This year's summer camp was an incredible and unforgettable experience. This was due to all the new Romanian Orthodox youth I was fortunate to meet and the places we visited.
To start off, I enjoyed being able to visit and stay at the Putna, Oașa, and Ponor monasteries. It was my second time visiting Putna and Oașa and I was very glad that I was able to have this opportunity again. This year has made me fall in love with Putna and Oașa even more than last year. Each monastery had something to it that made it unique and amazing. I love and longed for the services at both monasteries, especially Putna, and at Oașa I enjoyed meeting Orthodox Christians from all over the world and being able to experience a monastic schedule with all the ascultări. I also loved meeting and having conferences with the monks from both monasteries. At Ponor, the schedule was harder, with less sleep and more work and prayer, but I still am glad we were put in such an experience and that we got to meet the loving nuns.
Other than visiting the monasteries, I liked spending time in Maramureș and visiting the communist museum, going on the Mocănița, and staying at nice hotels. It’s always nice being able to visit any place in Romania and to learn more about the place. In addition, each place was extremely beautiful with mountains and green hills surrounding us.
Overall, this summer camp was a great way to recharge and forget about school or anything that took my attention away from maintaining a good spiritual life.
Pompilia

I had a great time on this trip, as it helped me get closer to both my religion and my culture. I never feel more Romanian than when I am in Romania with this youth group with whom I share so many similarities.
For the things I liked: Putna monastery always holds a special place in my heart. The conferences here and at Oașa offer me so much insight. The hotels were a nice break from monastic life. Similarly, I liked the sightseeing we did such as in Săpânța, Cluj, and when we went on the train.
For the things I disliked: not anything in particular, I would just personally like more days for sightseeing, aka a break from monasteries. Don't get me wrong, I love visiting monasteries but I also feel like we had opportunities to view more of cultural Romania, but all we did was go to monasteries. I also think that this would attract more people to this trip.
Overall, I loved my experience and I'm grateful for everything offered to me.
Maria Alexandrescu

This summer on the ROYA Heritage trip was very special for me, and not because of the picturesque new locations that we visited. The splendor of this summer lied in the experience that I lived at the locations we had already visited in the past, namely the monasteries. I have slowly (and unconsciously) been falling in love with Putna ever since 2016 and as one does in love, have been discovering more of its unique charm that lies beyond the first impression, with every passing year. I say this because I was prepared for the blessed experience that I knew would await me there, but was unprepared for how much Oasa would surprise and change me this year, as I discovered its own beauty.
Oașa is a place where I can connect directly to God through my prayers. The simplicity and rustic feel of the church as well as the clear chants from the choir act as the perfect catalyst to tune me in to my prayer with God. Over the years, I have had two experiences in which I felt devastated and at my worst and took my worries to God and stayed and prayed and cried to Him and felt so much of His love and compassion in those moments. I had never felt that way before, let alone ever prayed that way before. For that lesson of prayer alone, I am eternally grateful to Oasa. It opened me in my relationship with God more and set the tone for the whole camp.
My experience with prayer extended further than just in the church during services though. With every day that passed, I saw God more and more around me, and felt a new sort of responsibility and sensibility around Him. Suddenly, the blades of grass in the field were no longer at my disposal to pick aimlessly while sitting. They were God’s creation, and they were God speaking to me and softening my heart, as he did with Ilie the Prophet when showing him the poverty in the land during the drought. I also stopped looking to fill absolutely all my moments with noise, music, or talking (there were other times given for us to enjoy that), and instead I chose to accept the challenge Archdeacon Sorin Mihalache seemed to provoke us with during his talk- contemplate creation. Observe the world and nature around you and recognize His stamp in it all, saying “God, they are all yours”. As the days went by, I found my love for the participants around me growing, even if I had never seen or spoken to most of them. Walking to my obedience and passing through the interior courtyard of the monastery, I would see many other groups of people working at their obediences and I genuinely felt connected to everyone in that simulated ant farm where each person had a purpose, or rather the same purpose- to grow their relationships with God by growing their relationships with one another. Îmi creștea inima ca un cozonac când îi vedeam pe toți, mai ales la muncă. The only problem with my participation at this camp is that as everything else in this world, it has an end. Thank you to everyone involved in creating this experience, especially Stareț Silvan and Stareț Melchisedec, the monks of Oasa and Putna Monastery who let us disturb their quiet and shared their piece of heaven with us, OTS for being warm, gracious hosts that made everyone feel a part of the family, and Doamna Carmen, Doamna Florina, and Doamna Dana for being our attentive, stern, and loving mothers.
Danielle Radu

This year’s summer heritage trip made my summer unforgettable and significant. I enjoyed this camp a lot and it was my favorite so far due to more trips around Romania in places I have never been, growing closer to the group, and most importantly growing closer to God. My knowledge about Orthodoxy in general has grown in the span of only a few weeks from all of the talks and conferences at Putna and Oașa Monastery. Starting off, this year's trip around Maramureș was new to me and some of my favorite memories of camp are from that excursion. Those days visiting Vișeu de Sus on the Mocăniță and Sapînța with the Cimitirul Vesel was a cool new experience, along with the fun nights at the nice hotels with our group. Before leaving to Maramureș we were at Putna Monastery which will always be my favorite place and part of camp. This year was my second year visiting with the camp at Putna and when I returned, every worry was gone and I was full of happiness. I enjoyed my time at Putna more this year, since we visited more “schits” of the Monastery and also spent more time with Părintele Stareț. Two monks there that mean a lot to me and that I love are Parinții Hrisostom and Ieremia and every talk with them I enjoyed. Leaving the monastery was hard but I left keeping the place with me in my heart and praying that I would hopefully return again soon. My time at Oașa Monastery was similar although there were a lot of young Orthodox Christians from around the world there and we had ascultări to do. I always love getting to know new people and this part of camp is when I practice Romanian the most when interacting with them. A big theme of the international camp was living in Diaspora and I learned a lot from it. Lastly, Ponor Monastery was a whole different experience for me since it was more traditional, and although it was difficult to become adjusted to the schedule of the nuns, I do not regret any of my time there. Being separated from the boys was not bad either. This sums up my experience at camp this year and my love for ROYA, the group itself has grown. Every time I return to these camps I am reminded of my purpose in life as an Orthodox Christian.
Ana

It seems to get more challenging each year to put my experiences into words. This was the third year I attended Oașa Monastery’s International Camp and the time flew by.
The ten days we spend each year at Oașa Monastery are some of the most beautiful, interactive, and spiritually/mentally restful days of my entire year. What brings me back each year is the feeling of being a small, necessary part of something much bigger, like a worker bee in a hive of over 200.
The consistent schedule we had each day brings a sense of relief from our usual struggle to always plan ahead. At Oașa, this responsibility is taken off our shoulders- we don’t need to live in the future, only in the present. I believe this contributes to the ability to feel “viu” there.
The services, around which the rest of the schedule revolves, are profound, lived, mystic experiences that bring the presence of God to a more visible frame- much like the incense wafting through the church during services. It’s true that sleep at Oasa seems scarce and hard to come by (that is feedback I hope they will act on for future years) but the rare times I have managed to attend the “Miezonoptica” at Oașa, I have walked away feeling… something I can only describe as răsplata lui Dumnezeu pentru mica osteneală. Este un parfum frumos și o dulceață deosebită la sufletul omului. I can only thank Oașa Monastery for opening its gates to invite us to share that experience.
A third, equal reason for my return to Oașa every summer is for the friendships that begin here. It is important as a Romanian living outside our borders, to know other youth who are experiencing the same displacement, who are also outside their element, who are also working to keep the oil lamp inside us lit. The solidarity found in these relationships gives me strength when I am challenged to be steadfast and hopeful during the year. Dumnezeu să le răsplătească tuturor tinerilor pentru acest dar.
În această a treia ediție a taberei internaționale, m-am simțit și eu mai deschisă spre ceilalți tineri și am trăit puțin din ce am auzit de la Părintele meu (duhovnic) și la invitații care i-am avut în fiecare zi la Oașa: “Omul se desăvârșește numai prin relație.”
Iar în penultima zi a taberei, ziua hramului Sf. Pantelimon, a fost o mare bucurie și sărbătoare. Tinerii au devenit gazde în mănăstirea unde au fost primiți și ei ca oaspeți cu o săptămână în urmă. Oriunde mă uitam, vedeam numai tineri dăruindu-se în slujba lui Dumnezeu. Cântau la strană, vindeau la pangar, primeau pomelnice la bisericuța de lemn, pregăteau și împărțeau caserole pentru pelerini, etc. Ne-am dăruit cu inimile deschise, cu o vorbă bună și toți cu un zâmbet pe buze. Iar bunul Dumnezeu, nădăjduiesc și cred, S-a bucurat și S-a dăruit și El cu binecuvântări și cu bucuria care am simțit-o cu toții în acea zi.
Mie îmi pare rău că stau peste ocean, la o mare distanță, că aș veni de mai multe ori pe an în tabără la Oașa. Iar voi, cei care stați mai aproape, faceți-vă timp și la anul să nu lipsiți. Este un loc în care te îndrăgostești și te minunezi de viață. Unde te simți mai viu, mai liber, mai român, mai deschis și mai bogat decât erai înainte să ajungi acolo. Într-adevăr: “Veniți la Oașa. E greu de ajuns, dar merită!”
Ana Radu

Un cadou deosebit
Am să vă povestesc.
Despre acest cadou deosebit.
Pe care l-am primit.
Ca pe o mare binecuvântare!
Vorbesc despre frumoasa călătorie în România cu grupul de tineri Roya.
Ca să vă povestesc frumos și bine,
Am să vă povestesc despre o mare bucurie...
Bucuria de a întâlni tineri deosebiți. Cu o căutare lăuntrică profundă.
Cu o râvnă de a se cunoaște, de a se adânci.
Cu o inimă mare și caldă.
Care aspiră să se deschidă, să iubească oamenii, natura și pe Dumnezeu.
Am asistat la această deschidere. A inimii lor. A inimii noastre...
Cum de au reușit ele să se deschidă în un timp așa de scurt?
Primii care sunt responsabili, sunt copii și oamenii de la Valea Screzii.
Prin zâmbetul, afecțiunea și veselia lor,
La joc, la masă, la fotbal, la biserică,
Ei au început să ne umple inimile de dragoste.
Apoi sunt vinovați, părinții monahi de la Mănăstirea Putna.
Cuvintele lor duhovnicești, sfaturile, îndrumările și toate micile atenții pentru noi,
S-au depus și ele unde trebuiau să se depună,
Și dragostea lor a fost destulă ca să ne umple.
Apoi au fost măicuțele și călugării de la Mănăstirea Sfântul Ierarh Spiridon din Ponor,
Care ne-au acoperit cu atenții, cadouri, rugăciuni,
Cu bucuria de a ne primi și de a împărtășii cu noi, un pic din colțul lor de rai.
Și mulți au mai fost responsabili!!!
Fiecare măicuță și călugăr
Fiecare părinte și copil
Fiecare om întâlnit pe drum
Fiecare peisaj din țara noastră
Fiecare loc sfânt vizitat,
Dar și toate locurile în care am fost primiți atât de bine!
În care am regăsit un pic din cultura, tradiția, lumina noastră.

Și în sfârșit ajung la cele mai vinovate!
Cele care au pus la cale și au organizat pentru noi această frumoasă călătorie.
Cu dragul lor, cu atenția lor, cu energia lor și cu harul lui Dumnezeu,
Ele au știut să adune în drumul nostru ingredientele necesare,
Ca să se întâmple în inimile noastre această transformare...
Cel mai frumos lucru, în această bucurie, a fost uniunea noastră.
Ne-am deschis inimile împreună.
Împreună am făcut tot.
Am cântat.
Ne-am adîncit.
Am râs. Am plâns.
Ne-am jucat.
Ne-am sculat noaptea ca să participăm la privegheri.
Ne-am rugat.
Am urcat munți și văi.
Am străbătut colțișoare din țara noastră,
Și am învățat mult unii de la ceilalți.
Numai puțin!
Aproape am terminat!
Numai un lucru aș mai adăuga,
Un mic lucru firesc,
Un mare Mulțumesc!!!
Mulțumesc pentru acest cadou deosebit,
Pe care vi l-am povestit.

Amelia Actarian