Aug. 8-17, 2004

At the Catholic children's summer camp, young children (elementary through high school) from Fr. Myron's parishes get together for catechesis and summer fun.

Each year's camp has a theme. For 2003, the theme was the sacraments. Talks on Catholicism are interspersed with hiking in the woods, campfire cooking, swimming, and sleeping out under the stars.

This year, the camp was held at a recently acquired building in Sod Gorod that was purchased by a generous benefactor. The facility is called the Bishop Sliwowsky Activities Center, after the Vladivostok bishop who was exiled to nearby Sedanka by the Communists in 1930. Having our own facility provided some privacy for the Catholic children, who in the past had to share a camping facility with non-Catholics, who, not understanding anything about our faith, often treated our campers disrespectfully.

Bishop Sliwowsky Activities Center in Sod Gorad.

The facility still needs quite a bit of renovation. After the building is fixed up, Fr. Myron would like to rent it out to other organizations for use in conferences or Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

More on the Bishop Sliwowsky Activities Center . . .

The property is in Sedanka, a suburb of Vladivostok (about 45 minutes away from the city). The pre-Revolutionary building is located on Amur Bay. During Communist times, the building was used as a Pioneer Camp.

Amur Bay.

Forest surrounding property.

The building is in a state of disrepair. All the plumbing had been removed, so we installed pipes for running water, as well as a water heater. The bathrooms have been restored. The kitchen has been stripped and needs a new refrigerator and stove. Kitchen utensils have already been donated. The stucco siding needs to be repaired, and the interior walls need to be replastered. The window frames are slowly being replaced. The foundation needs to be repaired in a few spots, although for the most part, it is solid. Some of the floors need to be replaced, while others need cleaning. The original tiling on some of the floors is beautiful.

The building is actually a complex of four distinct buildings, which means that we will be able to use the building for different activities simultaneously. We may even be able to rent out parts of the building for companies or organizations that would like to have meetings or conventions in this beautiful area of the country.

Ground level. Rough lines on ceiling show where interior walls have been removed to create larger areas for dorm rooms, meeting areas, and play areas.

Exterior.

Back door.