Summer Camp: Immersion in Life of Pilgrim

From June 5 to June 16, the Mission of the Good Samaritan held a summer camp tour called Pilgrim is a Creative Person”. The program of the summer camp was rich: classes of spiritual content, familiarization with the Christian tradition and the most famous pilgrim routes, classes on ways to improve the pilgrim’s personality. During ten days, the children discovered and experienced all the joy and benefits of pilgrimage.

The first day of summer began with the Holy Mass – on June 5, the memory of Saint Boniface was celebrated. On June 8, the celebration of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ was celebrated. The summer camp ended on June 16 with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus…

The children visited theaters, the National Art Museum, traveled through the clouds with the Smile Fairy, staged loud theatrical readings about Fanechka, helped the actors from the Box Theater restore the Wonderful Garden, created their own unique paintings using the technique of wood painting, painted a lot, they sang, and what is the most important, they found new reliable friends with whom they made a pilgrimage to Navahrudak.

This is how the teacher Mrs. Larysa sums up the content of the summer camp and her impressions in a sublime and interesting way:

“How pleasant it is to remember the good and joyful moments of life! Every pilgrim is inspired by the journey he has experienced for a long time. Our first summer tour turned out to be a real pilgrimage! Already from the first day, the goal was determined, for which the children diligently and variedly prepared – to reach the Shrine! But not just to get there, but to be spiritually enriched and filled with God’s joy. Each day of the summer camp was a segment of the path that we traveled together in the knowledge of pilgrim science. Each day was painted in a special color, had a specific theme, to which were matched presentations with photos taken during previous pilgrimages. It was very important for the children to see that they were introduced to the pilgrimage not by theoreticians, but by real experienced travelers. It caused sincere trust in the children!

The participants of the summer camp learned a lot through creativity, for example, they drew with colored crayons on the topic “What is a Pilgrimage?” and “I am a Pilgrim”. The little creators beautifully depicted a detailed story about the Budslaw Fest after seeing a photo of the night procession and the wonderful icon of the Mother of God. Markers and colored pencils helped a lot in making the pilgrim’s note: “My Luggage”. It was especially interesting to learn about the pilgrim’s spiritual baggage. We reflected on concepts such as intention, prayer, sacrifice, patience and forgiveness. Every student understood that, no matter what, the pilgrim should not be boring. A vitamin of joy – this is God’s good medicine, which everyone willingly created from colored plasticine! And how the Belarusian landscapes delight the pilgrim’s eyes! We sincerely thanked God for the beautiful Belarusian nature: forests, meadows, fields, rivers, and lakes… Light watercolor sketches were obtained as if from nature. Gradually, we moved on to serious thoughts: “How does a Christian treat God and his neighbor? What does it mean to forgive and bless? When is it necessary to thank and apologize?” The works of Christian art, paintings and graphics helped us to answer these questions. The fruit was friendship gifts, which the children made from various beads. They exchanged gifts as a sign of mutual gratitude.

Of course, the best way to learn theory is to put it into practice! Our spiritual journey left a bright imprint in the minds of the children! Here we really learned our thoughts from our own experience! Thank God, the vitamin of joy was not wasted – our children managed to maintain a good mood in all trials! And we were inspired by the prayer of the martyr sisters from Navahrudak, on the sarcophagus with the relics of which priest Alyaksandr celebrated the Holy Mass. And, of course, the real pilgrim chants, which we sang daily at the “School of Pilgrim Chants”. A special summer songbook was created, from which the children enthusiastically sang about 20 songs at the time of our trip!

The last day of summer camp was special. Little travelers experienced many emotions during the journey. And then they realized that it was time to say goodbye. The palette of experiences changed: from the colorful Festival of Pilgrim Singing, we moved on to meditation on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. What is it? We looked at photos of ancient flags and stained glass windows. It was important to think that Jesus can change our hearts by His example! Therefore, believing that it is possible, we thanked Christ for our renewed hearts and made their images with plasticine and beads as a Gift to God.

And everything ended as planned: the Pilgrim’s path led us to the Shrine! To our Chapel, to the Holy Mass, where we solemnly celebrated the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The children sincerely prayed, happily sang their favorite songs! At the end, everyone present received an image of the Sacred Heart, so that they can sincerely turn to Him at home and always see the Holy and Worthy Path in front of them in the great Pilgrimage of Life!”

The summer season will continue in July and August! Read about all tours of the Vacation with God summer camp, because each one has an interesting and unique program.

See you at the Mission of the Good Samaritan!

Details by phone: +375 (17) 343-99-17 / +375 (44) 770 09 01

E-mail: samaranin16@gmail.com