Boise

Country: United States
State or province: Idaho

Team Leader
Lucy Stamm
Contact

Admin
Login

Team Badges

Mixed Bag of Visitors - 2023-06-25

July 2, 2023

God sent many people to us again this session. So thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort.

A cartoon convention was going on in the hotel connected to “our” business park. So, many young passersby were dressed in identical, brightly colored costumes, many seemed to represent swashbuckling heroes and heroines, equipped with sword or axe.

One group of the convention goers stopped when one of the young women showed interest. Not Christian, she listened politely to the invitation to get to know Jesus through the meditations of the Rosary. E. Chuck handed her a “Do I Need a Savior?” pamphlet to go with the Rosary she selected. Her companions also chose a Rosary apiece.

Another group of identically clad young people stopped. One of them was Catholic, and they all chose Rosaries for themselves as well.

A man who lives at a homeless shelter stopped. ‘Roberto”, who prefers being called “Berto”, tried and rejected at least 4 Rosaries before he found one to his liking. He identified as simultaneously being a member of 3 different world religions, which teach incompatible understandings about God and salvation. E. Chuck got him to acknowledge that only Christ was pre-announced and was therefore the fulfillment of God’s plan for salvation. But Berto still insisted that his additions to the Gospel were correct. Pray that Christ, God Incarnate, becomes central to Berto’s otherwise confused faith.

A newly minted Catholic, “Jesús”, stopped by after Mass and was wondering if we had any other prayers he could pray, since he felt in a rut. We gave him a Divine Mercy card, a pamphlet of common Catholic prayers, and encouraged him to try praying the Scriptures in Lectio Divina style. Jesús told e. Chuck that he had once spent an hour and a half arguing with the hate-filled apocalyptic cult that sometimes stations itself a few blocks away, He was pleased that one of his arguments against their philosophy actually seemed to hit home with one of them. He also is a member of e. Todd’s men’s group, and talked with e. Lucy about joining us. Pray that Jesús can clearly hear God’s voice in his life.

“Justin” zoomed by more than once this week, each time shouting false insinuations about the Catholic Church. Both times, we were talking with other people. The first time, another passerby sniggered at the inuendo. The second time, four young women in costume were at the table selecting Rosaries. One girl was visibly disturbed by what he shouted, though she seemed to calm down upon seeing e. Chuck’s dismissive reaction. The other three, though, acted amused by the unwelcome outburst. “Justin” is continuing to align himself as an enemy of God and his Church; let us obey our Savior and pray for his salvation, and for the protection of our other visitors.

A husband and wife came to the table, the man saying he wanted a Rosary for his Catholic mother. He said he was “no longer Catholic” and attended a non-Catholic Christian church. He was full of Catholic jokes. E. Chuck shared how he had made the opposite journey, attracted to the Church’s authority, its rootedness in the New Testament, and the reality of the Eucharist, which is missing elsewhere. We challenged our visitor to pray the Rosary himself before giving it to his mother, if for no other reason than that it would please his mother. His wife, too, selected a Rosary for herself. We gave him a “Come Home” pamphlet. Pray for his conversion.

A young man broke away from a large group to talk to us. He is in town for a few weeks on a job. A non-Catholic Chrisitan unfamiliar with the Rosary, he seemed attracted to the challenge of it and its deep meditation on Christ. He also appreciated e. Chuck’s analogy that, like a workout in a gym, it could help him build spiritual muscles. Pray that his love for Christ grows ever deeper and wider.

“Logan” came up just as we were packing everything away. He wanted a Rosary, and asked what we were doing and what made Catholic worship different. He had never heard the word “Eucharist”, and asked us to sit down with him to explain while he rested from his long walk. So, after we finished putting everything away, we went and joined him for a few minutes at one of the picnic tables. He belonged to a non-Catholic Christian megachurch that taught against Catholicism, but said he was willing to learn when the Catholic Church herself taught and why. However, he didn’t really seem interested in talking about Catholicism. He told us of an earlier encounter he had in the park, and seemed poised to slide into a political rant. E. Lucy offered him a card for the local Catholic radio station and he snapped a picture of it, while e. Chuck recommended he tune in to a particular program he might find interesting. In turn, he gave us a card for an anti-Catholic internet personality. Pray that Logan’s heart stays focused on Christ and His work in the world.

Altogether, we gave away 25-ish Rosaries and its pamphlet, 2 Divine Mercy prayer cards, 1 map to area parishes, 1 “Come Home” pamphlet, and 1 “Do I Need a Savior?” pamphlet.

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

Whether they come across as positive, negative, or indifferent, we try to welcome everyone and encourage them to grow closer to Jesus Christ through the Rosary. 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 about whom you care!

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