Pilgrimage to Spain!

Hi Everyone! God has been so faithful to me in His promises and I am just overwhelmed with joy from his goodness! :)
For those of you who I sent a World Youth Day letter to, and for those of you that I did not, the donations are great! Thank you so much to all of those who gave a donation! Every penny counts, and every day My Mom and I are getting closer to living our dream.
On the letter it says the deadline for money is the 1st of May, we thought we would've raised it all by then but it hasn't happen yet, and I'm pretty sure that's because people are hesitating on sending past the "deadline". But I just want to tell everyone, please keep on donating, because we have changed the deadline to the 1st of July! Every cent we have gotten so far has been a blessing, and every cent we will get in the future will be a blessing as well! :)
Fo those of you that did not receive my letter here are some pieces from it, maybe you will consider donating as well:

God did so many amazing things last summer, and he still continues to do so. I’m hoping this summer will be just as blessed, and I have no doubt that it will be, while God continues to show his amazing grace to me daily.
The reason why I am contacting you is concerning a event that I feel God is calling me to attend this summer. I have an opportunity to go to World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain. This is an opportunity like no other, an event that I’ve always dreamed of attending. World Youth Day (WYD) is an international gathering of over a million young Christians to celebrate our union in Christ with Pope Benedict XVI. Since I was very young, I have watched these celebrations and dreamed of attending some day. I have been blessed to attend several local conferences and this will be my opportunity to attend the biggest Catholic Conference in the World. I love the opportunity that my Catholic faith gives me to be one with Christ in the Eucharist and to always be united spiritually with Catholics all over the World. But this opportunity will unite me with my Catholic brothers and sisters physically. Through your generosity , love, and support, you can be a part of this body of Christ too.

We will be traveling with a group of 20+ young people and our group leaders from The Family Missions Company. We are going with a group of missionaries on a pilgrimage through Spain, London, Paris, Europe, Cordoba, Spain, Rome, and Assisi.
We will be gone over a period of two weeks leaving August 8th and returning August 23rd. Over these two weeks our pilgrimage will backpack across several countries in Europe as we sleep on trains, in hostiles, and local homes. Included in this trip are many of my wildest dreams, such as traveling to all these countries and visiting many tourist sites. Some of the highlights include: Big Ben, the Parliament, the Eiffel tower, and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Also, we will tour ancient rome, rome at night, the vatican and Assi, France. The climax of our trip will be several days of events in Madrid, Spain at WYD, with a million other young christians. One event I’m very excited about, a special audience and mass with Pope Benedict XVI on my 17th birthday!

While being in Europe we will not only be enjoying ourselves, the company, and the beauty of God’s creations, but we will also be ministering to those around us by being a group that truly reflects sacrifice and the true beauty of being one with Christ. Each day will also be filled with prayer, sacrifice, and service which are the keys to my spiritual growth and discernment about my future vocation for God.

Photography has become a big part of my life, I am so thankful that God blessed me with a gift such as photography to be able to share His wonderful creations with this world. As a photographer I am very excited about the photo opportunities this trip will bring me! And of course I will be posting them on my blog to for everyone to see. :)

Again this will be a trip of a lifetime for me, especially since I will share it with my mother. My mother and I will be able to make many great memories together so I am very excited that we will be going together. But this dream can only happen with your help. The Family Missions Company will handle all of our travel, lodging, and food expenses for our donation of $5000.00 ($2500.00 Each). Please help Me and my Mothers dream become a reality! If you would like to make a tax deductible gift your checks can be paid to the Family Missions Company with Hollis in the remarks line. Anything helps, whether its $10 or $5,000! The deadline is July 1st. Please mail the checks directly to me at my address below. I will personally deliver them to the Family Missions Company Youth Ministry.


I would like to thank you all in advance for your support of making our dreams a reality. Please keep Me and my Mom in your prayers as we embark on this pilgrimage for Christ!

If you would like to donate please email me for my address :) hollylvz2tlk@aol.com

God Bless!