18 October 2016 | Sokobanja, Serbia [Darinka Mihajlović/tedNEWS]
Churches across the South-East European Union are successfully meeting the needs of the public by running health clubs – sometimes in church buildings, but often in a public hall. From the hundreds who attend, a number joined one of two health camps run this summer. This report comes from one participant who went to the ‘Healing of Life’ camp in Sokobanja, Serbia:
How would you sum up their experience in one sentence? “I did the right thing coming to this camp, because I was assured that health is not just the absence of illness, but is reaching happiness and wellbeing in whatever we do.”
Havran, who also edits the very popular Life and Health magazine, noted that the previous six health camps were mainly held in private mountain homes. This year they chose a hotel so that camp leaders could focus more on the programme and leave other details to the hotel staff.
The camp was more than food, drink and exercise. It enriched our souls, sharing a creativity that demonstrated the beauty of life and positive feelings. The accent on spiritual health opened to us the purpose of life, the need of God, and the fact that a feeling of senselessness is pushing us into depression and diseases.
Jelena Pejin Tomić attends the Health Club in Novi Sad. She has also discovered a completely different view of the Bible through Bible lectures, and from attending a three-day health camp on Mt Zlatibor last spring. “This camp was better and more intense than the one on Zlatibor, more filled with theology, searching for the purpose of life, and we were more physically active.”
She continues, “Sokobanja is a beautiful area. I have health issues with my lungs, but here I never had to use my inhaler. The green verdure of the mountains brings a sense of peace and tranquillity. Since I started to visit the Health club I have started to change many habits in my diet and I already notice the benefits. With the healthy meals here, there was no need for snack breaks. None of my senses tempted me to buy a burger, an ice cream or popcorn.”
All meals at the Camp were vegan, and most of the participants reacted similarly, stating that the only thing they needed between meals was water. For many, this was the first time that they have been on a vegan diet. It was also a first for the chefs in hotel Banjica. They admitted that preparing vegan food was a valuable experience for them as well.
However, what about when you get back home? How do you keep up the healthy eating? Judit Erdeg and Edit Shranc ran one of the most popular workshops demonstrating food preparation and sharing recipes for making peanut butter, dried fruit jam, lentil salami, sunflower pate, and green pea salad and everyone participated in a taster session at the end!
Other workshops included decoupage with Jelena Trajković and a cosmetic workshop led by Tijana Obradović. Robert Erdeg held a spiritual workshop for overcoming stress and depression.
Vesna Mihelj from Ljubljana, came to the camp with three friends from Slovenia. She loved it all. “I was interested in everything that was offered. I like to cook healthy meals, and I like to make something with my own hands, and all the lectures were very useful to me.” She added, “It was all very healing to me. In Slovenia we love to go hiking, to be in the countryside, so we took advantage of being here and visited nearby mountains.”
Tatjana Petrović from Vienna, Austria was more than a little bit sceptical about exchanging her summer holiday in Greece for a health camp in the mountains with her husband. On the last day she confessed that she had made exactly the right choice! “Everything was fantastic, all the workshops, especially decoupage which I had never tried before. I will recommend this to all of my friends.”
While most attendees were non-smokers, there were a few exceptions. Slavka Grozdić from Novi Sad was there to help them. “Smoking tobacco is a physical, psychological and emotional addiction and that is why when I talk about quitting smoking I talk about friendship, new relationships, and a wideness of love that is showing you how you can you enjoy life.” She also enjoyed the camp calling it a “new, fantastic experience that I wish for everyone.”
Dragan Grujičić proved to be a dynamic morning speaker, citing rich personal experiences with God. Few, if any, missed his lectures as he showed through the lives of world famous philosophers like Pascquale, Decart, Kierkegaard and Tolstoy that they all found God in their pursuit for the meaning of life. “One does not need to be a scientist or philosopher to come to such a conclusion,” he stated. “We have records in history that these famous philosophers accomplished a lot, but most importantly they understood that God exists and that humans need God.”
From mixing and sharing during a special Friday night ‘greeting time’ to early morning exercise on the sports field, to free therapy sessions from a local doctor and ultra-sound checks by a Belgrade physician, this was a special week with lots of enjoyment and healthy breathing. We returned home feeling revived and with inner peace and spiritual healing, making space for a second group to come and experience the same joy the following week. [tedNEWS]
tedNEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, director; Esti Pujic, editor
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