WORK
CAMP 2007: Stolac and Medjugorje
by Nathan Demuth
I first heard of Medjugorje two years ago from a
family friend of mine; he had made this trip during
the month of June. When he returned, he had many
good things to say about the journey. I was most
interested in listening to his stories of the country,
its people, and their great faith. What struck my
curiosity the most, however, was his talk of the
six visionaries: Ivanka Ivankoviæ; Mirjana
Dragiæeviæ; Vicka Ivankoviæ; Ivan
Dragiæeviæ; Ivan Ivankoviæ; and
Milka Pavloviæ. To this day, they are still
young and living, and have continued to experience
direct apparitions of Our Blessed Mother for the
last 25 years. To me this was surely a surprise.
I had never heard nor seen any story on this matter.
But time passed and, as the year went on, I returned
to school; eventually I forgot all about account.
That was until May 2007. My friend, Tyler Person,
came to me and began talking again about Medjugorje.
He announced that he had received a sponsorship
through the La Promesa Foundation to make a trip
to Bosnia – spending a week in Stolac and then
a week in Medjugorje. He was to spend his time in
Stolac providing relief work for the Catholic community,
and his time in Medjugorje was set aside as a pilgrimage.
I was again reminded of all that I had heard about
this country, and the six visionaries. I felt that
I, too, must also make this journey. With many prayers,
and the help of the Person family, I was fortunate
enough to be given the sponsorship for the trip.
Even then I did not realize just how much of a blessing
I had really been given.
As I stood in the airport awaiting my flight, I
could not stop thinking of how a friend of mine
reacted to the news that I was leaving the country
for Bosnia. He had made a few remarks about it being
no more than a large 'hole in the ground'. He did
not understand why I would make such a trip; I,
myself, knew only a little about the country's history.
Not too long ago the entire area was involved in
a serious war, that was still fresh in the people's
memories, and that even today the tension of that
area continues to rise between the Christian and
Muslim people. Soon I began feeling a little nervous
about making such a trip, especially considering
this would be my first time traveling outside of
the U.S. The furthest I had ever traveled from home
was Lincoln, Nebraska. Amidst my thoughts, however,
I felt a sudden peacefulness and calmness. Something
told me that I had nothing to worry about, nothing
to fear for, I was doing God's work, and in that
I would find strength and protection. From then
on I did not feel any more troubles or doubts. Later,
I would come to realize that this was only the first
of many times that Our Mother Mary would speak to
me during my journey.
It was in Vienna that Tyler and I were finally able
to join up with the rest of our group; members from
St. David's Relief Foundation. We were later informed
that our friends from Texas had met some delays,
and would be joining us in a couple of days. Our
bus ride along the beautiful Croatian coastline
seemed too short, and as we reached the top of the
cliffs that boarded the sea we began to make our
way inland. By this time, Tyler and I had been able
to get to know a few of the people that were traveling
within our group. We were also able to befriend
two of the girls, Monica and Lydia, who lived there
in Croatia, and were very fluent in their English.
Before long we were both learning short phrases
in Croatian, such as 'hello', 'thank you', and,
most importantly, 'I do not speak Croatian'!
We arrived in Stolac just at sundown, and as we
pulled up to the church we saw something that none
of us had expected – a large crowd of people
gathered before the church steps cheering at our
arrival. They were people from the Catholic community
of Stolac, and had been awaiting our arrival for
hours to give us a warm welcome to their home. I
cannot describe the great feeling I was given as
I walked up to the church with the large crowd of
people, all of them still cheering, whistling, and
clapping; they had not stopped ever since they watched
our bus pull up. They held a mass for us in Croatian,
and we were then assigned to our host families.
As Tyler and I were shown to our guest bedroom,
I could not think of anything better to do but sleep
after what seemed an eternity of plane flights and
layovers; believe me, we slept well.
The next day we got right to work. Our projects
for the week were normally given out on a day-to-day
basis. Most of our work consisted of doing excavation
in the churchyard in preparation for grass to be
laid. They had a few trees surrounding the rectory
that had to be rooted, debris around the church
grounds that needed to be hauled off, and a few
projects that had to be done on the youth center
behind the church – roofing, cementing, and
some general cleaning. Every mealtime we either
ate with our host families, who provided some of
the best cooking I have ever tasted, or we had reserved
a local restaurant/hotel where St. David's members
were served three meals daily. During the week,
when we were given free time, Tyler and I were able
to get to know many of the locals, and take in much
of the beautiful landscape that surrounded the small
town of Stolac. We were both able to do much hiking
around the area, and one day a group of us borrowed
some bikes from the local kids and went on a bike
ride through some of the surrounding country. On
the Fourth of July we had a special dinner consisting
of hamburgers and hot dogs, for those of us from
the U.S., and we had received permission from the
local police department to shoot off fireworks at
sundown. A number of the locals took part in the
fun as well.
Our first week came to an end, and our time Stolac
was over. Though it seemed as if we had been there
for months, it did not feel long enough. The night
before, both the locals and our group held a potluck
dinner in the newly refurbished youth center. We
held mass before dinner, and took part in singing
and music playing during the meal. It was sad the
next day as all those who had welcomed us that previous
Sunday, all those we had come to meet throughout
the course of the week, and then some, gathered
outside the church to say goodbye. When we had arrived
we had seen nothing but smiles, but now we had to
see the tears and sadness as we boarded our bus.
They were not just tears of sadness, however, they
were more than that. They were tears of joy and
gratitude. I remember talking with one of the locals
just before I left. I told him that I had felt more
than welcomed in the town of Stolac, that the people
alone there had taught me so many valuable lessons
and done so much for me, and that I felt more than
guilty leaving them behind with still so much work
to be done. He smiled at me, shook his head, and
told me that I could not even imagine just how much
I did for the community by simply showing up, and
that in doing the work how much more I gave.
Our next destination was Medjugorje, where we would
spend the next week of our trip on a pilgrimage.
When we arrived at the place we would be staying,
we again unloaded from the bus and began unpacking
into our new rooms. This time we were to all stay
together in a three-story apartment-like building.
Here we would be provided with two meals a day –
breakfast and dinner – and would spend most
of our time touring the holy city.
Each day mass was said at the large cathedral near
the center of town. The St. David's group leaders
had already planned out certain activities each
day for any of those in the group who wished to
attend. Anybody who felt more inclined to work out
his or her own agenda were welcome to do so. Each
day, Tyler and I would spend some time attending
the group activities, and other times we would spend
doing our own things. When I was not gift shopping
for those at home or attending the different activities,
I would try to spend most my time in solitary prayer
or talking with those around me about the events
of this holy site.
By the end of our second week, which seemed to have
gone by much quicker than our first, we had managed
to see, go, and do many incredible things. We climbed
Cross Mountain; climbed Apparition Hill, visiting
the actual sight of the first apparitions; and we
visited a few of the charity homes in the area for
drug and alcohol abusers, and single mothers. One
of the days we were even invited as a special audience
to pray with the visionary Maria, and be present
to witness one of her apparitions with Our Blessed
Mother!
The last night of our stay we had a large feast
– consisting of pig and lamb meet, breads,
cheeses, salads, desserts, and drink. After the
meal, Brother David from the Friars of the Franciscan
Renewal brought out his guitar and we sat around
with all the kids singing and teaching songs. Once
the singing had finished, we all took turns standing
up and describing our experiences on this trip,
what new knowledge or virtues we would return home
with. Some of the members gave their accounts with
tears running down their faces, and others choked
in their speech. Everybody there knew that the true
sacrifice of our trip would be to leave this all
behind now, until next year, next month, or maybe
never again.
As we all stood around the next few hours, we spent
most of our time gathering everything together for
the journey home. Inside, however, it truly felt
like home was what we were leaving. Tyler and I
also spent this time giving our goodbyes out to
all those we had spent the trip with, for there
would be little time for it once on our way. Our
bus was set to depart at 2 a.m. for Split, and from
there we flew out.
One of the things that I told the people of our
group, as I stood before them that last night, was
that no gifts, souvenirs, rocks, or dirt that I
brought home, could compare to the value of the
experiences I gained from this trip. The memories
I have of the people I met, places I went, and things
I saw and did, could not be traded for any price.
For me this journey became the greatest and finest
reality check in my life thus far. From its experiences
I have been able to grow in many ways – by
building greater values, and deepening my spirituality
with God. I can look at a world that has so much
going wrong in it, but know that I found an example
of the good in it still worth fighting for.
Earlier, I had mentioned that Our Mother Mary played
a major role in this journey of mine. This I hold
to be complete and true. Without the help of Our
Blessed Mother, I am sure to this day that I would
have never even been on this trip. This all came
to me as a great surprise. Before this trip I never
had a close or prayerful relationship with Mother
Mary. I always felt more content in praying straight
to God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit. But as I continued
to feel her strong presence throughout the whole
of my trip, I was able to slowly build a new and
firm relationship with the person I now call my
Mother above. Throughout my trip she did speak with
me many times, and with her I was able to learn
and grow much stronger in my faith.
With that, I again would like to thank La Promesa
Foundation, St. David's Foundation, and all others,
who were involved in allowing me to make this journey. |
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