There was a thunderstorm during my morning shower, and we lost power, but fortunately the outage was very brief. Breakfast was followed by morning prayer in Ivan’s chapel. Then we had a bus trip to a local orphanage called Mother’s Village, which had been built because of children who were orphaned by the war in Bosnia, and is still needed now. The children do not reside in  one large building, but rather,  in several small ones. Their residence buildings, each a different color,  were constructed with money that had been donated by people in other countries. I did not make note of which countries donated money, but I do remember that the largest building was donated by Americans, who made the most significant donations.

The site is peaceful, with delightful gardens on the grounds. I would love to have seen the children in school, but it was not a school day. The only children we saw were a boy teasing a girl by taking her ball, just as siblings do everywhere.

Back at our residence, it seemed that rain was imminent, so we decided to eat lunch locally. Many of our group had enjoyed a nearby restaurant that they had nicknamed  “The Cave.” It did resemble a cave, but we headed for an al fresco table  that was covered by an awning. Laureen and Buck were already seated with Father Dan, and they welcomed us.  We  had not spent time with them before. This was their tenth visit to Medjugorje, so they knew the town well, and often went off on their own for meals. Suddenly there was a huge downpour,  but we remained dry. While we enjoyed our individual salads and a shared pizza, I chatted  with Laureen and discovered that we were both mothers of Eagle Scouts.

JoAnn remembered that Vicka’s childhood home was nearby, so when the rain stopped,  we walked there. It is run as a little museum now. Inside there’s a bedroom and a living room, and the window from which Vicka made her first appearances to groups that gathered below. A pair of red shoes that were given to Vicka by Pope John Paul II were supposed to be there, but we didn’t see them.

JoAnn had told about a nearby castle, and several of us decided to walk to it. There in the middle of nowhere was indeed a castle. Wings of it were completely finished and  were used  by visiting clergy.  Another wing was the residence of the owners, Patrick and Nancy, who were not at home at the time. There were also  many chapels, and several other wings were under construction.

From there, we walked to town, where our group was to meet to pray the Stations of the Cross. I had never seen outdoor Stations of the Cross before, nor have I heard them prayed other than on Good Friday. Father Bob led us through the Stations.  There was enough room for our our group to gather before each one while we took turns reading the text.

Several people including JoAnn wanted to climb Apparition Hill, but they were discouraged because of the slippery mud from the rainstorm. They also wanted to climb a much more significant hill, but it was deemed even more dangerous because of the wet weather.

After this very full day, we walked back to our residence. Dinner consisted of vegetable soup, salad, chicken cordon bleu, and  potato puffs made from freshly cooked mashed potatoes. After we ate, John stood up. He explained that this was the anniversary of the day that he and Dianne were married, and he brought out a special cake that he had ordered for us to share with them.

A large group including JoAnn still had energy, and they decided to go to town. Having no energy myself, I went to bed. During my slumbers, I was awakened by  pop! pop! pop! sounds. I thought, “Gunshots! This can’t be happening!” I ran into the hallway. There I discovered that those whose rooms were across the hall had a view of the street.  A family across the street was celebrating their daughter’s wedding  with fireworks that made popping sounds as they lit up the night sky. What a relief!