Dear Virginia, editor of the Trailblazers e-newsletter, The Compass,
You asked us to write a testimony of our experiences while
on the Trailblazers Youth Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe. I felt called to do so tonight. I will break the experiences down into
lessons that I was taught, rather than report things chronologically, to make
it easier to follow.
I learned a lot about charity. Melissa always carried extra water, and went without when the other Trailblazers were thirsty. She never complained, and only me and R.J. Slaton, the seminarian friend of Fr. Ward's who came with us, noticed her sacrifice. There were many times during the trip that I was amazed at Melissa's kind and contemplative personality. She followed her callings talking with different people on the trip, giving them encouraging words, and discussing various tenets of our rich faith. It was literally like being with St. Therese, the Little Flower, the patron saint of our church. I developed a new appreciation for my oldest daughter, and saw a side to her that I hadn't noticed at home.
The second day hiking, we stopped to have lunch in a cornfield, and a little black puppy decided to join us. She barrelled in and leaped onto Melissa's lunch. Melissa gave the contaminated food to the dog, and Fr. Ward held the dog in check with his shoes so she wouldn't get to anyone else's food. He used the smooth soccer moves that he learned at the seminary. He never said anything about being hungry or thirsty, and waited until we were all done eating before eating his own lunch.
Sara had put her money bag down the first day we were there to play soccor at the retreat center where we started our journey in the wooded mountains. After the game, the purse was gone. Melissa and I prayed for Our Lady's intercession for quite a while, and her purse miraculously turned up in another Trailblazer's cabin later that afternoon. Perhaps the person who stole the purse thought better of keeping it after our prayers.
Before going home, Melissa talked to me about donating some of our stuff to the scouts. We knew our equipment and hiking boots and socks would be collecting dust in our house. One of the scouts who was with us at the retreat center, Andrea, (it was her parents who cooked for us), asked us if we could make a trade. She promised me a rosary blessed by Pope “Juan Pablo” the second. I gladly promised her some of our things, and after the trip, I gave the rosary to my husband. Melissa and I felt so good leaving stuff behind for the scouts who would put it to good use.
On the first day of hiking, Melissa and I had a hard time in the high altitude with our asthma. Gilberto, one of the Trailblazers from Mexico living in a community of consecrated lay people with Alejandro Torres, the Urban Youth Ministry director for the Archdiocese of Detroit, helped us out a lot. Gilberto walked with us, encouraging us along the way, giving us words of encouragement. During this time, I felt Jesus's presence. I felt like the backpack was a cross, and Jesus was helping me carry it. As we descended, we got our second wind, and the way became easier. I was so thankful for Gilberto's efforts to help us.
A few of the Trailblazers didn't have cameras, or ran out of film, and I felt called to take pictures of them. After we got back, I sent pictures not only to them, but to the Mexican scouts, the family who fed us, the family at the haunted church who helped take care of us, and a lot of the Trailblazers. Melissa and I made picture discs for everyone who wanted one that we passed out at the party Fr. Ward had at his church activities center in September. I had bought a brand new Kodak EasyShare digital camera before the trip, and the pictures came out great.to be continued . . .