Between July 7th and 21st, 2018, the Summer Camp of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas took place at the Faith and Heritage Center, future Protection of the Mother of God Monastery, in Allegan, MI.
Sfânta Filoteia summer camp 2018 has been a spiritual and eye-opening experience for everyone. The girls, boys, and camp counselors learned many helpful lessons through prayer, guided conversations, and organized activities. Each day was dedicated to a specific topic: Prayer, Saints, The Holy Mysteries, Humility, Nature, and Fasting. These topics were just guidelines for the children to expand on and led to more specific subjects: Role of young women in the Orthodox Church, Appropriate Role Models, and Being first in God’s eyes.
This year, the activities were created based on the topics of the day. The girls were reminded to put their friend first instead of themselves. Whether it was in line during jump rope, or while venerating the icons. Practicing this kind of humility helped them form a bond. A “sisterhood in Christ” as Father Atanasie expressed. The girls enjoyed many other games such as ga-ga ball, volleyball, basketball, vanatorul si rata (the hunter and the duck). As well as more challenging activities like egg decorating and candle-making, which taught them patience.
Father Atanasie was very vocal on preserving, respecting, and appreciating God's creations. The children were able to visit a nearby animal farm. They fed the sheep, played with the little chicks and ducks. They even had the chance to save a baby pig, nursing it back to health. During this mini field trip, the children learned how to cherish nature; enjoying their childhood outdoors instead of occupying their time with electronics. Because the field trip landed on a Wednesday, Father Atanasie talked about what it means to fast. They learned that fasting is more than refraining from eating too much food.
Even though the camp’s focus wasn’t on electronics, the girls were allowed to watch a very moving film “Seraphima” which showed a young orphan girl fighting to keep her faith. Seraphima was persecuted during Communism and would not let go of her Cross. She gave the girls a good example of how to pray to the saints, as she had a deep connection with Saint Seraphim. Because of their age, the little girls really enjoyed watching this uplifting and spiritual movie. In addition, they were eager to hear more stories about children saints, and their love for Christ. It inspired the children to be more like them. In the beginning the girls looked to barbies and princesses as an example of how to look and dress. By the end of the camp, the children looked up to women Saints such as The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Saint Marina, and Saint Filoteia to guide them.
The children had the chance to learn the Liturgical responses. Each day Miss Ana taught them several different songs, and by Friday she directed them through the Divine Liturgy. They were able to sing the responses all on their own, without any additional help from the camp counselors. The girls sounded like little angels, making the experience even more beautiful for everyone. Besides daily Morning and Evening prayers, the girls learned how to memorize The Jesus Prayer - Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. They were arranged in a circle inside the monastery’s church, and one by one everyone recited the Jesus Prayer five times. At first some girls were nervous, but eventually everyone learned the prayer in either Romanian or English. They were left with a personal prayer they could say at any time during the day. One little girl was seen whispering the Jesus Prayer during breakfast, with a smile on her face. This was the goal: to teach them that the more they repeat Jesus’ name, the happier they will be.
The first day of camp, the girls and boys chose a religious children's book to read and were also given a new prayer. They had the whole week to read the book and memorize the prayer. We had the honor of having His Eminence Nicolae with us the last few days, and so everyone got the chance to present a summary of their book and their prayer. Between the engaging discussions, new friendships, spontaneous field trips and enlightening prayers, the Christian girls and boys learned many valuable lessons that they could use and build on for the rest of their lives.
Stephania Nuțu
Olivia Nuțu
