Visionary, Marija, and her family came back to Birmingham, Alabama, for a family visit for several weeks with a Friend of Medjugorje, his family and the Caritas Community. They accompanied the community to Florida for a week at the beach. The community had brought with them a large statue of Our Lady and made an altar for the apparitons, with the ocean in the background. Not wanting Our Lady to take second place in their day, a Friend of Medjugorje asked Marija to ask Our Lady when She wanted to appear each day. They knew this retreat would be like no other they had ever experienced when Our Lady said in Her apparition on August 9:
True to Her words, a Friend of Medjugorje with the community was able to choose what time of day to settle down, and have a very peaceful, unhurried, beautiful Rosary to welcome Our Lady. It was a joyous week and though the community hadn’t had a real vacation/retreat in years, it was the apparitions that were the focus each day. On August 13th, two days before the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption, a Friend of Medjugorje asked Marija if everyone could write out their petitions and present them to Our Lady while Marija was in ecstasy. Marija agreed and even the children wrote petitions. One by one, they presented their petitions with Marija in ecstasy. Our Lady waited until the last person had walked up and then She gave the following message:
Stunned and overjoyed by Our Lady’s response, on the day of Our Lady’s Assumption, they did the same thing, writing their requests for graces and laying them at Our Lady’s feet during the apparition. Marija came out of ecstasy and again surprised everyone with what had happened in the apparition. Marija said that when Our Lady appeared, thousands of angels were with Her. Annette, the founder’s wife, asked what the angels were looking at. Marija, amazed as was everyone, said that they were looking at them, while they placed their petitions before Our Lady.
