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Tampa

Country: United States
State or province: Florida

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Bill Brown
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Recent Blog Posts

• Eucharistic Conference Diocese of Venice - 3/16/24

• Ybor City - 1/20/24

• Drive By Evangelization - 12/9/23

• Ybor City - 10/21/23

• Ybor City - 8/19/23

Ybor City - 9/24/22

October 8, 2022

SPSE Team Photo

This month it cooled down a little, so we had a pretty good crowd on the streets of Ybor City. The Packers were in town to play the Bucs, so there were a lot of fans from up north stopping by. Reuben, Tom, and Pete for joining me. A few encounters:

  • The picture above is of a wonderful encounter Pete had with a group of ladies traveling across the country. Tess, Merissa, and Dalia were from the Philippines. They were Catholic and delighted to see our type of evangelization on the streets of the USA. We prayed with them for good weather and a safe trip. I think they got out of Florida just before hurricane Ian hit.
  • Catherine had an unusual request. She hasn't been able to find her sister for 4 years. Fortunately, I had a St Anthony medal on the table which she gladly accepted. We then prayed to St. Anthony asking his intercession in finding her sister. It beats praying to find your lost sunglasses.
  • We had a few nice encounters with Hondo, on both sides of the street. He was Jewish and while he listened, he would go no further than admit Jesus existed. He did allow us to pray for peace and tranquility in his life as long as we prayed only to the Father.
  • Three young ladies, Carla, Crystal, and Patty strolled by with rolling suitcases. They were about to get on a cruise headed right for the hurricane. We all prayed with them together for the safety of their ship.
  • This last encounter was the most bizarre I have had in my 6 years of street evangelization. A man walked by our table wearing a wig, bra, bikini bottoms, and high heels. I try not to judge people, but I admit I said a little prayer to Jesus asking for him to just move along, and he did. Or so I thought. Jesus had other plans. About 15 minutes later he returned. He looked at me and asked, "Do you know what my problem with you Catholics is?" Reuben and I looked at each other and we both thought the same thing (something about repressed sexuality). But before we could venture a guess he said, "You Catholics think you can earn your way to heaven." We spent the next 10 minutes debating Sola Fida with this guy quoting St Paul as good as a Baptist minister. I've dealt with this argument before, so I know Reuben and I did a good job articulating true Catholic teaching, and I think we made him understand we don't "earn" heaven, but his mind was made up, faith alone is what saves you. He proudly said, "Look at me. I walk around Ybor looking like a sissy. I'm pretty sure God thinks that's a sin, but I know my faith in Jesus has me saved no matter what I do." At SPSE we don't condemn anyone, so I wished him the best and off he went. He did not want a rosary, but he accepted the pamphlet on Sola Fida and Sola Scriptura.

Come join us if you're in Tampa. E-mail me at bill@brown.org.