Boise

Country: United States
State or province: Idaho

Team Leader
Lucy Stamm
Contact

Admin
Login

Team Badges

Visitors Old and New - 2023-05-14

May 21, 2023

Building relationships is an important component of evangelization, as is introducing Jesus Christ, and encouraging people to get to know Him. So thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort.

“Walt”, a formerly homeless man and frequent visitor, made a special trip over the extra block just to visit us. We hadn’t seen him for a year-and-a-half. Right before Thanksgiving, 2021, he finally got off the streets and into government-subsidized housing. He looked great. He’d gained enough weight to look healthy and was no longer bent over, giving him an extra 8 inches of height. He asked for prayers for “Estella”, his estranged daughter, and for “Kenny”, who is nearly 30 but suddenly no longer sure of his gender.

“John”, the retired parking lot attendant, came by on a bicycle, bringing his dog. Give God thanks for John’s improved back health. Please also continue to pray for his wife, “Linda”, that she recovers from her shoulder-replacement surgery and is granted the willingness and ability to follow her doctor’s advice.

The man from the deep South stopped by again. He spoke admiringly of his relatives who remained devoutly Catholic despite overt discrimination in that part of the country.

“Uwe” passed by twice, again only mentioning the weather. Please continue to ask God to grant him the gift of Faith.

The man who hails the enemy of his soul again blurted out his mistaken loyalty when we offered him a Rosary. Please continue to pray that his eyes are opened to the Truth and that he changes his ways long before it’s too late.

Two different same-sex couples passed by, of opposite gender. We offered them each a Rosary, pretending we didn’t notice them holding hands. None of them accepted.

A woman angrily responded to our offer of a free Rosary by saying she identified as someone who has no need for God or religion. May she, too, find healing and Truth.

An athletic game had been relocated to Boise after its previous venue’s city suffered a lockdown of all public events. The game here was expected to start about an hour after we finished. Crowds were beginning to gather.

A young couple waiting for the game came to the table, he said he was a Christian and thinking he should get active in his faith again. Although he was not raised Catholic, he said his grandmother is a “super Catholic”. The woman said her parents had never taught her anything about God. Neither knew anything about the Rosary but were curious. So we explained the Christ-centeredness of the prayer and how the Mysteries show us who God is and how much he loves us. The man started asking about where he could go to a Catholic church, so we gave them a map to area parishes. We also encouraged them to pray the Rosary together. Pray they allow the Holy Spirit to take root in their lives.

A man kindly declined a Rosary, indicating that he was not Catholic. Still, he shook e. Chuck’s hand and thanked the team for “being out here and doing this.” Pray for an increase in evangelization in Boise, in Idaho, in America, and in the world.

A young Frenchman with very little English, who is traveling in America for a few months, wanted a Rosary. Though he knew the prayer in French, he took the pamphlet in hopes it would help his English. He seemed to be trying to ask why we were giving away Rosaries but it was hard to tell whether he understood the answer. Finally, he took out his phone so it would translate what he had been trying to say: “The greatest adventure is found in Jesus Christ.” On that we could agree! Later, he stopped at the table again because he wanted a Divine Mercy card. He was also curious about our “Come Home” pamphlet. When he saw the list of area parishes on the back, he took one. Pray for his safe travels and for his deepening relationship with God.

Lots of people were out on this Mother’s Day. The evangelists gave away 20-25 Rosaries and its pamphlet, as well as a map to area parishes, a Divine Mercy prayer card, and a “Come Home” pamphlet.

Please pray for us again today? Ask God to send people to us with their hearts prepared to 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.

Although we may see no immediate fruit, our efforts continue. 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).