My first visit as a pilgrim to Conyers, Georgia, was either in 1990
or 1991, on December 13th. When I first went, I did not believe
in the apparitions. Although I am a Roman Catholic, I did not attend Holy
Mass on a regular basis for forty years. On my first visit, I experienced
a strong scent of roses, but my wife did not. During the Rosary, I glanced
at the sun, and it seemed to break up and begin to dance. At the same time,
the clouds parted, and I saw the faces of Jesus and Mary. My wife and other
pilgrims also saw it. At that moment, I became a believer and made up my
mind to come back to the Church. A few days after returning to Columbia,
we submitted the paperwork for my wife to become a Catholic so we could
be married in the Church.
I had Type II diabetes, which required oral medication. On our next
visit to the Holy Hill, I prayed that the paperwork be approved, and if
it was God's will, that I would be cured of the diabetes. The following
week, the paperwork was approved. We were married in the Church, and my
wife received her First Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Confirmation.
I have not required any medication for my diabetes since 1993.
I was hospitalized and had five heart bypasses, an aortic valve replacement,
and four bleeding ulcers repaired. Before my surgery, I prayed to God that
if it was His will and I survived, I wanted to become an Eucharistic Minister.
In June 1994, I had to retire with disability. Both, my wife and I, are
now Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors at St. Michael's Parish in Fort Jackson,
SC. I conduct a Communion service every other Sunday in the hospital chapel,
and my wife and I both bring Communion to the sick in the hospital.
In October 1994, I made another visit to Holy Hill and prayed that if
it was God's will, I would be cured of my psoriasis. The medication I use,
will only contain, but not cure this illness. My psoriasis is slowly disappearing.
Regardless of what the doctors tell me, I believe that the cure of my diabetes
and the slow disappearance of my psoriasis are miracles.
My wife and I try to pray the Rosary every day. I have no pictures from
my first visit to Holy Hill of the sun dancing or the faces of Jesus and
Mary. Unfortunately, I had run out of film at the time. However, I can
truly say, that if it not for my first visit to Holy Hill, I would still
be living a life of sin.
Yours in Christ,
Paul H.
October 13, 1994
South Carolina