PRAYING WITH TRUCKERS—
Deacon Jim and Judy Francois, standing at right,
hold hands and pray with Doug and Dianne mead
of Grand rapids, Mich., at the Iron Skillet Restaurant,
located inside Petro Lube truck stop in Sturtevant
Jan. 2. the Francoises, members of St. Mary parish
in Kenosha, visit the truck stop on Interstate
94 every Thursday evening. (Photo by Sam Lucero)
STURTEVANT
— The Iron Skillet Restaurant is not a place that
makes you think of prayer. There is the constant clatter
of dishes, the rapid pace of waiters and waitresses
moving between the tables, and the flurry of activity
by customers getting up to serve themselves at the buffet,
all accompanied by the music playing softly in the background.
This atmosphere is not one where you'd usually find
chaplains. But Judy and Jim Francois don't find any
of that a deterrent in their mission to reach out to
the ever-changing population of truckers who come here
to rest and relax on their long road trips away from
home.
The Francoises' willingness to serve as chaplains at
such an unusual place is not surprising. Most of their
lives have been service oriented beginning with their
marriage 45 years ago. As they raised their 11 children,
they continued to volunteer as CCD teachers, helping
out on teen-age retreats, and doing vocation talks for
fifth and sixth graders. From there they progressed
to the F.O.C.U.S. program for engaged couples and also
volunteered as site managers one night a month at a
homeless shelter; both of which they continue to do.
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