Photo: Brett McMichael High up in the mountains of Durmitor in Montenegro.
Brett McMichael, a member of the ROM 2012 Trial of
Friendship Trip, writes about his experiences last summer in the Balkans.
The
Tradition Continues
Leaving the USA on June 20th I arrived just in
time for the beginning of “Kamp Krijesnica” (or Camp Firefly in English). This
is the camp I started way back in 2001 for children and teens who have cancer. Located
in the picturesque lakeside village of Fuzine, Croatia, the camp is a favorite
way to spend a week up in the hills away from the heat. This year, as in years past, we had 35
children and 15 volunteer staff.
Daily activities included arts and crafts, sports, social games, drama
and music. With a mixture of new
and returning campers, the “veterans” were more than willing to show the “newbies”
the ropes. Towards the end of the
camp nearly everyone begged us to lengthen the camp by at least a few days if
not a month!
One highlight of the camp was the Adventure Academy. The children and teens confronted
physical challenges such as the high ropes course, for example, swinging
bridges high up off the ground and natural obstacles, such as climbing up a
steep mountain and exploring small caves.
Since the children were well harnessed they were quite safe, but they
still had to overcome their fear of high places for example. When they conquered these challenges
you could see their big smiles light up their faces. This activity was a sure way to boost their self-esteem.
After the camp ended I embarked on a bold adventure to
visit 9 countries in the Balkans from July 1st to the 25th. I was in Croatia, Serbia, Romania,
Bulgaria, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, and back to Croatia
again. I wasn’t alone however, I was accompanied by other folks from the ROM
(Renewing Our Minds) leadership team.
As you may remember in years past I was a part of ROM, which is an
annual gathering of young adults from all over the Balkans. The goal of ROM is to encourage the
next generation of young leaders to be active in peace building and
reconciliation in their communities and nations. Also ROM teaches how to be leaders of integrity and
humility, based on the principles of Jesus, the ultimate servant-leader.
This year instead of having the ROM Gathering in Fuzine,
Croatia we decided to visit past participants in their respective
countries. The leadership team
wanted to visit these former participants to listen to and encourage them in
their work, community service projects and studies. Also we wanted to hear from them about their thoughts
regarding ROM. We asked such
questions as, “How did ROM affect you, what stayed with you from ROM?” And, “How can ROM be improved, is there
something we should add or take away?”
We also asked if ROM dealt with Jesus in a balanced way or if we were
too heavy handed or too lacking in this area.
We found out that ROM did indeed impact their lives, in a
profound way. Most said that they
never look at themselves or others in the same way as before. ROM helped them to see others’
perspectives and opened their hearts towards people from other ethnic /
national / religious, etc. backgrounds.
After attending ROM many felt they should be doing more for the less
fortunate in their communities.
And they were encouraged, realizing that they could indeed make a
difference in this world.
Most said we dealt with Jesus in a balanced way, revealing
aspects of His life they had never heard of or thought about before, such as
Jesus working with a small group of close friends (the disciples) to change the
world. And Jesus didn’t have
political or military power or a large bank account.
We also heard that it is still important to address the
past Balkan wars and the sources of conflict even though the young people today
may not even think these are so important. Today most young people see the lack of jobs as an important
issue to address, but the past ROM participants said that even though today’s
youth may not remember the wars because they were too young or not even born
yet, still their current lives are affected by unresolved issues from the
wars. Moreover, their parents and
other relatives (who WERE involved or affected by the war) shape the young
adults’ current views about other ethnic groups and nationalities.
Some suggested we take ROM on the road so to speak. “Why not have ROM in a different
country each year?” Others still
preferred to have ROM in Fuzine as a nice, peaceful, neutral place. Three weeks while OK in the past was
seen as too long now. Maybe we
should have ROM for only two to two and a half weeks maximum since most young
people have to work during the summer and can not get that much time off. After all was said and done everyone
agreed that ROM is still a valuable and viable ministry that should definitely
continue.
The reason we called it the trail of friendship was that
as we traveled we met more and more old friends and made many new ones. And culinary delights, well because
everywhere we went we ate and ate and ate! Not just ordinary food either, but delicious national
delicacies and LARGE quantities of these foods! We found out that there are at least two things that
certainly bind the Balkans into one region, their excellent hospitality and
their love of meat!
Highlights
Wherever we went if was HOT, way hotter than normal for
the Balkan region! Temperatures averaged
between 90 to 100 degrees. This
meant staying well hydrated, which in turn meant visiting a lot of cafes and
keeping energy expenditure to a bare minimum during the daytime.
In Serbia the first city we stopped at was Novi Sad. It is a beautiful city with many
brightly colored buildings.
Belgrade, our next stop is the capital city. Since it has over 2 million people it is full of
energy! While there we had the
chance to meet a couple of royals and tour their gorgeous palaces. Later that day we toured a children’s
cancer ward. I thought to myself, “what
a small distance in terms of geography, but yet a whole world apart.”
Romania, much, much more than just the “land of Dracula”
revealed to us its historical roots in the small city of Sigisoara, a UNESCO
world heritage site. It was
nothing for a building to be more than 500 years old there! We stayed for a couple days just
outside of the city’s center.
Later we had a close encounter with a mother bear and her two cubs. They were out scrounging for food in
the trash of a hotel on the edge of the forest.
We toured two beautiful Orthodox churches in the city of
Sofia, Bulgaria. I lit a candle
and said a prayer for small children suffering from a strange, new illness in
Southeast Asia. Some children died
within 24 hours of becoming ill. I
had heard about it on a news broadcast and decided that I needed to pray for
them. The churches were so
peaceful and had an atmosphere of reverence. I especially enjoyed hearing the chants in the background.
Sarajevo, Bosnia was a treasure trove of history as
well. Strolling the small cobble
stone streets of the old town while exploring the many shops specializing in
metal work, ceramic pottery and basketry was great fun! It is such an interesting city with
many faiths living side by side.
The next place we visited was Kosovo, but in order to get
there we had to pass through Montenegro.
The road was very curvy and climbed steeply way above the valleys
below. The views were simply
stunning, but also rather scary!
The small guardrails provided little reassurance as we climbed well over
9,000 feet! The turquoise blue
lakes below however were a sight to behold!
We entered Kosovo about 9pm and began looking for a
suitable hotel. The first was too
expensive for our budget, the second was affordable but smelled like cigarette
smoke and sweat. !The third was kind of well, how should I put it,
disreputable, charging by the hour.
We were beginning to lose hope when in the distance we saw the bright
neon sign of “Hotel LORD!” Yes, it
proved to be just what we could afford, quite clean and new with a very
friendly and helpful staff.
Kosovo was quite interesting since it was my first time
there. Besides touring Prishtina,
we saw Mitrovica where we could feel the tension in the air. On one side of the bridge were
primarily Albanians, on the other side, Serbians. While the Albanian side was bustling with energy, the
Serbian side seemed to have an air of quiet desperation. I felt bad for the Serbs. Kosovo is
still a contested area. The Albanians
want it to be an independent country while the Serbs want to keep it as part of
their country.
The lousy economic situation, especially on the Serbian
side, is not helping matters any.
Here is where we see ROM in action though as we dined with both Serbs
and Albanians at the same table amidst true friendships. These friendships were forged at ROM
over the course of many years.
The next country on our agenda was Macedonia. Here we were quite literally
overwhelmed by the majestic statues and monuments filling the central
square. At the center was their
national hero, Alexander the Great mounted on a horse. The pedestal, horse and man must have
been at least 50 feet tall! If it
weren’t for the high cost of these monuments I would have simply rejoiced, but
knowing how much it costs this nation, I couldn’t help but wonder if the money
could have better been spent on infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, roads.
Nevertheless as was the case in other countries we met
many old and new friends and dined on delicious national delicacies. One special example was cheese made
from sheep’s milk. We climbed up a
mountain and found a humble shelter near the top. This was the home of a shepherd. He served us three different kinds of cheese, ranging from
very fresh to very aged. I liked
the aged ones better, but was very impressed by his hospitality. He insisted we
have large helping of each cheese!
Again crossing over high mountain ridges we entered the
next country, Albania. Quite
literally we drove on top of the mountains, affording us breathtaking views in
all directions. Here we dined on
lamb, another national specialty.
It was quite good, but the quantity was way too much to finish so we had
to take a bag of the meat back to our hotel. I had been in Tirana before, but way back in 1999. My, how things have changed - new, wide
boulevards, pretty parks, and high rise, apartment buildings under construction
everywhere! We even found American
style bowling in the center of the city.
It was so much fun playing with our Albanian friends!
Back in Montenegro, this time we didn’t simply pass
through, but stayed to see our friends there. Unfortunately we arrived just as a tragedy hit one of the
Roma (Gypsy) refugee camps in Podgorica.
A horrible fire roared through the camp destroying everything. Since the camp full of wooden barracks
and the weather had been very dry, conditions were ripe for such a horrendous
occurrence. When we came on the
scene we could see people milling around half dazed, some were wandering
through the smoldering ashes trying to salvage what they could. Then if that weren’t enough… it started
to rain and not just a sprinkle, but a downpour! We took up a collection amongst ourselves to provide the
people with at least some money to buy food and clothing. We also held a worship service where
many heart-felt prayers were shared.
Later we heard the government put metal containers that were made into
small houses in the camp.
We finally did get one day in of swimming though. As coast of Monte Negro is quite
beautiful, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to cool off! One of our team members also decided to
get baptized. It was a moving,
spiritual experience.
Finally the roads led us back to Croatia and the end of
our fun, challenging, exhausting, and rewarding journey. As we rode toward our final destination
we reflected on all that we saw, heard, felt and experienced. It was a trip we won’t soon
forget! Parting was hard since we
went through a lot together, but alas we had to say goodbye!
Another
Wonderful Camp
My grand trip over my summer wasn’t yet complete. I headed back to Serbia to help out
with another camp for children with cancer. This camp was sponsored by the National Association for
Parents who have Children with Cancer.
Unlike my other camp, each child could bring a parent (or guardian)
along. We had over 60 children
ages 3 to 19! The age range was a
challenge but we divided the children and teens according to age group so that
the activities they did were age appropriate. In addition to arts and crafts, sports and games the camp
also had swimming in a heated indoor pool, horseback riding and psychological
workshops. I assisted with the
psychological workshops addressing such themes as: family, school, hospital,
emotions, and even wishes. Besides
good health the kids wanted typical things any kids would want, like toys,
sports cars, mansions, planes, etc.
The camp was held at a rehabilitation hospital in a small
town called Ivanjica nestled in the mountains of Serbia. The hospital had more of a hotel feel
to it, so it wasn’t too clinical.
The hospital grounds were forested which provided lots of cool shade
during the days. Even though this
camp was longer, 11 days, than the one in Croatia, still the children wanted it
to last even longer!
Brett McMichael
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