World Youth Day - Day 8 (The Vigil)

Saturday, July 27, 2013

It was the worst possible day to get sick, but it happened.  I woke up on the morning of the vigil almost incapable of breathing because I had such a bad head cold.  Luckily, between the medicines that I brought and the ones Richard brought, I was able to get myself feeling well enough to have a good day.

We woke up at a reasonable time, but the group from England had been gone for some time before we even got up.  This was cause for concern for me.  I couldn't help but wonder exactly why they thought it was so important to get up so early.  What memo did WE miss?

One of the first things that I noticed was that our packs were big and heavy compared to the other people we saw getting ready.  We brought backpacking backpacks, while other groups just used the small day packs that we had been using on the weekdays.  I was embarrassed.  All I brought in my backpack was a sleeping bag, some warm(ish) clothes, my first aid kit, and some water.  I wondered how they fit everything inside those small packs.  And I almost immediately regretted bringing so much stuff.  My bag was heavy and cumbersome.  I longed to have a smaller, lighter bag, like so many of the people around us. 

We all got ready and left to go get breakfast.  Our breakfast kits were a bit bigger this morning, because they included a snack.  Most of us were hungry and ate the snack with the breakfast.  Even with the snack, the breakfasts weren't very filling.  And with the long walk ahead of us, we were going to need the energy.

We spent more time eating breakfast than I would have liked, but it turned out that that extra 15 minutes didn't really make a big difference.  

We got on the bus to go to Rio, which took us to the beginning of the pilgrimage walk.  We got off the bus, took a few moments to apply sunscreen, pray as a group, and collect ourselves.  And then, we were off!

Beginning the long walk (about 6 miles)

We began at a rather quick pace, but I think that most of us were content with it.  

Then we stopped for a break.

Then we started.

Then we stopped for a break.

Then we started.

Then it started to rain, and we had to stop to get our rain gear on.

Rain can't stop us!

Then we started.

The stopping and starting became a little irritating, but it was necessary.  One of the boys volunteered to carry the backpack of a member of our group who was unable to carry it herself.  He carried his pack on his back, and hers on his front.  He was extremely generous with that pack.  He never complained.  He never got frustrated.  He just did what he had to do.  Seeing that was really special.

We were told that we were going to have to stop to get the rest of our food along the way.  When we got to the point where we had to get the food, there were people everywhere.  It was crazy.  The line was insane.  But this was the food that we were going to eat for our lunch, dinner, and breakfast the next day.  There wasn't really much of a choice.  We had to stop and wait in that line.

Balloons

Some of the boys waited in line while the rest of us waited under a tree near the port-a-potties.  Despite what you may think, this was actually a good location, because, for many of us, this would be the last time we'd get to use a port-a-potty for about 24 hours.  If we weren't so close to them, many of our group might have gotten lazy and decide not to use them at that time.  It was a huge blessing that we were there.

Some of the teens got to sleep while we waited for the food.  The guys who were standing in line didn't get to, though.  I didn't sleep either.  I was trying to be in solidarity with those guys as much as possible.  Plus, someone had to make sure that our stuff didn't get stolen.  Yes, that was a real fear!

Waiting

Waiting

Waiting

One of the girls braided the hair of many of the girls who were with us.  It was really nice of her to do that for us.  It took a long time to do everyone's hair.  She is really talented.  Men just don't understand the braided hair thing.  I've heard Chris Padgett, a Catholic youth speaker, talk and joke about girls braiding their hair at these types of events.  Believe me, it's not just about a look (although, it was nice to finally get some pictures of myself that where my hair didn't look like a complete mess).  Sometimes it's about functionality.  It keeps the hair out of your face, which is a huge benefit at an event where you don't have the time or patience to keep fixing it.  Plus, it feels way less dirty when it's braided.  Don't ask me why.

Hair braided!

A volunteer approached me at one point and asked me if we were planning on staying in that spot once our food arrived.  I said no.  I could see the relief on her face when I said that.  She had a hard job, making sure that everyone left quickly.  The natural instinct is to eat your lunch once you get it, especially considering it was now 3:00 in the afternoon and we hadn't eaten since breakfast.  When I told her that we were planning on leaving (before she asked me to), she just smiled and said, "That is a good answer!"  I liked that.  I felt bad for her.  I was happy to make it easy on her.

We waited.  And waited.  And waited for our food.  After four long hours of waiting, we finally had our food, and we were walking again.  We didn't even take the time to eat some of it.  We just took our kits and started walking.

The boxes weren't made for travel, and the bottoms kept breaking.  That was really frustrating.

The walk was harder than it had been before the food break, but it wasn't impossible.  It was really crowded and intense.  Carrying those boxes of food was surprisingly difficult.  They were heavy and awkward, and that little bit of extra weight made the journey that much more difficult.

Everyone in the crowd had high spirits though.  They kept chanting the phrase that they had been saying all week:  "Esta es!  La juventud del Papa!" which means something like, "This is the youth of the Pope!"  

I kept feeling water splash on my ankles, and I thought that it was a bit strange until someone pointed out that my bag was wet and dripping water.  Yep.  Sure enough, the water bottle that I had packed at the TOP of my stuff, had opened and leaked all the way through to the bottom of my bag.  All of the contents of my bag were wet.  This was going to be an awesome night.

Walking through Rio was exciting.  The people of Rio didn't really protest (although a few did quietly).  Mostly, the people came to cheer us on.  They lined streets and bridges as we passed, waving and taking our pictures.  I felt like the city really embraced what was going on, and I felt very welcomed and loved by them.  I know that I'm not the only one who felt that way.  

Supporters from Rio, cheering us on!

Our view as we walked!  So beautiful!

It was getting dark when we finally got to the beach (remember, it was winter there, so the sun set early).  The streets were incredibly and intensely crowded.  At one point, I overheard a member of our group say, "Well now my trip is ruined!"  I turned to find out what was going on, only to discover that he had been pickpocketed, and his camera was stolen out from his pocket.  I shouted to the front of the group to stop, and rushed ahead to tell Richard what had happened.  I wanted to remind everyone to not put anything in their pockets.  At that point, I saw Richard worry.  He checked his pockets and found that he, too, had been pick pocketed.  His credit cards and ID were in his pocket, and had been stolen.  Why would you put anything in your pocket?!

We stopped, in the middle of the street, so he could borrow my phone to call home and start the process of canceling his credit cards.  This happened very quickly, actually, and then we began to look for a place to camp.

We couldn't get through to the beach yet, because the barricades were up.  The Pope was going to pass very close to us.  Again, we stopped by the port-a-potties. 

We waited, took bathroom breaks (if you can call it a bathroom), and rested.  We were actually really close to the barricades at this point, and so we were hoping that we could actually catch a glimpse of the Pope as he passed by.  And we did!  This time, for less than one second, I caught a glimpse of his face!  It was so fast and so chaotic, but I saw him!  I couldn't believe it!

Climbing Port-A-Potties is pretty risky, but they thought it was worth it to catch a glimpse of the Pope!

This is where it got scary!  They opened the barricaded area to let us onto the beach.  I had a small group with me, while the rest of the group was way ahead.  The crowds started pressing forward, and I started to get carried away with the crowd.  Literally.  My feet weren't even touching the ground.  I had no control over where I was going.  It was kind of scary.  I remember thinking, "This is how people get crushed in crowds.  This is how people die."  

It was while I was being carried away that Richard's wife called back to update him on the credit card situation.  I felt bad for her, because that was a very stressful situation for her, so I answered the phone.  While I was being carried.  I couldn't really help her, but I wanted her to know that Richard would call her back very soon. 

Finally, we got through the worst part of the crowd, and on to the beach.  The beach was packed with people, and nobody would let us sit with them.  Some of them were kind of rude about it, but I don't blame them.  How early had they left in order to reserve those spots I wonder?  Earlier in the day I had wondered why the group from England decided to leave so early.  After seeing this, I realized that even they left too late! 

We were looking for a place on the beach, and I turned around and saw this.  All those screens!

We left the beach and went out to the streets, where we decided to camp out temporarily.  Temporarily turned into permanently for the rest of the night, and I was relieved about that.  People kept trying to walk over our stuff, so Christa and I made a human wall to stop that from happening.  I so badly wanted to sit down, but until things died down a bit, I refused!  Two of the boys did the same thing on a different corner of our camp out area.  Nobody could ruin our camp site!

The boys, keeping watch of our camp site!

The Pope led us in Adoration, which was amazing.  Yes, it was still hard to concentrate, but it was so beautiful that it was impossible not to appreciate what was going on.  

Our camp site

When the vigil ended, several people from our group were asleep right away.  A few of us stayed up and played cards for a little while, but mostly, we were excited to go to sleep.  It had been a long day, and we knew it would be hard again tomorrow.  It was here that I discovered that the most essential thing I brought with me (my sleeping bag) wasn't wet from my water bottle spilling!  I had sprayed it with water proofing spray before we left, and so I give myself credit for it being dry!  Maybe that's unreasonable, but I don't care!  I am taking credit for it anyway!

It was unsafe for everyone to sleep, because the thieves weren't even being subtle.  They were just picking up people's things and walking away with them.  A few of the boys took turns watching our stuff.  Until 2:00 am, one boy kept watch, and then our hero, a boy named Trevor, stayed up the rest of the night, keeping watch.  I'll tell you what, there were several moments when I woke up, panicking, thinking that nobody was keeping watch.  And every time I woke up, he was right there, quickly by my side, asking if I needed anything.  I was always assured that he was keeping us safe and looking out for us.  Now, I have slept in a sleeping bag many times in my life, and I have never experienced what happened here, but I actually managed to zip my hair into my sleeping bag while I had been asleep.  And who was there to help me unzip it?  Trevor!  It was so good to have him around.  It was cold, and yet he gave all of his warm clothes and sleeping stuff to people in our group who were cold.  He was tired, and yet he stayed awake the entire night.  He really took care of us and protected us when we needed him.  It was really quite special.  

Sleeping on the street was quite painful, and cold, but we made it through.  I was still feeling rather ill, but I was in a good mood.  We were excited for tomorrow, for we were hopeful it would bring amazing things.  And it sure did!

Christa and I were tired, but happy!  It was a good day!