Have a banana! you'll feel beter

Trying circumstances creat memorable experiences

By KEN SAWICKI
Lethbridge

It was so neat living in Toronto. The atmosphere was so powerful you could totally feel the presence of the Lord everywhere.

It was so cool running into so many people that I knew but hadn't known that they were going to be in Toronto. We would just be walking along and suddenly I would bump into a friend that I hadn't seen for maybe five years or others that I see more often but didn't know that they were going to be there.

It was also very special meeting so many people for the first time. Everyone I met was always so happy to meet you and have photos taken with you. It was awesome meeting people from all over the world. It was also neat meeting a lot of local Toronto people on buses or trains, who were not part of World Youth Day.

So many of the older folks were so pleased to meet us and just loved the way that the youth and everyone behaved and loved the Lord so much.

It was also really neat because many times when we were on a bus or train, no matter how crowded, we would break out into song. I really loved it when we did that and so did many of the locals.

I also loved meeting Natalie MacMaster who performed during a Development and Peace rally. She was so friendly and warm to everyone and so willing to sign autographs and have photos taken with us. She also spoke during the rally about her faith and what being a part of World Youth Day meant to her, even if it was for just two or three days. That was really touching.

Being in Downsview field was quite the experience. First, with the baking heat on Saturday. I think it was really beginning to get to me when two of the people in our group who had gone to pick up lunch came back and told us that they had run out of food for us.

World Youth Day helped me rediscover just what the Lord means to me.

That got to me because I think I was really hot and hungry and overly tired. I started to get rather upset at one of our leaders but then I stepped aside by myself and said a small prayer and had a banana and then I started to feel better. Maybe it was in God's plan that we go without lunch that day.

Then later we had the vigil where the pope spoke to us again and that was also very moving.

Several hours later the rains hit. The first time it rained, it just seemed to upset most of us because were all asleep at the time and everything was getting wet.

Then the first bout of rain quit but we all could tell that it was going to rain again so we all got prepared for it. It was so moving to see how everybody pulled together to help one another stay dry and keep warm. It was very neat to witness two of our leaders, Sarah Britto and Christine Prozniak, rushing around to everyone of us to make sure we were all keeping dry and were warm enough and that everyone was doing alright.

No matter how stressful or wet or cold they got, they still managed to keep a cool head and remain calm the whole time. They managed to keep the situation under control.

By about 10:30 just as the papal mass was beginning, the rain quit and several minutes later the sun reappeared and it became baking hot again.

Another thing that I found really special was that every afternoon at some point we would take some time out from the activities to have our own praise and worship time. That was cool because it helped keep the focus on God and the reason why we were all there.

I especially loved the one prayer time that we had one afternoon in a parking garage. It was in the parking garage where it was much quieter and I could really feel the presence of God among us. Even when one of our fellow pilgrims got a bad headache and we all got together and prayed over her, I could feel the Lord blessing us all. Not long after, her headache went away.

That time in the garage is one of the things I think I will probably remember more fondly about my time at World Youth Day even thought the garage seemed like a rather nutty place to worship at the time when we first entered it.

I am really glad that I went. It was very special spending time and worshipping with others, especially the guys and gals I went with. Everyone was very nice and caring and lots of fun.

World Youth Day helped me rediscover just what the Lord means to me and how important he is in my life. It also helped me to become stronger in my faith and to include God in my life more and just be more passionate about God's love.

I think seeing the pope again (I was also in Denver) and hearing him speak really helped to strengthen my love for God. All in all, I think the Lord strengthened everyone's heart in some way.

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