DUSHANBE (UCAN) -- The parish in Tajikistan's capital arranged an 11-day program for young parishioners on winter vacation, mixing spiritual formation with fun activities that included skiing and hiking.

Nine girls and five boys aged 10-15 took part in the program that the priests and nuns working at St. Joseph's Parish in Dushanbe held during the winter school break. The parish has about 45 children of all ages.

Some of the time was spent at the congregational house of the Servants of the Lord and Holy Virgin of Matara nuns. Here the children did arts and crafts, played games and staged performances. Each day also included time for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and for praying the rosary.

A visit to a museum in the capital and two mountain excursions -- a three-day skiing trip and a hiking expedition -- also were planned. Along with the various activities, Incarnate Word priests celebrated Mass with special homilies prepared for the program.

Father Carlos Avila, who heads the "sui iuris " (self-governing) mission in Tajikistan, told UCA News: "We have to be sure children get something useful and don't just play when they come here. Otherwise it might be wasting their time."

Especially cold weather forced most of the children to back out of the skiing trip Jan. 4-6 and continue with activities at the nuns' residence instead. But four boys braved the freezing temperatures at Takob, a skiing area 100 kilometers north of Dushanbe, where they had no electricity.

Father Pedro Lopez supplemented the skiing, new to some of the boys, with daily Mass and recitation of the rosary. He told UCA News that he based his homilies on the precepts of spiritual education as taught by Saint John Bosco, founder of the Salesians.

"I explained to the children the importance of homage to three basic things: Holy Communion, the Holy Virgin and the Pope," he said.

The boys were enthusiastic about their experience, despite the cold. "It was a beautiful place. We learned how to ski and participated in Holy Mass as well," said Orzu Saidshoev. "Father Pedro has given us a rosary and small pictures of the Blessed Mother," the 14-year-old boy added.

When they returned, they rejoined the rest of the group for a visit to the national museum and hiking in the Warzob mountains.

Meanwhile, members of the Incarnate Word novitiate in Dushanbe also visited Takob Jan. 12-15.

The head of the novitiate, Father Ezequiel Ayala, said that in addition to providing physical exercise, the trip helped him learn more about the candidates. "You can see a person's good and bad sides in difficult and extreme situations," he told UCA News. The candidates also could learn things, he added, "because studying in the novitiate isn't just sitting at a desk."

Mountains make up 93 percent of the total area of Tajikistan. After obtaining independence in 1991 and following the 1993-1994 civil war between the government and Muslim fundamentalists, the government has actively tried to repair tourist facilities.

Catholics number about 250 in the country, where Muslims, mostly Sunni Muslims, account for 96 percent of the 6.5 million population. Five Incarnate Word missionary priests serve the three parishes and one mission station, and seven nuns, also all foreign missioners, serve in the capital.

END

(Accompanying photos available at here)