Vanessa Mezines
Mr.Jennings
Hon English 3 5th
Open choice essay
September 11, 2013
The Summer of Miracles
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle” or “Create in me a clean heart, oh lord. And renew a right spirit in me...” These quotes have been all I can thing about and base my decisions on since this past summer. This summer I went to Greece at a camp called Ionian Village. It was one of the most remarkable experiences I have ever had. Not only was this a religious camp, it was about learning who you are and making life long bonds with people who have the same beliefs and ethnic backgrounds. Going to this camp hopefully made me a better person and in the future will keep my faith stronger than it was before. One lesson that I learned this year is that having faith and people around you can make a huge difference in your life.
First off, going to Greece is an experience that is unforgettable. Even if I didn’t make friends or become closer to my religion, I still would be able to say I have been to Greece and I had the chance to see almost everything that makes that country beautiful. The place that we stayed at was the perfect setting. If we stayed in the states it would have probably been more difficult to disconnect from the world and focus on ourselves. Giving the fact that in Greece there are the incorrupt saints that we were allow to gaze at, gave us an even strong belief on the certain miracles that have happened others’ lives.
Talking about incorrupt saints can sometimes get me very emotional because of some things that I have witness this summer. If you are not sure what I mean by incorrupt, then hear me out even though it might sound ridiculous to you it is perfectly clear to me. Before I tell you about the saints, I want you to know that when I heard about them from different people such as my sister I did not believe I understand if you don’t because I was right were you were before. The camp went to many monasteries and churches all over the sea part of Greece seeing these holy dead saint that have been dead for more than 500 years but still have flesh on their bones and do not decay. As I said previously, that talking about this topic makes me emotional because seeing something like this really touches the heart and makes you realized things you have never seen before. The one saint that really hit me was St. Gerasimos who lived underground in a cave for 19 years crawling through a small doggy door size of a whole to get in and out. Tourists are allowed to go through the hole but the only way to get through is if you have faith in God. There was this one story were there was a camper who weighed 90 pounds. She did not want to be at this camp then, there was a camp counselor who weight about 300 pounds. The one that didn’t go throughthe hole was the girl because she didn’t believe. The counselor got through because he believe and even though the hole was smaller than him it opened just enough for him to get through. You probably are all saying why is this girl so crazy? I would be saying the same thing but I got to see this first hand. The girl that went before me was on the heavy side and I watch her go through the hole that was opening for her with my own eyes. I starting bawling because it was a once in a lifetime experience and I vowed that if I ever come back to Greece I have to go do it again.
The next saint is St. Dionysios, a walking saint at our camp and provided spiritual uplifting to anyone in need. Story says that when he comes to the person you hear bells and a man is standing at the end of your bed. He is also incorrupt and has been burned, tossed around, and torn apart by the Turkish army. He will come to you in your sleep and will tell you everything will be alright. But the weird think about it is when he leaves he leaves behind a trail of seaweed, which is odd because the Ionian Sea doesn’t have seaweed. And the trail goes all the way from came to the beach and all the way down to the Island of Zaknthos where the body of Dionsysios current stays.
Now that I have told you how much impact this trip made on my faith I will tell you about the lifelong friendships that are made at Ionian Village. You are put into certain cabins based on your age group. Being with these girls for three weeks gives you the change to learn so much about them. You have electronics whatsoever so you are forced to talk to the ones around you. Being disconnect from the world was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I honestly could live without a phone if I wanted to. We had DIVOS which is devotional where you sharing personal feelings about the day or a certain topic with your cabin. Going back to my quote about you don’t know about other people battles was a real big eye opener for me. I never knew what some teenagers actually go through and I thought that I had problems. But was very interesting was that most of us had the same problems back at home with friends and family and that how it was for everyone at the camp.
You never know what others go through and how having people there and a somewhat belief in faith can take you so far away from your problems and help you. This past summer I made friends that I will probably have for the rest of my life. I talk to most of them on the daily and I have already seen some of them even though the live all around the United States. All I know is that I had the summer of a lifetime and that I will cherish it for the rest of my life. One lesson that I learned this year is that having faith and people around you can make a huge difference in your life.