Stories from the Street
Here is a report from Ed, coordinator of the Sierra Vista, Arizona SPSE team:
In April, my pastor Father Greg asked me to get a booth for the upcoming West End Fair. So I did.
We had a fantastic booth. I had ordered all the new colored pamphlets and many medals, and we had many Rosaries – but we ordered a few more, just in case. I had a lot of help that day: Thad, Lydia, Anita, Carol, Steve, Jerry, Father Rob, and Sisters JoEllen and Doris all helped evangelize that day.
I got to speak with at least 10 fallen away Catholics – and two told me, “I am thinking of coming back to the Church – what do I need to do?” I told them that if they had all their Sacraments, all they needed was a good Confession – and I gave them the Confession pamphlet as well as the “Reasons to Return to the Catholic Church” pamphlet. They warmly thanked me.
I also spoke with some Mormons and informed them that I had lived with Mormons in college and had read the Book of Mormon, the Doctrines and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. They were happy that I had read them. We had a chance to speak about “the great apostasy.” I told them that I had heard the story about the glass table top that broke after the last Apostle died (John) and how Joseph Smith put it back together; but I asked them, “What did Jesus really mean when he said ‘The gates of hell shall not prevail against my church,’ ‘I will be with you always, even to the end of the age,’ ‘I will not leave you orphans,’ and ‘I will leave you the Paraclete to guide you in all truth.’
They did not know how to respond.
Overall, it was a great day; we handed out over 240 Rosaries, 350 pamphlets, 120 Miraculous Medals and Our Lady of Guadalupe medals, and about 25 CDs.
Praised be Jesus Christ! Ed is a longtime, dedicated evangelist with SPSE. In fact, his story is featured in our book, “Catholic Street Evangelization: Stories of Conversion and Witness.” Check out our store to buy a copy, and join us!
For the book: https://streetevangelization.com/spse-store/product/catholic-street-evangelization/
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