News
From The West
By
Miss Melissa Green
Monday morning
was bright and beautiful as fifteen excited girls con-gregated in the
basement of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Welwyn, Saskatchewan.
The date was July 5th; the occasion, the second annual summer
camp of the Girl Guides of Mary Immaculate (GGMI) and the Brownies of
Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
The camp commenced
with the celebration of Mass by the camp chaplain, Father Gerard Rusak.
After Mass the girls returned to the church basement where they were
divided into three teams, while the captain and assistant captain for
each team announced what their patron saint and line-up cry was. A busy
day followed in which one of the main activities was the setting up
of tents.
Every day the
Guides and Brownies rose at 6:30 am, and, after a few morning exercises,
changed into uni-form. They then headed over to the church for the raising
of the flags, morning prayers, and a sung high Mass. Following breakfast
and clean-up was a conference for the older girls and other activities
for the younger ones. Changing out of uniform, a game, chant practice,
and lunch finished up the morning. In the afternoon the girls played
another game, worked on their beautiful crafts, and either had showers
or took part in another activity. After rosary and supper, each team
rehearsed their skit for the camp-fire. The taking down of the flags,
Compline, and a campfire finished off the evening. Each night the girls
dropped into their sleeping bags, tired but happy, and looking forward
to the next day's adventures.
Making
stepping stones with broken pieces of glass
under the direction of Mrs. Imre Henye
The theme of this year's camp was Our Lord, and the majority of the
week's activities were centered around this motif. For example, the
skits and stories at the campfire were based on the miracles and parables
of Jesus. The girls also listened to a reading of The Life of Our Lord
during meal-times, while the Guides and Brownies had conferences and
activities focus-ing on the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
It was a wonderful
blessing to have Father Albert Kallio, a Dominican priest from France,
present on the last two days of the week. He made a singular contribution
to camp by giving a conference on vocations to the girls and by his
knowledgeable com-mentary on the reading at the meals.
Cooking with grace and... smoke
We wish to thank all those who contributed to GGMI Camp 2004 in any
way; the head Guider, head cook, camp nurse, and art teachers deserve
a special round of applause. God will undoubtedly bless and reward them
for giving Him a week of their busy lives.
A special thanks
to Father Rusak for planning and directing the camp. It is primarily
through his work that we have had two successful camps- camps in which
young ladies receive much that is lacking to them in our modern world.
Some of the main benefits include spending a week in a completely Catholic
atmosphere, the development of artistic and culinary skills, having
fun with like-minded friends, and foremost the spiritual benefits of
daily Mass, rosary, conferences, and Compline.
Please pray for
the continuation of such good work and that the girls of today's camp
may become the valiant Christian women of tomorrow.
The
GGMI, Brownies, Fathers Rusak SSPX and Kallio O.P.
