NORTH CANTON - The first time, Terie Jusseaume was so cold she slept in her coat, so out-of-step she wanted to leave.
But none of that stopped her from returning to the site where believers say the Virgin Mary appears.
Ten times she has been back to Medjugorje in the Eastern European country of Bosnia. In June she will lead a two-week pilgrimage of Walsh University students, faculty and staff to Medjugorje with a side trip to a similar shrine in Lourdes, France.
Jusseaume, a slim, coiffed mother of five, says Medjugorje ``is the place I'm pulled to. For me, it's a spiritual boot camp.''
Medjugorje became famous when six young people reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary on a hillside there in 1981. Since then the seers have received messages that urge them to fast on bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays to have peace.
More than 30 million people worldwide have made the trek to the out-of-the-way village, said Mary Sue Eck, editor of Medjugorje Magazine near Chicago.
While Americans once represented the bulk of pilgrims, today's crowds come from countries once behind the Iron Curtain, she said. ``The Czech Republic sends 50 buses at a time.''
Visitors have included priests, bishops and cardinals, but the site isn't officially sanctioned by the Catholic Church.
``Let's wait and see,'' said the Rev. Thomas A. Thompson, director of the Marian Library at the University of Dayton's International Marian Research Institute. ``There is no hurry. By their fruits you shall know them.''
For Jusseaume, there was no such hesitation.
She is a devout Catholic who works part time at Walsh in campus ministry.
She tries to fast twice weekly, as the apparition asked -- a challenge given that she must attend professional dinners with her husband, Richard, who is president of Walsh.
She meets with other Medjugorje pilgrims at Walsh to pray. She hands out rosaries she got in Bosnia to the faithful.
And while she is devoted to her yearly pilgrimages, she's shy about talking about them, fearing she will be misunderstood.
She said she isn't sure how she got started on her pilgrimages. When someone mentioned the idea to her, she flatly replied she'd rather go to Hawaii.
But when her son recovered from a kick in the head by a horse in 1996, she decided to go to show her gratitude. It was not entirely successful.
Conditions were more primitive then. The electricity kept going off. Her lodging wasn't well-heated. She was restless -- despite bringing along her daughter for company.
``I didn't feel God's presence,'' Jusseaume said. ``When I got back, I was so disappointed.''
That gradually changed as she began speaking to groups about Medjugorje. She was surprised to feel herself pulled back, often carting others along with her.
This year, she organized the Walsh trip. Her husband and the couple's youngest child, David, are going, as are four Walsh faculty and staff and 10 Walsh students, including sophomore Kate Roshak of North Canton.
Roshak hopes the trip will help her sort out the complex issues that come with being a young adult.
``Should I pursue relationships?'' she asked. ``Should I consider a religious vocation? Should I go to graduate school or straight to work?''
Jusseaume is meeting with the students to make sure they know what they're in for.
``This involves putting aside everything else in life to seek God and his will,'' she tells them.
It will be arduous, with lots of walking and no air conditioning in the heat of the summer. They will have modest accommodations and family-style meals at the home of one of the visionaries, Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti. Like many area residents, she added to her home to house the influx of visitors.
No iPods. No phones. No computers. No TVs or radios. Since Walsh students can earn up to six hours of college credit for the trip, there will be classes and they must keep a journal. Daily Mass is a must -- it is offered in many languages to accommodate the hordes of international visitors.
The trip will be costly, about $3,000 a person. That means working, asking family and friends for donations and, Jusseaume suggests, praying.
They also should expect mind-numbing crowds.
While June is always the most popular time for pilgrims, this year will be even more so, as June 25 is the 25th anniversary of the first sighting. Lodgings already were booked months ago, Jusseaume said.
She insists students won't want to leave.
``It seems to me the most exciting possibility available -- to have an experience of heaven on Earth,'' she said.
