Testimonials

To me it was a wonderful trip...I didn't bring a crowd this time and there were no crowds there. It was just my sister in law, Sonja and me. I wasn't going to go at first because I have been there so many times and I believe so... "Why?" I asked myself "Do I really need to go?" I was weighing my options all day until I realized it was getting late and I'd better make a decision. It was already 3:00 PM so I just decided to let the Lord make the decision for me and I prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and immediately afterward the thought suddenly came to me..."Take Sonja". So at the last minute and with little preparation I decided to go afterall.

Sonja is my sister in law...a relative "newcomer" to the family only about 3 years (I think). I don't know exactly when they got married because they didn't exactly invite anyone...it was just the two of them at a notary. Anyway, she is going to have her 2nd child in December and has heard about Conyers from the rest of the family over the past year and a half and for some unknown reason has never gone and I don't recall ever inquiring to her "why not". Honestly, after this trip, I feel guilty about that now. But for some reason the Lord wanted Sonja to go so it was just the two of us. On the way I asked the Blessed Mother to touch Sonja's heart in some way that she would know this was real. I wasn't looking for signs or anything spectacular for her... just some quiet sense of assurance is all. Anyway, that was all I asked for Sonja... that was NOT all Sonja got.

For some reason unknown to me at the time, Sonja had already decided to become Catholic even though she knows little about the Catholic religion. Sonja's first RCIA class was Monday and she seemed upset about the fact that she was going to miss that and was concerned that it might effect her being able to continue. I told her I thought it would be Ok...nervy of me, huh? And then everything else seemed to be falling into place for her to go and my brother even happened to be off those nights and agreed to watch their other little one while she was away.so I guess it was meant for her to go this time.

Sonja later told me that she knew little about the Catholic faith other than what my brother told her and probably that stemmed mostly from his own experience at Conyers exactly one year ago on September 13th. Anyway I'll skip the details of the drive. It was 5 AM Conyers time when we arrived and linked up at Susan's with Dee, Susan, and Sean. We rested awhile, had coffee and agreed to meet later at the Farm. I had promised Sonja I'd get her a rosary so she could have it blessed at the Farm. You know, it is strange that I have gotten everyone in the family and everyone in the cenacle...a rosary. Except it dawned on me...I never gave Sonja a rosary. I don't know why... Maybe this was a good trip to get me to examine my OWN conscience regarding family relationships...and the relationship that I had or should I say..."didn't have" with my sister in law. I really do feel ashamed for not having tried to establish any sort of relationship before this. She is really a kind hearted child of God and has tried so hard to please others and I am not her judge. How sad when I think of such precious lost time.

Anyway, Sonja liked so many rosaries that she couldn't make up her mind so she told me to pick it and moved over to another section leaving me there to make the decision. So I don't know why but I picked out a rosary of hearts and we had it blessed by one of the monks along with a special blessing for Sonja and the baby she was carrying. I had also gotten a large white statue of the Infant Prague ealier at JMJ so we ask the Fr to bless that also. To tell you the truth I really don't know why I bought that either. Like I really need another statue! My friend Diane has a very special devotion to the Infant Prague and I think I may have been thinking I would end up giving it to her.

Anyway, people were gathering at the Farm...a very small crowd this time... quiet... reverent... VERY peaceful.

We parked close to the farm surrounded on all sides with white vehicles plus our rental car was white. Later Nancy mentioned the Blessed Mother being in white. And the Infant Prague statue was white. And Sonja told me she saw a license plate which read "Hail Mary". I take the color white and the license plate to be signs of purity... maybe more than purity of body...that should be purity of HEART!

Anyway, we met up with Susan, Val, Sean and Teresa Paiva which in itself was such a special blessing! It was good seeing Sean again and hearing how God is working in his life. And it was the first time meeting Teresa in person and she is just as sweet and loving as she is on the board and I consider myself very privileged to have such dear friends. And Susan, well we all know she is so dear. She and Dee always go out of their way to make people feel so welcome and I thank you both from the bottom of my HEART! And Val...what would we have done without your thoughtfulness in graciously loaning your umbrella to protect Sonja from the sun! Thank you so much. And Stan... we missed you! Thank you all...for just for being you! I really don't deserve such dear dear friends.

Anyway, the rosary brought tears...plenty of them... from me and Susan and I'm sure many more. To me the rosary was a sad one. There seemed to be at least a couple female voices leading the different mysteries and it sounded like the voices were crying at times. It seemed like something was very special that day... Both Susan and I sensed that the Blessed Mother's presence. We found out later just how close she really was! Nancy came out on the porch and talked to the pilgrims after the rosary. Her voice was breaking up as she spoke emphatically about being willing to DIE for Jesus! I cried. Susan cried. I think it touched a lot of HEARTS.

After that very emotional talk we went to Holy Hill to join in praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy but arrived too late. A woman was singing a tearful rendition of Ave Maria at the foot of the cross and when she finished there was a moment of silence before we all joined in singing various songs. Sonja didn't know the words but she sat and listened and observed. After the songs, the person leading the group invited everyone to 7 PM Mass at St Pious.

After the crowd thinned and people went their own separate ways things got real quiet again and I wrote all the petitions on a little piece of cardboard. I asked forgiveness that I had forgotten the bowl of petitions at the house but I know that Jesus and His Mother KNOW what is in those petitions...so I asked for those petitions plus for blessings for Sonja and her baby and for baptism of both of these children. Plus all the petitions of the people here. Joyce you were mentioned by name. And every other thing I could think of and fit on a this little piece of cardboard. Then I placed it at the feet of Jesus said a little prayer and and gave Him a kiss. Afterwards I sat down for awhile and soaked in the grace of just being there and then I got up and walked over to the foot of the cross and thought I'd take a picture. Earlier while we were singing I placed the statue of the Infant Prague directly ON the cross so that it would receive a special blessing from just being there in order to pass on the blessings to others who might see it or perhaps pray the devotion to Infant Prague.

So then Sonja got on her knees at the foot of the cross and placed her rosaries on the altar and bowed her head in prayer. I thought I'd get a picture about that time since Sonja was now in view at the Cross-Altar. I backed far enough away so as not to disturb her or anyone else and then I took the picture.

Well, the rest is "history" as they say...because that is when this "miracle" happened. That's when I saw before my eyes what was developing! I was totally amazed at what I was witnessing and it touched my heart to where I started to cry and came over to Sonja who saw me and got up to see what I was crying about. All I could get out was, "The Blessed Mother is placing her mantle of protection over you and the baby." I handed her the picture at which she took one look and burst into tears! It truly is a miraculous picture...there is no other word to describe it!!

In the picture, there is Sonja kneeling at the stone altar along with the statue of Infant Prague next to her but then OVER her is the transparent image of the Blessed Mother dressed in blue with her arms stretched out over her and it cuts off right under where she is carrying the baby at her stomach. You can see the lines in her robe and her waist and it is in a beautiful blue-green glowing color. The picture is so beautiful. And so far since bringing it home everyone who has seen it has cried...my mother, my sister, my brother, my friends. Even strangers. When I went to make some copies I showed it to a woman who was in the shop and she asked me if I was "taking reservations" for the next trip to Conyers. She wants to go too.

Now I won't pretend to be able to interpret pictures but since I took the picture...I'm going to give my opinion. I think it was a special gift from God!

I think Heaven is giving us a reminder of the preciousness of life.... ALL life...including the UNborn life that is in Sonja's womb and the wombs of ALL pregnant women! It was also significant I think that the 13th was the last day of the Cairo conference! No coincidence...

But whatever it means...I know that it was a VERY special blessing for Sonja and the baby. Sonja and I hugged each other and actually BOTH of us were in tears when Susan came over and gasped when she saw the picture! Her eyes got real wide and she held her hand over her mouth saying "Ohhhh, my goshhhhh....." And she called Teresa and Sean over and then a bunch of people came over and saw it too, then George (Nancy's scribe) saw it, and then Nancy, and so many others too. Also a man who said this was his 33rd trip even asked to put the picture in a book he had written about how Conyers has effected his life. The book is going to the publishers this week. So I guess I'll have to mail his copy right away.

Anyway, if I could point to one very special moment of that trip it would have to be at that exact moment when the Blessed Mother revealed herself to all of us like that in the picture. As Susan has pointed out, it was not meant just for Sonja alone but for EVERYONE there and anyone else who sees it. But I do know one thing's for sure...Sonja's life will never be the same again. Since she got home she has called every member of her family and has been talking non stop witnessing to them... (VBG!) Praise God!!! Ask and you shall receive. I asked that Sonja's heart in some small way be touched on this trip. The HEARTS of MANY MANY MANY (most of all MINE) were touched this time!

Nancy asked that we write the Archbishop about the picture and send him a copy. I plan on doing that but meantime just being there in Conyers once again to experience God's grace is enough for me. And to think I might have missed this trip.

It was a very special blessing and a very powerful end to a very special day! But the most powerful testimony of all is that Sonja now believes!!! I called her earlier and she said she was READING Vol I of "To Bear Witness that I AM the Living Son of God". God is so good to us!!!

Oh, and BTW the Infant Prague statue ended up with Sonja. I think this statue of the little Baby Jesus is going to bring her great joy each time she sees it or prays the Devotion to Infant Prague (I gave her a copy also).

Sonja's baby is due Dec 10th. Nancy wants Sonja to tell her when the baby is born. Wouldn't it be interesting if the baby was born on Dec 8th...the Feast of the Immaculate Conception?

Update - January 10, 1997

Well, as for Sonja and the baby etc. I don't know what you have.. it may be just about the day it was taken and if so you can tell people that the baby was born the day before Thanksgiving with beta strep, jauntice and spinal meningitis and was not given too much hope so we had him baptized first day of his life and put out the word for people to pray for him and pretty soon people were coming up to me and saying there was a baby in the hospital that needed prayers...turned out it was little Adam. Well we all prayed and he was healed within 7 days and today he and his mom are doing fine. Also he was released from the hospital on DEC 13th (exactly 3 months (to the day) from the day the picture was taken on SEP 13th) and that day I was up in Conyers talking to a group of people who I had never met (since then we've all become very good friends) and we were talking about what happened and about the Blessed Mother and suddenly here comes wave after wave of the scent of roses. It was awesome... like the Blessed Mother was right there with us. Anyway, update... baby is still doing fine and mother is currently in school for nursing. Sonja still has that Infant of Prague statue and has set up a little altar in her home for praying the rosary etc...