It was the summer of 2006.

One of the hardest summers of my life. The man who taught me how to sing with my heart was no longer able to sing. I sat next to him and sang him lullabies as he slept in peace.

That summer I was asked to sing at Medjugorje Youth Festival. it’s one religious gathering that resonates in my heart as open and wide as the spirit of a soul can be – with tens of thousands of young people from many different countries coming together in prayer and meditation. Drug addicts, who are trying to heal; orphans and lonely teenagers; those who belong and those who are searching; all on a journey without judgment, without expectations or fear.

I was looking for a song I’d sing at the festival for my father – it was a perfect opportunity to loose myself in the power of prayer.

Few weeks prior to the Medjugorje Youth Festival I went to visit my two great-aunts (from my father’s side) Mitzi and Stefi in Trieste, Italy. They are both short, but feisty women full of life, passion and tremendous (and