[Budapest] August is the time of year when most Europeans like to go on vacation to recover from the year's hard work and bathe in the summer sun, bringing some of its radiant energy into the chillier autumn and winter seasons. So, what month could have been better for holding the fifth annual All-European Retreat and for basking in the radiant warmth of God's all-embracing love?

From August 12 to 16, about 200 brothers and sisters from 16 European countries gathered at a campsite near Budapest, Hungary for a five-day meditation retreat. The event in Hungary was the first European retreat ever held in Eastern Europe, and more Eastern European disciples than ever before attended. Among the participants were many initiates from the countries that Master visited during Her 1999 lecture tour, such as Bulgaria, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Portugal, Scotland, Ireland, and Sweden. Even though the attendees came from many different countries and spoke many different languages, the atmosphere was very harmonious.

Some initiates had to travel for several days to reach the retreat site. For example, a brother from Portugal, who could not afford to pay for transportation, hitchhiked for four days to reach the site. All during his trip, he recited the Holy Names, and felt that his journey had been arranged perfectly by Master. He rode on several trucks, and almost each time he stepped out of one truck, another turned up that happened to be going in the right direction. All through his trip he was filled with overwhelming gratitude to Master for Her care and incredible arrangements.

Even though Master could not join us, She made a point to send us Her special good wishes for an enjoyable retreat. Her loving energy was strongly felt from the beginning to the end of the event. Through Her blessings, all activities proceeded smoothly, as the Master Power arranged everything perfectly up to the smallest detail. Many practitioners strongly felt Master's presence, especially during the meditation sessions. One sister said that each time we watched Master's video, it was as if Master were sitting there in person. With the support of the group, many of the new initiates who had never attended a retreat before achieved breakthroughs in their meditation practice. Some had never been able to sit for such long periods before, and were amazed at their own progress. The 15 Polish initiates in attendance were especially grateful, as they are normally unable to go to international retreats due to financial and visa problems.

The five days passed all too quickly, and during the retreat's last meditation session, a particularly strong gust of wind blew up, as if the trees around us were saying goodbye to the practitioners and bowing to thank the Master-power for the good vibrations. On the premises of the campsite were many animals, including horses, geese, goats, donkeys, cats, and dogs. In the beginning, some of the animals were quite noisy and restless, but by the end of the retreat, it seemed that they had calmed down a lot and looked quite serene.

After the last meditation session, the meditation tent was quickly transformed into a party venue with colorful balloons and ribbons, and soon the initiates' happy smiles were transformed into loud laughter when the entertainment program began. The performance was truly multicultural: Several sisters performed dances, ranging from a traditional Indian dance to classical ballet and contemporary dance to a modern disco dance. The audience also cheerfully joined in the performances of songs from many different countries. At the end of the performance, some enthusiastic initiates began to dance spontaneously in the joyous atmosphere.

After the retreat ended, a peaceful and serene ambiance still could be felt strongly at the campsite. Most practitioners agreed that it had been a wonderful and highly uplifting retreat, and looked forward to having more European Retreats in the future.