Shatzi Duffy, director of our house, had tried to get some of the youth we know to participate, but she did not succeed. Moira, however, brought along her fourteen-year-old daughter and they travelled with friends, a mother and her fourteen-year-old twin girls.

I went by bus with a group of ten people from St. Patrick’s Parish in Stockton-on-Tees. The journey was rather pleasant, but it started to rain just before we arrived. The night was very cold and damp, and as I lay in my tent, I was very grateful for my air mattress.

The four-day festival was geared for young adults, ages 16-35, and the events included, among other things, praise and worship, introduction to the rosary, a healing service, all night adoration, the sharing of testimonies, sports, and, of course, talks and workshops.

I volunteered to lead a small discussion group. It built my faith to share about my faith journey with the people in the group and to listen to their sharing about living their Faith through their struggles, return to the Church, and personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

I set up a stall in the tent with some MH books and free MH literature. MH Robin Hood’s Bay had prepared a flier inviting young people to come and experience our Nazareth way of life, and I gave out these as well.

So far, we haven’t heard from anyone wanting to come, but we trust that Our Lady will bring her friends to us in God’s good time.

I encountered some of the friends of Our Lady of Walsingham in the walk I took from the Slipper’s Chapel to the town.

A Traveler named Rosie and her six very young children were walking barefoot. They were doing this for the repose of the soul of her husband and their father, who had died in a recent car accident. I was very moved by their love and faith.

The whole event was grace-filled for me and, I think, for the approximately 700 young people who attended. God is good! Always!