I hate to travel!
Let me say that again,
I hate to travel!
I am not one of these people who loves the process and would pick up in an instant and head out to places unknown.
So, what could make me pick up and travel half way around the world, by myself to
Bosnia-Hersogovinia?
Only the Mother of God
who has been appearing everyday to visionaries in
Medjugorje
for the last 33 years.
If you are interested in learning more,
here's a link to a great site with lots of information.
I left and met up with my tour group in Frankfort, Germany.
All by myself.
I've been there twice now, and both times have had their blessings.
Whether or not I'll ever go back,
I don't know.
It was like going home, at last.
When it came to color,
I felt that Medjugorje was a contrast of warm colors from the copper colored roofs to the warm greens that were planted in the bushes and trees.
This photo was taken as we walked back from our trek up Cross Mountain where the Mother of God prays every morning at sunrise.
In the distance, you see the twin towers of St. James Church which is the church of the village of Medjugorje. In the early days, the apparitions of the 6 visionaries were held in the upper room of the church.
Notice, the colors of the roofs and the contrast of the greens.
I thought that was one of the most beautiful sights there.
There are many shrines in Medjugorje.
Outside of most houses, there is a shrine of some kind for all to see.
Many of these shrines have been handed down from generation to generation.
The culture is different there than it is here.
Many of the shrines are very bloody and graphic scenes from the Passion of Christ.
Other shrines outside of homes are dedicated to the
Mother of God.
There are religious icons and statues inside and outside of most homes in Medjugorje.
Of course, since Medjugorje is a site of religious pilgrimages, there are many shrines and statues all over.
This statue of the Risen Christ is a most interesting one.
Shortly after it was put into place,
pilgrims began to notice that a liquid was coming from the statue
at the knee of Christ.
This liquid has been analyzed and it is olive oil.
On my first trip there, since we couldn't get close to the statue during the day due to the amount of pilgrims there, my new friends and I got up at
6 AM, and we were there at dawn.
I climbed up on the raised part of the statue.
We all brought hankies with us to collect the precious drops of oil.
There was none!
I couldn't believe it!
Here we were, Gail, Eileen, and I, and there was no flow of oil!
Jesus' knee was dry. I couldn't even feel the morning dew on the statue.
Then,
the oil began to flow.
We were all able to touch our hankies to the oil.
We praised God and thanked Him for that blessing!!!
I never thought I'd see such a miracle!
So, seven years later,
I still feel the graces flowing in from this trip.
Now, with this blog hop, I have the joy of remembering this trip!
Now, the challenge for me has been to translate this trip into something
respectful, yet beautiful.
Here's what I made.
I made the lampwork beads for this necklace. The copper colored beads and findings reminded me of the roof tops in the area.
The green, of course, reminded me of the green in the area.
The bird in this necklace represents me as I flew to this holy place.
I added to this a bracelet with copper findings and beads.
You can't leave Medjugorje without being impressed by the devotion of these people for God and His Mother.
I also decided to make my own version of their shrines.
This is my shrine to the Divine Mercy of God!
Jesus, we trust in You!
This is the shrine I made to honor Our Lady of Medjugorje,
the Queen of Peace.
She came to tell us that
God exists.
She has told the visionaries that her job is to bring everyone to her Son.
She has said that if we knew how much
God loves us
and how much she loves us,
we would cry with joy!
Praise God! This is an amazing gift!
Now, since this is a blog hop, it's time to get hopping.
Here's the list of the other bloggers participating in the hop.
