Boise

Country: United States
State or province: Idaho

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Lucy Stamm
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A World of Hurt - 2024-04-21

April 28, 2024

Suffering affects us all. So, thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort.

“Marty” put in an appearance, and “Uwe” walked quickly past twice. “Stephen” said something I didn’t hear, though his tone seemed to have returned to snarky. Somewhat later in the session, his coworker hurried by, greeting us cheerfully. Please keep all the “regulars” in your prayers: Stephen, his Catholic co-worker, Marty, Uwe, and the homeless man with a walker, that they may hear Christ knocking and open the door.

A Catholic couple from the other side of the country were passing through on their way to visit a daughter. They felt encouraged by seeing us out there.

A dad brought his preschool daughter over for a free Rosary. I’m not sure whether they were even Christian. E. Lucy tried to explain the devotion to the girl, but suddenly realized she was talking way over the child’s head. E. Chuck talked with the dad.

A group of three homeless people stopped. One of the men was Catholic and said he already had a Rosary. The woman chose one, but didn’t seem to understand the explanation. She also exuded that pickled smell of stale alcohol. She soon wandered off, and e. Lucy tried to encourage the man to teach her the Rosary. He replied, “You saw how she is. She can’t learn anything.” E. Chuck talked with the other man. As they left, one evangelist remarked to the other, “There go three souls in a great deal of pain!” Lord, have mercy.

A man stopped. He had “grown up Catholic” but had, like all his siblings, “went off and found Christ in other places”. He picked out a Rosary to wear. but declined its pamphlet saying, “Look what I’ve got on. Who am I kidding?” and went on his way. What he “had on” were a couple of bags slung over his shoulder, so we guessed that he was living on the street. Pray for him and all who have strayed, are lost. and are tempted to give up, that they will find hope in the voice of the Good Shepherd.

A woman said she had her deceased mother’s Rosary, but that it was too delicate to pray with. So, she picked out a sturdy string Rosary and accepted its pamphlet with a, “Yes, I’m going to need that.” May her fond memories of her natural mother lead her to a closer relationship with Our Savior through our Spiritual Mother that He gave us.

Our last visitor was a tall, heavyset homeless man. His non-stop conversation seemed coherent at first, but it soon became apparent that he was simply stringing random thoughts together. He talked about such things as “the Hebrew New Testament”, and quickly moved from topic to topic. One thing that did make sense was when he said he “imbibed quite a bit”. Besides a Rosary, he asked for a Divine Mercy prayer card and a copy of our “Do I Need a Savior?” pamphlet (because it was printed on orange paper). Then he opened the pamphlet to a random page and started reading words that weren’t there. Please pray that he, and all who suffer from mental illness, may find peace and healing in the Lord.

We accidentally brought only half the usual number of Rosary pamphlets with us. “Coincidentally”, we also had only half the usual number of visitors. God is good!

Although the weather was dry and sunny, there was not a skateboard in sight and foot traffic was unusually light. Still, we were able to give away 12-15 Rosaries and its pamphlet, as well as a “Do I Need a Savior?” pamphlet, and a Divine Mercy prayer card.

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 from today’s efforts.

Christ redeemed our fallen world, and the end will be worth the wait. Meanwhile, may we do God’s will and offer hope, courage, and kindness to our brothers and sisters in pain. And, thank you again for your prayers and other support for this apostolate. May God protect and greatly bless you and all those you love!

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