Our "Kaytana" – Five days of summer camp

This year, there was again an increase in the number of children who participated in the annual, five day summer camp for Hebrew speaking Catholic children. 39 children were from the Hebrew speaking Catholic parish communities of the Saint James Vicariate (5 from Jerusalem, 9 from Jaffa, 6 from Beer Sheba, 7 from Haifa, 2 from Nazareth and 11 from Tiberias). Among these, 12 older young women (between the ages of 13 and 17) served as assistants to the counselors. The other children who are also Hebrew speaking included 10 children from the different Lebanese parish communities spread through the north of Israel, 5 Filipino children of foreign workers, an African child of foreign workers and an African child of an asylum seeker. The eleven counselors were from these different parish communities: Father David, Father Piotr and Benedetto from the Vicariate community, Sister Halina from Jerusalem, Father Apolinary, Sister Michele-Edith and Sister Marianna from Jaffa, Brother Giacomo from Tiberias, Paula from Beer Sheba, Brother Andrea from the Latin Patriarchate and Sister Camelia from the Lebanese parish communities. This great diversity of origins enriches the experience of five days of shared adventure. The common faith lived in a shared language – Hebrew – and a shared society – Israel – cemented the ties among the children.

The theme this year was "Our Father" – the prayer Jesus taught us. All the activities during the five days of camp focused on the "Our Father". A morning class taught by Father David not only taught the words but also attempted to inculcate the meaning of this prayer so that it would become a life program. The activities of art (animated by Brother Andrea) and music (animated by Benedetto assisted by Paula) focused on this theme too as the children learnt songs that repeated the message. They also produced a magnificent mosaic with the words in Hebrew "Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name". Two movies shown in the evenings also deepened the reflection on the theme: "The Jungle Book" and "The Lion King". These activities were integrated with daily morning prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist. However each day there was also time for sport (animated by Father Piotr and Brother Giacomo) and games (animated by Father Apolinary). Once again, the big hit was the two daily periods of time in the swimming pools that were set up in the courtyard – three this year to cater to the increased number of participants.

On Thursday, the entire group of 67 made their way to Jerusalem to visit the Biblical Zoo. A wonderful day of reflection, laughter and companionship was spent among God's diverse creation, admiring the colors, the sounds and the smells.

The final mass was celebrated in honor of the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene. This was also the occasion to celebrate the first communion of one of the young participants. Father David, in his final homily, insisted that the children were returning home as apostles preaching the Good News of Christ's victory over death and evil in their day to day lives by witnessing to the joy of the Resurrection.

The Kaytana was wonderfully welcomed to Deir Rafat, the sanctuary of the diocese, by the nuns who live and pray in this place. Thanks to them and their extraordinary volunteers this place became home for five days. We look forward to returning next year.

Finally, we must thank the generous benefactors who made this camp possible. In particular we thank Kindermissionswerk in Aachen, Germany, whose generous grant allowed us to implement all the programs that gave our children so much joy.