By the grace of God and with the care of Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and all Albania, His Beatitude Anastasios, three sessions of camps for boys were held at the Monastery of the “Dormition of the Theotokos”, in Zvernec of Vlora.The first camp began on the 30th of June to 9 July 2012. Ninety children, aged 10-12 years, took part in this camp from different areas of Albania. Along with the management staff of the camp, in total there were 115 people. This year we had the blessing for the camp to be directed by His Grace, Bishop Nicholas Hyka.
The program of the camp was filled with various spiritual, social and entertainment activities. On the first day of camp, all the children developed a program and divided into 10 stations, and in each station a necessary tool needed for the camp was given. In one station a book, in another one a cross, a pen, etc. The program at the camp began with waking up and than reading the Holy Scripture in their rooms and then preparation for prayer. After prayer, there was breakfast and departure to the beach where children impatiently were waiting to swim at that gorgeous beach.
Return to the camp and the continuation of the sports programs made life in the camps more vivid. The games and championships were conducted in a spirit of playing to enjoy and have fun, and not to compete to win a prize. Then evening prayer and dinner which was met with impatience, because after it the campers continued the spiritual and entertainment programs that consisted in folk songs, children’s films prepared in Albanian by the Catechism Office of our Church.The second session of the camp for boys was held this year from July 12th to 22nd. It has become a tradition for this camp to be directed by the professors of the Theological Academy, who along with various students and associates create a spiritual and social program.
This camp is considered to be at a point where it combines participation in the liturgical life, study of the Holy Scripture, and spiritual discussions with entertainment in various games and sports, spending time in the camp environment, going at the beach, cleaning and environmental protection and presentation of films and documentaries with different social and spiritual content. In this camp 130 boys from all over Albania participated. Along with the traditional program, highlights included the campfire night and the concert which brought so much beauty to the camp life. But the most beautiful moment was the baptism of 19 young people, who joined Christ, becoming a living part of the Church.
