Susan – Orange County, California

I came on this trip mainly for my son. That’s the whole reason I’m here, to bring my son because I felt God was telling me to do that. 

It’s been a journey. I’m hoping that his heart has been changed to want God more in his life and to practice his faith more. You get worried as a parent because we have such a secular culture now, and he’s living in a very secular place in Los Angeles. None of his friends have a faith. That worries me.

It’s beautiful to see all these young people here going to Mass and singing and dancing. It’s a really wonderful place to bring a young person, and it’s great to see that. 

Medjugorje is a place of learning about your faith, learning about the visionaries and their lives and the messages that Mary has given over time. To me, this could only be a miracle happening here because of the millions of people that come here seeking. That can only be from God, what this place has turned into.

Mirjana said that as mothers, you always care about your sons and daughters, but when she is having an encounter with Mary during the apparition, she doesn’t care about anything here on earth. She just wants to be with Mary in heaven. That’s all she wants, and she forgets about everything. The love you have for your children is so overwhelming, but when you can forget about that and you’re in Mary’s presence, that was very surprising to me.

The only expectations I had were I wanted my son to encounter Jesus here, and I believe he did encounter Jesus on this journey through the talks, through going to Mass, through climbing Cross Mountain and doing the Stations of the Cross. I think that Mary was pouring grace into his heart to say, “Hey, look over here.” 

The highlight was my son went to confession.