Sandy Tobin

Dear Pilgrims’ Peace Center Family,

Our Prayer for Peace Conference was awesome! (conference occurred on Nov 6-7, 2010).  If you missed it, you really missed out, but be assured, we prayed for all those who were unable to attend.  If you were there, we have no doubt that you were blessed, perhaps in more ways than you know.

Phone calls, letters, and emails are still coming in, praising the Conference and telling us of blessings received.  We give all the credit to the Mother of God, Our Lady of Medjugorje, whose presence could be felt all weekend, and the wonderful committee that did all of the work.  What an amazing group of people!

We had an incredible line-up of priests this year.  The Conference began and ended with the Holy Mass.  Father Nick Mormando, OFM, Cap., set the tone with his powerful homily on our theme, “Punching Holes in the Darkness.”  Father Dennis Cooney wrapped up the weekend with a Bibical journey that sent us off with a renewed excitement about and commitment to our faith.

Father Joe Amalfitano, our Spiritual Advisor, has a tremendous gift of healing.  Through his intercession and that of the other members of the Healing Team for whom he prayed, there were healings of body, mind and spirit.  Some were evident right then and there while reports of other healings continue to come in our office.

Father David Toups led us in a beautiful, Spirit-filled, Holy Hour complete with Eucharistic Adoration.  Healings that took place during the Eucharistic Procession have also been reported.

We give thanks to Our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Healer and Who used these good men and women of the Healing Team to transmit His Healing Grace.

Father Don Calloway had people on the edge of their seats.  His story of a life of hopelessness and despair to one of joy and service is awesome and inspiring.   In particular, he gave hope to people who have children or grandchildren who are in trouble in one way or another.

Sister Pauline Quinn, OP, and her service dog Reni, captured the hearts and attention of everyone.  Sister’s story is unique, compelling, and so wonderful that Lifetime Television Network made a movie about her.  You can order a copy of the DVD from us.

The Visionary Ivanka talked about her experiences with the Mother of God and Our Lady’s most important messages.  Both she and our interpreter, Zeljka Rozic, spoke about the early days of the apparitions and what they have learned over the past 29 years.  Of particular interest was Ivanka’s description of the time when the Blessed Mother brought Ivanka’s deceased Mother to visit her.  Ivanka spoke about how her Mother hugged and kissed her, explaining that, because of this experience, she is able to say to all of us that there definitely is another life after this one!

Conference participants received two gifts this year:  a copy of the revised edition of my prayer book, “Our Lady’s Guide to Holiness,” and a Medjugorje Holy Card that had been blessed by Our Lady in Medjugorje and also by Pope Benedict XVI.

At the end of the Conference, Ivanka joined us in shaking hands with and saying good-bye to our Conference participants as they left the auditorium.  It was a delightful finishing touch.

VISIONARY IVANKA

Ivanka at PPC conference

Spending a week with the Visionary Ivanka, her son, Ivan, and our interpreter, Zejka, prior to the conference was also an enjoyable experience for us.  Good friends gave us the use of their waterfront condo on Clearwater Beach.  From their ninth flood, we had a panoramic view that none of us could get enough of, with beautiful sunrises over the intercoastal waterway and breathtaking sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico.  When we weren’t shopping (that’s another story), we spent most of our waking hours sitting outside on the open balcony, enjoying the view, breathing the salt air, praying together, and visiting.  It was heavenly.

Of the six Medjugorje visionaries, Ivanka is probably the least known by the pilgrims who frequent Medjuorje.  She was the first one to see Our Lady and the first to marry and have children.  From the birth of her first child, she has always maintained a very private life, wanting her children to grow up as normally as possible.  She is also very shy and less than comfortable speaking in public. Despite her nervousness, she’s speaking now because her youngest child is 16 and she feels it is time for he to do her part in spreading Our Lady’s messages.

Living together for a week, we really go to know Ivanka well.  She is a humble servant of Our Lady as well as a devoted wife and mother – a practical, down-to-earth, unassuming woman.  She sees herself as just an ordinary person but recognizes that she has been given an extraordinary gift which she neither understands nor takes for granted.  She is quick to point out that when she and the other visionaries asked the Blessed Mother why they were chosen to be visionaries, Our Lady replied, “I don’t always choose the best.”

Life most people who come to America from a country like Bosnia, Ivanka and Zeljka did their share of shopping.  The prices on clothing in Europe are outrageous, not to mention the fact that in Bosnia, they have absolutely no selection.  If you need a pair of shoes, for example, there might be two pairs in your size from which to choose.  So everyone who travels here comes with a list, which usually includes requests from friends and relatives as well.

THE FINGER

On Wednesday, three days before the conference, I was driving the three of them to Countryside Mall where they could spend the better part of the day shopping while my laptop computer and I would camp out a Starbucks so that I could take care of some last minute details.  On the way to the Mall, I stopped at an office supply store to pick up a few things, put my purchases in the back of our minivan and slammed the rear door on my middle finger!  It was NOT a pretty sight.

I called out to Zeljka to go back into the store with me but when she saw all the blood, her eyes started to roll back in her head.  I knew I was in even more trouble.  Somehow, she managed to follow me into the ladies room where an employee gave me a roll of gauze.  I wrapped it up as best as I could.  Now, what to do?

My first thought was to take care of it after the Conference.  But, by the time we got back to the car, the finger was throbbing, the bandage was soaked.  I realized that the injury needed immediate attention.  I drove to the Mall, dropped them off, and took my self to the Emergency Room.  X-rays revealed that I had crushed the tip of the bone and fractured the bone between the joints.  Five hours, four stitches, a stainless steel splint, and two prescriptions later, I was on my way back to the Mall to pick up the weary shoppers with strict instructions to keep the hand elevated and the finger pointing upwards.

Sandy's broken finger

I quickly learned that the throbbing would worsen when I allowed my hand to rest in a normal position.  By all accounts, this was definitely not a good thing.  Picture this:  Nearly 700 people packed into the White Performing Arts Center for our 16Annual Prayer for Peace Conference an there I am – on stage – facing the crowd, with my hand elevated and my middle finger pointing upward.  It did not look nice!  When I explained that I really am a nice person and apologized for what might appear to be something very naughty, the crowd laughed and the teasing only got worse.

One final note:  be careful when you pray for an increase in humility.

God bless,