Rosa: I knew it would be hard being away from my kids, but I didn’t think it would be as hard as it is. It’s actually been painful. I’ve been a mess. I’ve been struggling. 

I don’t know what it is about Her presence and what Mirjana was saying, but it brought me peace. I just felt like if she can endure everything she’s gone through, then what is a couple days without my kids. It’s just brought me contentment. 

Mirjana’s presence and saying to let go and that she would forget her kids in the moments that she was with Our Lady and the pain that she went through when Our Lady left and that she is able to endure that on a regular basis, I don’t even know how to describe it. I was just watching her in tears. She’s an amazing woman. 

I can’t even fathom what it’s like being her. That’s so much pressure. She can’t live a normal life. She can’t go out without people bombarding her.

She has a beautiful story. It’s a crazy story, but I could not imagine having to repeat the same story every day. Even when she started off, you could tell she’s said it quite a few times.

I’ve been struggling so bad this whole time with everything. Mirjana just made it all better. I don’t think I’ve been able to experience anything and enjoy anything until hearing her. I just want to hug her to thank her. 

I can’t get past the warmth she exudes. She feels like home. I just feel like talking to her was like talking to my own mother. That motherly, “I get what you’re going through, but this isn’t the end of the world. You’ll get through it.”

Even going to Apparition Hill, I thought it was beautiful and meaningful, but there is just something about Mirjana and her presence and the way that she speaks. She just made me feel like it was going to be okay. I was just in this funk for nothing. 

I feel at peace, like it’s okay. They’re okay. Logically, I knew they were okay, but now I feel it in my heart. 

Honestly, I came for Tony. I had my doubts. I didn’t know what I would get out of it. I grew up Catholic and I was always religious, but I never knew about any of this. I figured it’s a once in a lifetime experience and I should see what it’s about. I didn’t expect to get anything anywhere near like that out of it. 

Up until yesterday, I told him multiple times, “I hate this place. I just want to go home.” I think he was getting mad at me.

Tony: I was just hoping that she would find something because when I came here, I knew I was going to love it. I knew I had to get here. I wanted to be here.

I brought her here and I came here because I watched the documentary Apparition Hill and I instantly felt a pull like I had to come here, like God was calling me to come here. I didn’t know why until I stepped into the town and just felt an inner peace that I’ve been praying for. At home, I was peaceful, but there was still a lot of anger with the world and everything. I just wanted to find that true peace. When I got here, it was exactly what I was expecting. 

You feel that Motherly love with Her being here all the time. That’s why I had to come here. It was a want and a need, but it was something other than just me saying I needed to come here.

What’s beautiful about the whole thing is that it’s about everybody coming together, the love of the whole community. It’s about more than just Our Lady appearing. It’s about going to Mass and about a deeper love for everybody else. 

Mirjana said something that I totally agree with about praying. Doing the Rosary and reading the Bible takes away the anxiety and makes everything easier to deal with, all the troubles of life. 

Rosa: Mirjana said people pray for specific things, and I was like, “I do pray for specific things all the time. Then when I get the opposite, I get upset.” Meanwhile, Mirjana is right. The opposite is what I needed. It changes the way you think about praying for things.

She said she asks for God’s guidance rather than for a specific thing.

Tony: She said, “I ask for God’s will.”

Rosa: She puts it in God’s hands. I’ve never thought of it like that. I’ve always prayed for specific things, like if someone is sick, for them to get better, and not, “God, it’s your will. It’s in your hands. You’re going to do what the best thing is.”

When people pray for specific things, I think that’s where the disappointment and the disbelief comes in because you’re like, “I specifically asked for this and You did the opposite.”

I just can’t explain the level of peace that she brought me. I felt like someone was sitting on my chest this entire trip, and now it’s gone.

Tony: I like what Mirjana said at the very beginning, “If this is your first time here, what took you so long?” I would like more people to know not to wait. The minute you can come here, you need to come here.