Gabrielle had informed me that we had to leave early Tuesday morning because I had a job to do at our Australian gathering. She did not tell me what it was. Later I found out that I was going to be a part of carrying the cross and icon into the Australian gathering. At this point I did not think that I would be privileged to be chosen for such an experience, as carrying the WYD cross into the welcoming ceremony for Australian pilgrims. We arrived at the stadium and were taken 'behind the scenes' to prepare ourselves. I sat there talking to the other 5 Australians also carrying the cross and discovered that we had not prepared ourselves for what was about to happen. Our jaws dropped to the ground when we walked into the fifteen thousand seat stadium to practice, I was constantly looking around with hundreds of things racing through my mind. After our practice we hid the cross and icon at the back of the stadium as it was a surprise and waited and watched the stadium slowly fill with Australian pilgrims. The excitement grew and grew and the enthusiasm of the crowd made the adrenalin race in all of us. When the coordinator came back to tell us to smile, one of the boys said, "how could we not, this is amazing!" and it was. I couldn't stop smiling and in the moment of walking out in front of Three thousand Aussies I knew that God was with me. It was one of those moments that you know why God put you there, to enjoy the moment, to live it, and be happy! The cross was so heavy and at one point a priest in the crowd touched me on the shoulder and said, "you can do it". But the weight did not bother me because the excitement and happiness took over, and I couldn't remove the smile off my face! This experience is one I will never ever forget, it is one of the most memorable moments of my life :)
Landon Brady
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