"Around the 1st of January, large crowds of pilgrims once again gathered on the main street in Bijakovici. Vicka, after an absence of nine months for health reasons, returned to the stairs of her blue house to give witness! This year however, we will have to wait until March for her to resume her normal rhythm of speaking three days per week. By then the treatment of her shoulder should be finished. In these last nine months, Vicka has suffered more than usual, but she knows how to remain happy in all situations, even those that are apparently negative. Recently I had the opportunity to meet her and discuss the latest events with her, as well as her suffering. I was wondering why God would allow nine months to go by without Vicka speaking. How many thousands of people would have been able to be touched by her beautiful testimony and have returned to God? Why did God allow the long silence of this excellent witness? What advantage was there in keeping her away, trapping her inside her house, neither able to move, nor able to meet the crowds from all over the world who called for her? Of course it has to do with the incredible fruit of suffering, when it is offered to Jesus. There is no better example than Vicka. She does it with such ease. When I asked her about how she manages to stay positive she had many good points to share!She said: “You see, if God allowed that absence, He knows why, therefore I’m happy. He knows how much I love to bear witness to the pilgrims, He knows that the pilgrims need to hear the messages; then if He still chooses for me to make a sacrifice and bear this suffering instead, I don’t doubt, this plan is the best one for us all. That’s why I’m happy. I know that everything He does is a blessing. I am in His hands in order to serve Him. He can do as He wishes and, whatever He does, it’s His choice and I always thank Him. He sees so differently from us! We judge too easily on the outside. We have our own thoughts about things and we want God to act according to our wishes. But no! You see, we should always be happy with what God does, even if we have wanted something different. This brings heart-felt peace. I’m happy to be with my family, with the pilgrims or my friends, but I’m also happy when I’m sick. The important thing is to say YES to His ways and to have total confidence in Him. When you have confidence, you have peace! But this doesn’t happen overnight. We learn it day by day and we have to work in our hearts. We have to pray! God always wants to give us that peace, but we have to pray and to open our heart in prayer.”"I asked Vicka how was Baby Jesus when she saw Him in the arms of His mother on Christmas day. Was He asleep? “No!” She said. “He was completely awake. His eyes completely open!” Then I asked, “And His Mother, I suppose that she was radiant with joy?” To my question, Vicka lowered her head for a second and responded, “Yes, she was joyful; it was Christmas! But, she’s a mother, so even if her heart aches with pain, she hides it in order to show happiness to her children. But for me, since I’ve been seeing her for a while, it shows.” (I asked this question because of Mirjana’s surprising reaction to the apparition of Our Lady on December 2nd.) I continued to ask Vicka, “I understand that the Mother of God suffers enormously, seeing the large number of families breaking apart today.” “Sister Emmanuel,” Vicka responded. “Today there are not only families that are breaking apart! It is EVERYTHING that is breaking!”
~ From Sister Emmanuel Newsletter
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