A group of 40 young pilgrims from Montana journeyed to Krakow, Poland, recently for World Youth Day. What they found in that foreign land went well beyond deepening their faith and having fun.

“We saw amazing examples of how Christians throughout the ages have met suffering,” Courtney Brockman wrote in her personal reflection of the 19-day trip.

“These stories are beautiful. The Christians who endured suffering were far from sad about it. Instead, they embraced it with joy and trust that God would pull them through it. Somewhere out there is a song that says, ‘I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.’ But that song has it all wrong. Saints laugh, even while they suffer.”

The local group included 38 teens from Catholic churches throughout the Flathead Valley and two from other places in Montana. All of the pilgrims represented the Diocese of Helena.

Nicole Brockman confided she was nervous at first about the possibility of a terrorist attack at World Youth Day activities, but said her fears subsided as the world event got underway with more than 2.5 million pilgrims from 187 countries.

“I was able to fully live in the present moment and enjoy every second instead of letting worry and fear get the best of me,” she wrote in her blog post. “No plans were ever set in stone for us, so we were all able to practice patience, flexibility and an openness to whatever God put in our paths.

“Our leaders did an amazing job, not only in being patient with us, but also in challenging us to be truly intentional in making this a spiritual, as well as physical pilgrimage,” Nicole said.

There were physical challenges during the trip, according to Makayla Darrow. While the local group had seating enviably close to Pope Francis during the opening ceremonies and Mass, the walk back to their housing was more than 7 miles.

During the pilgrim walk and papal vigil at Campus Misericordiae, a 7-mile trek with all of their luggage in tow turned into a 5 1/2-hour slog. Hydration was difficult in the heat. A crowd of 2.5 million people bottle-necked onto two roads leading to the vigil site.

“Stuffed like sardines was an understatement,” Darrow said.

Ariel Trierweiler said she was heartened by the welcome they received from their host families, most of whom live in an impoverished area.

“Our families were so proud to be able to be a part of our experience and they gave us more than I ever thought they would,” Trierweiler wrote in an email. “The immeasurable amount of selflessness shown was overpowering and something that I had never experienced. It made all of the problems that others were experiencing or that I was myself, seem less of a burden and more of a gift that we could use as an opportunity to shine through. Our host family in particular did not have much, but their generosity was empowering and definitely opened my eyes to realize that selflessness can start in little actions, not huge gestures.”

In addition to the World Youth Day events in Poland, the Montana group took a bus trip to Rome — a 25-hour jaunt. They soaked in the sights in Rome, walking through the holy door to marvel at St. Peter’s Basilica and exploring the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel.

“We had tickets to the papal audience,” Darrow said. “There, we got to see Pope Francis one more time and listen to him reflect on his time in Krakow with all of the pilgrims for World Youth Day. Even with the commotion in the Vatican, we had lots of opportunities to pray and admire the beauty.”

To learn more about the Flathead contingency’s experiences in Poland and Rome, go online to the blog at http://sierrajp2youth.wixsite.com/wyd2016.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.