August 17, 1993
Young pilgrims wowed by experience
Wayne's young pilgrims who made the trek to Denver to see the Pope last week returned home Monday excited to the point of
exhaustion with the stories they wanted to relate about their experiences.
Unlike thousands of young people who got sick in the head and crowded conditions during the activities in and around Denver,
the Wayne youngsters avoided illness in part because of the insistence of their adult sponsors, Don and Terri Hypse that the
youth drink no pop- only water and keep cool as possible with douses of water.
Over 13,000 youths were treated for heat related illnesses and several from eastern Nebraska had to stay behind in Denver
hospitals to recover when their fellow pilgrims headed home. In spite of looking like they had not had much sleep in a week, a
fact they all verified, the 11 pilgrims from Wayne expressed excitement upon their return.
"The pope was like a grandfather type, Susan Webber, who added she was impressed by his sense of humor and ability to
kid around with the youngsters, said. "He's so sweet," she said, adding that there was more to the pope's trip than just kidding
around with young people. "Young people can make a difference and should look at themselves not as future Christina leaders,
but they should take responsibility for the direction of the church today," was the message the Wayne teens brought back.
