Boise

Country: United States
State or province: Idaho

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Lucy Stamm
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Remaining Approachable - 2023-07-09

July 16, 2023

More visitors than typical approached us without our having to ask. So thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort.

As we were setting up, a man named “Mike” came to the table, unbidden. He wanted to talk about the Bible and Christ and the truths revealed in them. However, he was trying to look at it all from, as he said, “a secular viewpoint”, and so thought that Jesus was “just a man” with ideas that were honorable and could help us make good choices in life. The religion part he had a hard time “wrapping his mind around.” Keying off his various comments, e. Chuck said that Christ’s words, actions and sacrifice were meaningless if he was “just a man” and not God. He also pointed out that sacrifice was not “giving up stuff you don’t need”, but “giving up self for the sake of others”, and that religion was not just ideas but a relationship with God akin to marriage. We encouraged Mike to start his Rosary prayers by asking God to show him what a relationship with Him looks like. Pray that Mike meets his Lord and Savior.

A trade show for gamers was going on in the convention center. Many tattooed people, dressed in black, attended. Some of them stopped at our table. One woman, so dressed, stopped for a Rosary, claiming she “knew all about it.” The thin man with her, though, hung back until specifically invited to choose one for himself. Then he gladly stepped forward. He asked where the Catholic churches are in the area. E. Lucy went to get them each a map, but found we had brought only one with us. The woman, therefore, snapped a picture of it with her phone and gave the paper copy to the man. They both went away happy. Lord, bring them home to Your Church!

A group of 3-4 women stopped when one wanted a Rosary. As she made her selection, e. Lucy invited the woman next to her to choose whichever Rosary she liked. She politely declined because, she said, she was Jewish. “So is Jesus!” exclaimed the evangelist. “I know”, said the woman. But still she declined receiving anything from us.

A 30-something, professional-looking couple stopped when the man wanted a Rosary. As e. Lucy explained the devotion, though, he grew more and more uneasy. Finally, he returned the pamphlets (Good News, Do I Need a Savior?, How to Pray the Rosary) and said he would come back by after they’d had lunch. We didn’t see them again before we closed for the day.

No sign this week of the “Justin” who has so often heckled us. However, another man (e. Chuck was sure it was a different man) rode by and quietly hailed the enemy of his soul. Lord, please save “Justin” and all those whom he influences.

A 20-something woman came to the table, pushing a bicycle. She used to belong to a liturgical non-Catholic Christian church, she said. But she and her whole family had walked away when they rejected her sister, who had grown unsure about whether God had made her female. E. Chuck gently proclaimed that our identity, first and foremost, is that we are a child of God, that all other identities are temporary, and that only our relationship with God is eternal. We encouraged her to reconnect with the God Who died for her so that she might have eternal life, and to make that her priority, seeking Him in the mysteries of the Rosary. Pray that her eyes are opened to what is truly important in life, and that He frees all those caught in webs of deception.

A group of 20-something men stopped to get a Rosary apiece. One of them, a Christian named “Justin”, told e. Chuck about growing up with a mentally challenged, single-parent mom. He had deeply longed to meet his father, if even for 5 minutes. Such was his constant prayer as a child. Then, one day he attended a church and was delighted to find out that God is his true Father. He has clung to that truth ever since. He asked us what the Rosary was all about, and listened as we explained the how’s and why’s of the prayer. He asked follow-up questions but seemed skeptical, and when asked why, he shrugged it off. Give thanks for this Justin’s faith and pray he hears Christ say, “Behold, your mother.”

A man in his early 30s stopped for a Rosary. Shirtless, he sported a black cross hanging about his neck. He told us he wished he’d met us a day earlier because he had just bought his necklace. We explained that the Rosary is not a necklace, but a powerful means of prayer. After selecting his Rosary, he also asked for a Divine Mercy prayer card. Pray that his faith deepens and grows.

A man who smelled strongly of stale alcohol came up and gave a handful of money our then visitor, who had just finished choosing a Rosary for himself. Our visitor then gave that Rosary to the recently arrived man, who proceeded to switch his Rosary choice at least twice more before deciding on the original Rosary offered by his friend. Eventually, both men went away armed with Rosary and pamphlet, and the encouragement to pray it every day.

A mom accompanied by eight children, ranging in age from about 4 to teens, had been sitting at a nearby picnic table as we gave away Rosaries. Finally, she went by, saying that we could probably guess by the size of their family that they were Catholic. They already each had a Rosary, she said, but she thanked us for being there. Then one of the youngest saw the brightly colored Rosaries and wanted one. The mom relented and the children ended up choosing two new Rosaries to share among themselves. We encouraged them to continue their habit of praying the Rosary together every day. Lord, protect them and help them grow in Faith!

An older couple went by, the woman leading a very old, very tiny dog. E. Chuck recognized them from some time ago when the woman had angrily shouted her hatred of religion at us with her husband pulling her away, embarrassed. Today, she didn’t say anything mean. Lord, draw her into Your healing presence!

Former evangelist e. Nick stopped to visit for a few minutes, introducing his 13-month-old daughter. Nick and his wife were running a booth at the trade show. At the same time, though, person after person approached the table uninvited, and we got busy setting them up with Rosaries, and so didn’t actually get to visit with e. Nick. May God continue to bless and protect his family!

Two men stopped when one of them wanted a Rosary. He had grown up Catholic, he said. (Now though, he seemed to have a lifestyle issue keeping him from full Communion within the Church. But the Rosary still draws people, doesn’t it?) After he had chosen a Rosary and was leaving, he called that he was going to take it to his church to get a blessing. “It’s already blessed,” e. Lucy called back. He was very happy to hear that and hugged the Rosary. E. Lucy mused that the man had retained the very “Catholic” impulse to get important religious items blessed before using them. Lord, bring him home and heal him!

A Catholic woman selected a Rosary and told us her brother had gotten one from us some time ago. Pray for all Catholics that their prayer life grows deep and wide.

The two evangelists gave away 20 or so Rosaries (including all of our remaining green and tan ones and at least 12 black ones) and its pamphlet, as well as a Divine Mercy prayer card, and a map to area parishes.

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.

By the grace of God, we try to maintain a friendly peaceable presence. 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).