Chase’s Miracle Pilgrimage

Our entire journey was better than we could have imagined, although it was incredibly exhausting. Despite the fact that we only had a few days in Medjugorje and hadn’t planned out the itinerary in detail, everything fell into Divine Order thanks for the most part to our gracious host family. They were simply amazing – they escorted us around to all the main sites that are a must see for any pilgrimage to Medjugorje, such as the neighboring parish where the priest (Fr. Jozo) presided over St. James parish in their village when the apparitions started and was persecuted by the Communist government, the local orphanage caring for children of the war victims, the rehab center, and our climbs up mount Krucevek and Apparition Hill.

We were very fortunate to be able to take Chase on this journey before his condition had progressed such that it was too much of burden for him – his condition is just beginning to limit and really frustrate him. Over the past few weeks, the muscle weakness on his right side has begun to affect his ability to walk and use his right hand. We were able to get him around in a stroller most of the time, except for the mountain climbs – I actually carried him on my back up cross mountain through the stations of the cross and it must have been with the help of many angels because it wasn’t nearly as hard as I would’ve thought. Actually some of the others on the climb had a harder time than I did even with Chase on my shoulders.

On Friday morning, we attended a talk by one of the local Franciscan priests from the Parish of St. James. Afterwards, his translator (Ivanka) stopped to talk with Sister Carmela, having recognized her from the pilgrimage she took in October when she “carried” Chase is prayer. Ivanka had been with her and remembered the experience as well as the message / calling that Sister received for us. Ivanka was very pleased to see us there with Chase. Her message to me was that we needed to let God know that we are willing to carry our cross and then he will have access to be able to help us remove it… this stuck with me and that afternoon, when we attended a Divine Mercy service, I was moved in a very deep way. I felt like Abraham lifting his son up to God, willing to take his life for Him if it was God’s will. Although it was something that I knew intuitively needed to happen, I was still unwilling and resistant. This was quite a release and it was no coincidence to me that I received a reminder that morning on the day we were preparing ourselves for a miraculous experience.

The highlight of the pilgrimage was on Friday afternoon - our personal meeting with one of the visionaries that Our Lady has been appearing to. Ironically, she had this illness in common with Chase. Several years ago, she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and had daily headaches as well as other painful complications. Nevertheless, she “carried her cross” with love in her heart, never complaining about this condition. The Blessed Mother dictated letters to be delivered to the local priest and bishop with instructions that they were not to be opened for 9 months until September 25th (coincidentally, Carol’s B-day). On that day several years ago, the letters were opened in front of witnesses – they included an explanation of the fact that this obedient servant wanted to carry this burden for the sake of lost souls and that as of the date the letters were opened, her journey would be completed. She then went to her doctor who conducted scans confirming that the tumor was completely gone without a trace.

Obviously she could empathize with us and she willingly prayed over Chase at length. When she was done, she said that during her apparition that evening she would be asking for Our Lady’s intercession. Her words of advice to us were “the Lord knows when to give us a cross to carry, which we are to do lovingly, and He knows when to take it away”….

Friday evening, during the exact time of the daily apparition (which now takes place wherever the visionary is which on this day would be at her home), we were all together praying on Apparition Hill (the site of the first appearances). Chase was in great spirits, even though he had a rough time earlier that day and we weren’t sure he was going to join us since he was so tired. Somehow he came to life just as we were getting ready to head to Apparition Hill and insisted that he wanted to come with us. We had a beautiful prayer service for Chase at the blue cross (where the appearances have been occurring) and we were joined by several other pilgrims who knew nothing of our situation but were eager to join us. We all prayed and sang songs for about an hour which was the most moving experience you can imagine.

We returned for a peaceful evening where Chase and Barbara slept really well. On Saturday, we went to the morning mass and then head back to Dubrovnik so that we could stay closer to the airport to catch our early flight back home. That night, Chase was murmuring and mumbling in his sleep for a while which woke us up. Carol went to lay with him when he started shaking and shivering (almost in convulsions), although he was not awake or conscious. I came over to join them and prayed over Chase, forcibly holding him down as we prayed to prevent his muscle jerking. Eventually he woke up as if nothing happened and he realized we were laying next to him – he was almost surprised and said he wanted to sleep by himself, so we gave him space and went back to our beds.

Then he called me back to his bed teary eyed and asked me if it hurts when you die. I replied, “no Chase it’s a joyful time when you join Jesus in heaven” – of course I was concerned about what would lead to such as question so I said, why do you ask. His shocking response was that he was dreaming that he was still a little boy and after a couple of years I had died….how’s that for a turn of events. I assured him that was just a bad dream (unlike the miracle dream he had with Jesus a couple of weeks ago) - I truly believe he was being “cleansed” by our Lord during his sleep, while an evil spirit was scaring him in the process. Chase woke up fine once again (although he did remember the dream and was still sad when he talked with me about it).

Although his physical condition hasn’t seemed to change yet, that doesn’t deter our belief that he is / was healed. We know that the real key now is to continue to pray with deep faith in gratitude to God and Jesus for his healing miracle. Ironically, Sister Carmela pulled me aside on Sunday morning to tell me that she also received a message for me (sort of related to the Abraham story) and conveyed that the reason God stopped his hand was because of the depth / strength of his faith. I know from the discussions I had with the Homeopath that even after his patients had their tumors completely regressed, it took some time for the nerve damage to be repaired, but ultimately they regained full faculties with no long-term deficits. This is what we are expecting to be the case for Chase and we’re excited about his next MRI which is scheduled for this Friday.

In the meantime, we’ll be praying our hearts out in gratitude for an amazing experience, including our safe return and the fact that we got two first class upgrades once again. There’s a lot more to our experience than I could possibly convey in this update - suffice it to say that this was a glorious and memorable pilgrimage for Chase and out entire family. We appreciate all your prayerful support along the way – this has been an incredible ride and we feel truly blessed by the experience.

Love,

John & Carol
Chase & Barbara Ann

Incredible Pilgrimage

This has been just the most amazing / moving experience that it's hard to put in words. We are truly feeling the presence of Our Lady, Jesus, and the uplifting prayers of all Chase's Prayer Warriers!

We are all very excited for the climb up Apparition Hill this afternoon and we really appreciate all who are planning to join us in prayer at 12:30 pm Eastern Standard Time. Today is a big day leading up to the end of the Divine Mercy Novena (by the way, Pope John Paul passed away on the final day of the Novena last year - during the Saturday vigil and there's no doubt it was divine intervention).

Since there's so much power in prayer and we have countless Warriers that will be joining us today, we would like to include the intentions that we received for this pilgrimage:

Drew Baggett, James Burgess, Naomi Reisler, James Neubauer, Alicia , Dylan Jeskey, Alex Kline, Diane Radle, Kathy Lovelady, Baby Megan and our beloved Chaser Boy...

We believe this pilgrimage will make a significant difference for all of these special people and we wish they could all join us in person, but we know they are with us in spirit as we've carried them with us in our hearts and that they will feel the power of our collective prayers today to lift them out of their condition.

Thanks again to everyone for spreading the word and uniting with us in faith. Anyone who is so inclined is welcome to join us in fasting and praying the Novena today. We truly appreciate all your prayers and support!

Love,

John & Carol
Chase & Barbara Ann

Chase's Miracle Journey is Underway!

We had a wonderful Easter weekend, hightlighted by the Easter Vigil service on Saturday night that included the baptism of Chase and Barbara Ann. They did great and lasted into the late evening until the service ended at around 10:30 pm. It was a really special time for the whole family and we had a blessed Easter Sunday.

Then we left on our pilgrimage on Mon afternoon. I had prayed hard Sunday evening and Monday morning that we would be able to upgrade at least a couple of seats, knowing that it was going to be a long journey. To make a long story short, our first miracle of the trip was that Chase and Carol had first class seats from Detroit to Frankfurt and were able to get some good rest. They sure needed it, because as we approached Frankfurt the weather was bad and they had mechanical trouble with the lighting system at the airport, so we were re-routed to Dusseldorf for a long delay. By the time things got worked out for us to arrive in Frankfurt a few hours later, we missed our connection to Dubrovnik (Croatia), so we ended up with another 7 hour delay and a connecting flight through Zagreb with another 2 hour layover there. We arrived around 11 pm and then had to take a couple hour drive from the airport to Medjugorje. Our host family had dinner still waiting for us (1 am) which we all really appreciated and we got to bed at around 2 am on Wed (after leaving on Mon afternoon). Needless to say, everyone is a bit "dragged out", but the kids did great (no meltdowns - they're actually getting along great) and they hit the sack immediately when we got them to their room.

Although Chase slept well, he woke up this morning having breathing difficulty (we think it's due to a sinus infection and not his condition, but it's hard to really tell). He also has a terrible headache, which is always concerning. Nevertheless, we're very releaved to be here and feel the power of the spirit already. We have a busy day planned, starting with meeting a local priest after morning mass who has a talk planned on the Apparitions. Then we're following up with one of the Visionaries (Vicka) who might be able to meet with us and pray over Chase, followed by evening prayer service, blessing of the sick, etc.

Hopefully, we'll all get our clocks adjusted and be able to keep up. We ended up bringing Carol's sister Cathy (the Nurse Practioner) at the last minute and what a blessing that was - we really needed her help and everything is working out great.

Thanks so much for all the prayers and support! We've received more messages than we could possilbly respond to but it's wonderful to know how many people around the globe are lifting Chase in prayer this week. We're keeping the faith and believing this miracle is unfolding according to His plan!

Love,

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Prayers for Chase Crusade

We are all anxiously awaiting the beginning of our pilgrimage to Medjugorje and the further unfolding of our miracle for Chase. In order to help organize our efforts to solicit prayer support during this trip, one of our friends (Patricia Rhodes-Prowse) put together a nice summary of the situation (see file attachment on the Yahoo site)). This is self-explanatory and we’re hoping it will enable us to gain even more momentum for this Crusade.

We ask that all of Chase’s Prayer Warriors review this file and circulate it to as many people as possible so that we can all be in unison during the Novena of Divine Mercy for Chase. You can also follow the specific prayers of the Novena through the following link:
http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/mercy/novena.htm

This period of devout prayer will start on Good Friday and end on Divine Mercy Sunday (4/23). For those who can participate, we are requesting a spiritual fast (bread and water) on Good Friday as well as the following Wednesday (4/19) and most importantly, Friday 4/21) – this is the day that we will be making our climb up Apparition Hill in Medjugorje beginning at 6:30 pm local time, which is 12:30 pm EST. We expect this to take approximately 45 minutes to one hour and this is generally the time that the Apparitions have been taking place. Throughout this time, we will be praying in confidence and thanking God for this miracle that he is performing in our lives.

Anyone who has special intentions that they would like us to take with us during this climb is also welcome to forward them by e-mail. From what we’ve read, there is a particular place to leave these intentions and they are prayed over daily. We can’t thank you all enough for your faithful support – this entire process has brought many blessings to our entire family and we remain confident that His plan for us is unfolding perfectly.

Love,

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Chase had a Difficult Weekend – We’re Ready for our Miracle

When we tried to access Chase’s port last week, after returning from Orlando, his nurse noticed some type pustule (almost like a pimple). Her concern was that piercing this with a needle could introduce bacteria into his port and lead to a dangerous infection. She managed to avoid this concern at that time, but when it came to accessing his port again over the weekend, the condition got worse. Aunt Corinne recommended that we have Chase’s Oncologist look at it, who prescribed antibiotic ointment and pills to try and knock it out. In the meantime, they set up a temporary access in his arm so that he could get his anti-neoplaston IV treatment for a few days, while his port healed. This turned out disastrous, as it tortured him throughout the first night and we abandoned the plan until the port healed.

Unfortunately, this didn’t get easier as we went through the week. During his follow-up at the Oncologist, they were able to access Chase’s port, but the fact that he had been off the medicine for several days meant that it was going to take his system a while to adjust once again. Chase was struggling with fatigue, nausea, and headaches for a few days as we tried to gradually increase his doses again. He’s also been losing some strength on his right – his arm is a bit weaker and he’s limping a bit, favoring his right leg. This made things challenging for Chase during his first soccer game of the new season on Sunday (although he still managed to have a good time and was pretty active throughout the game). By the end of the weekend, it seemed that he might be turning the corner in terms of tolerating his increased doses; however, his nurse had difficulty accessing the port once again. Last night he woke up in excruciating pain, which we immediately knew meant that his port needle came loose and was excreting the antineoplastons under his skin, causing a major irritation and inflammation in the surrounding area.

Obviously Chase was extremely upset with this whole experience. At one point, he asked his mommy, “why did you guys put me on this medicine anyway?” After Carol explained that we’re doing our best to get him healed, he asked “why is this taking so long” as he broke down in tears.

Needless to say, we’re all ready for this miracle to unfold as soon as possible. Chase and Barbara are preparing to be baptized in our local Catholic church, St. Columban, during the Easter Vigil mass at 8 pm this Saturday evening. Anyone in the area who would like to join us are welcome to come by – if not in person, you’re welcome to join us in prayer at that time. We’re anticipating that this will be the start of our pilgrimage, as Sister Carmela is preparing us for the trip to Medjugorje. We’re planning to follow the Novena of Divine Mercy (9 days of devout prayer), dedicated to Chase beginning on Good Friday. Anyone interesting in participating can obtain the prayers and follow the Novena at

http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/mercy/novena.htm

We’ll be leaving for the pilgrimage next Monday, April 17th and returning on Sunday the 23rd. The most likely time for the climb up Apparition Hill will be Friday, the 21st at 6:30 pm local time (12:30 pm EST). We’ll confirm this once again as we get closer to the trip and hope that as many people as possible can join us in prayer at that time – it will undoubtedly be an extremely “moving” experience.

In the meantime, we’re continuing to respond to the messages of the Queen of Peace (as the Blessed Mother is referred to in the apparitions of Medjugorje). She’s been calling for all of God’s children to return to Him and to praise Jesus. We’re praying more every day, fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays, and preparing our hearts and spirits for this miracle. As we get closer to the trip, our prayers are filled with more and more gratitude for the blessings that this experience has brought us.

Thanks for all your support and prayers! We’re feeling the power of Holy Spirit filling our household and our entire family. As the Queen of Peace has said in Her messages, prayer and fasting can bring an end wars – there’s no doubt that our collective prayers are bringing us closer to this miracle.

Lots of love and gratitude,

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann

Chase's Miracle Dream

Chase and Barbara had a great Spring Break visiting all the Orlando theme parks. They took full advantage of the privileges provided by Give Kids The World and they loved every minute of it. Chase particularly loved the idea of not having to wait in lines – he darted right for Space Mountain and went on it twice in a row, even though Barbara was in tears after the first ride, he insisted on dragging her through it again. She was really a great big sister, going along with whatever Chase wanted to do (spiderman ride, Jimmy Neutron, etc.) and tried to make the best of it. By the time we got back, I needed a vacation to recover – although they cooperated for the most part, it was quite a stressful trip, trying to ensure that Chase took all his meds, ate a balanced organic diet, did some lessons, and got along with Barbara. I certainly have a newfound appreciation for Carol’s job and wouldn’t want to trade places…

We are continuing to prepare for our pilgrimage to Medjugorje. The information that we’re reading about the background of this spiritual place is breathtaking. There are many books, videos, etc. available on www.medjugorje.com and www.medjugorje.org. There have literally been hundreds of miracles reported over the past 25 years of daily apparitions from the Blessed Mother. In preparation for the pilgrimage, we have been doing our best to follow her messages, including praying as a family, fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays, and renewing / strengthening our faith. We are expecting this trip to bring healing on many levels – physical, spiritual, emotional, etc. and we are all very excited about it.

We will be traveling on the day after Easter, arriving in Medjugorje on Tuesday 4/18. That is a very special week, leading up to Divine Mercy Sunday, and we’re planning to have the focal point be a vigil service on Saturday evening, April 22nd. Next week we will be meeting with Sister Carmela once again to discuss more of the specifics of the itinerary so that we can confirm the dates and times for everyone to be able to pray in unison for our miracle.

In the meantime, Chase had a remarkable dream this past Sunday. He called me in the middle of the night (like usual) needing a drink and he mentioned that he was dreaming about Jesus. I didn’t think much of it, just kissed him and said, “that’s nice, now go back to sleep and have sweet dreams”. Then Carol told me the rest of the story yesterday… apparently Chase also told her about his dream of Jesus. She asked how he knew who it was and Chase said “because he was wearing that brown thing around him…” Then she asked what happened in the dream and Chase said, “he told me that I would be healed”… she was obviously pleasantly surprised and probed further – did he say anything else… Chase thought for a moment and then said, “oh yeah, he told me to take my medicine”….

Of course we were just ecstatic to hear this and did our best to fight back the tears of joy, since Chase wouldn’t understand… nevertheless, it sure was comforting and another affirmation of the miracle that is unfolding before our eyes Keep up the flow of prayers and blessings! We truly appreciate it!

Love,

John & Carol Sammut
Chase & Barbara Ann