Owatonna

Country: United States
State or province: Minnesota

Team Leader
Deb McManimon
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April 30

June 8, 2024

We had another beautiful day weather-wise as we got ready to go out and evangelize. As we were waiting for our team to arrive, a couple was walking slowly by where we were setting up. I asked if they would like a free blessed medal and they came over to our wagon and picked two out. They were from Florida and were there for follow-up for the husband’s cancer that had been in remission for 5 years. We told them about the mass at the Co-Cathedral and they said they loved to attend when they were in town for appointments. They shared their story about meeting and how she felt God had put them together. We prayed for them and prayed for clean scans and good outcomes for his appointments.

After we lifted up our outing in prayer, we walked over to the Peace Plaza and set up a prayer station on each side of the plaza. We offered blessed medals and rosaries and began to have people stop to talk and for prayer. One family asked for protection from the devil. When we spoke with them, they mentioned that the parents were from Iceland. One of our team members told them that he had just seen the Bishop from Reykjavík, Iceland at our Bishop’s dinner, and they were very surprised. They now live in Chippewa Falls. The parents are not Catholic, but the mother has a good friend that is 80 years old. Her mother’s next-door neighbor and another woman have been talking to the mother about Jesus, and she is so excited. They pray the Divine Mercy chaplet together and she can't wait to get back to Chippewa Falls to talk to her about our encounter in the Peace Plaza.

We also met and prayed with a man who shared that he was a former alcoholic. He told our team that he had been sober for 18 months and they all praised God for that. He said he knew that meeting our team in the plaza was a divine appointment. One of our team members invited him to the Lumen Christi meeting that was going to be that evening. He was so happy and excited that we were in Peace Plaza to talk to him this morning about God.

A Mayo worker stopped to talk to us. She walked by three times before she stopped and asked for prayers for her children. She said she married a Catholic, but she herself was not really Catholic. We talked to her about the reasons we are Catholic and prayed for her and her family’s needs.

Another mother stopped to talk to us. She and her two children are from Rochester and do not go to church. Her grandmother used to go to the Church of the Resurrection. We talked to her about coming back and she sounded like she was going to stop by and talk with Father or the staff in the office and see about coming back and joining Resurrection.

A man and his wife stopped by for a medal and prayer. We didn’t have a medal for his first name, but his middle name was Anthony, so we were able to give him a blessed St. Anthony medal and holy card. He and his wife have been coming to Rochester after he was diagnosed with cancer 5 years ago. He started with one type of cancer and has been treated and healed from several different cancers over the past 5 years. They are from northern Minnesota, and he had previously been in law enforcement and EMT service. He had just retired, and they had lots of plans for retirement. Unfortunately, within a few months of retiring, he found out he had cancer and has been dealing with it since. The cancer he has now is treatable, but not curable. We prayed for them both.

A worker saw our medals and stopped by to ask for one. He only spoke Spanish, so he had a translator app open on his phone so he could understand what I was saying and then he would speak into the translator and show me what he said in English. We were able to communicate that way and I prayed for him and gave him a medal and rosary. Shortly after that, he brought over his co-worker, who also spoke little English. Luckily, one of our team members could speak a little and we offered prayers for thanksgiving for his job and his family. He told us that he attended St. Francis in Rochester. He took medals and two rosaries for his children.

Another Mayo worker stopped by. She was from Pine Island and shared with us about her interest in Sister Clare Crockett, a missionary nun from Ireland who died in an earthquake in Ecuador. She asked for prayers for her family and for her husband’s conversion. We encouraged her to share the Word on Fire site and Bishop Barron’s talks and homilies with her husband.

Our team talked to another woman who stopped for a medal and for prayers. She wanted us to pray for her family and her return to the church. She told us that COVID was her excuse to stop going to church. She said she needed to stop making excuses, and during the prayer, she asked for the Holy Spirit to bring her back home to the Church.

One of our team members spoke for a while with a rancher who wanted prayers for heart and lung recovery so that he would be able to work at his ranch. He had gone in for surgery and the doctors accidentally hit an artery, which caused him to be hospitalized for 45 days. He has had ongoing treatment but is still very weak and gets out of breath quickly, which makes it very hard for him to even saddle his horse, much less do all the other work he needs to do to keep his ranch going. He was grateful for our prayer.

A woman and her son stopped by for a medal and prayer. She was originally from Oklahoma but now lives in Austin. We talked with her for a while and prayed for her needs and the needs of her son. One person stopped and asked for prayers for good test results. Another person asked for prayers for someone who was in the hospital and also for her family. One woman asked for prayers for her day and for her appointments. Another asked for prayers for her family and friends and for anxiety and depression. Another person wanted prayers for her left knee.

One lady saw our "Need Prayer" sign and asked if we could pray for her. Before we prayed, she looked over our medals and picked out a miraculous medal. When she told us her name, I showed her the St. Therese of Lisieux medal and she said she loved St. Therese, so she took that one also. She asked for prayers for healing in her brain and we were able to pray for that and for the gift that she is.

An elderly woman came over to talk with us. We talked about her needs and while we were talking, one of our team members was explaining the story of the miraculous medal to someone else. She asked if she could have one of the miraculous medals, too, and then we ended up giving her one for each of her daughters and also a rosary with a pamphlet on how to pray it. We were able to pray for her needs and those of her family.

A Mayo worker strolled past us but didn’t want to stop. One of our team members started talking to him and although he was hesitant, he took a Sacred Heart of Jesus medal and card for his children. He was friendly but didn’t really want to talk much. A little later he came back and said he had to tell me something. He told me the story of his grandpa, who he loved very much and who was known for paying it forward. Right after his grandpa died, 3 years ago, an opportunity to pay it forward randomly came across his path and he was sure that it was a connection to his grandpa. Right after he took the medal from us, he got another opportunity to pay it forward, which hadn’t happened since that first time, and he just had to come back and share. He told me he was originally from Detroit but had moved to Rochester for work. His deceased grandpa was the only grandparent that had visited him in Rochester and every time he looked over at the picnic area outside the clinic, he remembered that day. I told him our apostolate was based out of Warren, Michigan and he was shocked as he had family members that lived there. We talked about divine appointments and how the Lord had put us both there that day for a reason. Divine appointments are real!

We also encountered others separately who asked for prayer cards and blessed medals, but they were in a hurry, so we didn’t get a chance to pray with them directly, but the Lord, of course, knows who they are and what they need. We also had other people thank us for being out in the Peace Plaza and ministering to people in need.