ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — There’s a teenager in Florissant who goes out of her way to pray for her neighbors
Abby Hoffman, 15, said it's simple. People need faith right now, and so she laces up her sneakers to bring it to them.
"When I run down streets, I pray for whatever street I run down. This way it gets me more connected to my neighborhood and the people around me," Hoffman said.
On a good day, Hoffman and her pastor will run 4 miles. It all depends on where the ribbons take them.
"Dear God, I ask that you would just touch over this neighborhood," Abby prayed as she stopped in a driveway of some neighbors.
For Abby, prayers flow through her mind as her feet hit the hot pavement in her Florissant neighborhood. It’s her runner's high.
"Lord I come to you today for Katie’s grandpa. Lord I just ask that you put healing hands over her family," she prayed with another neighbor.
"It’s amazing what 10 seconds of prayer can do," she said.
Abby has always prayed quietly for others while on her runs, but she and her pastor wanted to do something special. They know now more than ever people need faith and human connection. So they asked homeowners who needed prayer to tie a ribbon outside their home to let them know to stop and bow their heads.
"I’m a big Christian so it made me feel good if I could help people out," she said.
Her simple gesture is getting noticed. Jacque Frieda lives nearby and came out to cheer Abby on with a sign she made from an old sunshade.
“I’ve never met her," Frieda said. "I’ve seen her on Facebook and I’m just inspired by what she does. I had to make it with whatever I had at home because I’m old and I’m quarantined at home.”
Abby knows the miles she puts in are small compared to the needs of her community.
"One person even came up to me and said, 'I started trusting in God more now that you prayed for me,'” she said.
But sometimes it’s those little things that make all the difference.
"I just want people to know that there is a God who loves them and that is going to be there for them no matter what troubles come."
