While on the way back to Tampa, I discovered a new evangelization tool: my Amazon Kindle! Just by reading my Kindle, I managed to strike up a few conversations with some super nice people who were just curious about my Kindle. The first was a woman at the airport in St. Louis. She sat next to me and started reading her book. She noticed that I was reading on my Kindle and asked me what I thought of it. I told her I loved it and we struck up a conversation.
She asked me what I do for a living. I replied, “I’m a Catholic evangelist.” She looked at me incredulously and shouted, “Shut up! There is no such thing!” (Don’t misread…she was a very nice lady and was just joking.) She proceeded to tell me about how she attends a Methodist mega-church in the Atlanta area and is involved in many ministries. She also told me how her mom recently converted to Catholicism as did a number of other friends and relatives. She said that she loved the reverence in the Catholic Church, and that she had come to learn that many of the misconceptions she learned growing up were just that: misconceptions. Praise God!
They started boarding the plane and we bid each other farewell and blessings. When I had gotten to my seat on the plane (the window seat in row 20), a young man sat down next to me. He was in full fatigues; an Army man. After a casual hello and a few minutes, I whipped out my Kindle and began to read again. It wasn’t one minute before curiosity got the best of him, and he asked me how I liked my Kindle. Bingo! Another opportunity to evangelize!
I came to find out that this young man’s name is Phillip (my Dad’s name, so I knew I wouldn’t forget!). Phillip is a private who was on a short leave from Afghanistan. He was on his way back to that country. Suffice it to say that I didn’t get another word read for the rest of the flight. Phillip asked me what I do, and I told him that I am a Catholic evangelist and that I have a daily radio show on Sirius XM. Well, it turns out that Phillip’s dad has a radio show and that, like me, Phillip is a student of many of the great motivational gurus of our time. Small world, huh?
Phillip is young (about the same age as my youngest daughter) and still searching for his place in life. When he gets out of the Army in two years, he would like to go to college. We talked for a good hour and a half. I assured him that it was not a coincidence that we had met. I assured him that God is watching over him, and that I would remember him in my prayers. I hope that you will do the same.
The moral of the story is that you never know what God may use to aid you in an evangelization opportunity! The key is for us to be open to seizing those opportunities when they come our way. Hey, anyone seen my Kindle??
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