovery, and has just landed a job. Still hesitant to take a Rosary, he mentioned that he had lost his wallet in which he’d had a little medal with Mary on it. E. Chuck guessed it was a “Miraculous Medal”, so called e. Lucy over to give a brief description of its history. She did so and gave him one of the medals (which he recognized as the same as his lost one) . Doug then asked e. Chuck if he should take a Rosary, and the evangelist said he should since the prayer could draw him closer to Christ. We let him know we were there every week at the same time. Pray for perseverance for Doug and for his continued trust in Jesus.

To avoid diesel fumes from the boom-lift hanging banners at the sports arena, we set up across the circle near its north entrance. There is no shelter there, but God granted us pleasant weather during the session!

Altogether, the two evangelists gave away another 25-30 Rosaries, 2 maps, and 1 Miraculous Medal.

Please pray for us again today? Ask God to prepare people’s hearts so they perceive their need for Our Savior Jesus Christ and His Holy Catholic Church, and that much good fruit for His Kingdom comes of today’s efforts.

God wants salvation for all human beings (cf. Ezek 33:11) and so do we. So thank you again for your prayers and other support for this apostolate. In turn, may God protect and greatly bless you and all those you love!

"Go with the strength you have“ (Judg 6:14).