(see www.theholynameretreat.net for fotos)

On the 6th of July around one hundred eager devotees congregated during four days for a Holy Name Retreat outside Kharkov in Ukraine.

We had rented a summer camp outside the city - a holiday resort which used to belong to a government owned factory during the old Soviet days. In those days all the government owned enterprises had a holiday resort for their
workers, and now these camps have been privatized.

It was a somewhat ugly and not well maintained establishment but offered everything we needed: the basic facility to accomodate the devotees in double rooms, with a spacious kitchen, a cosey seminar room and a prasadam hall.
The rooms were very simply - not too inviting, so devotees would be eager to attend the programs and not get too comfortable in their rooms. After all a Holy Name Retreat should not invite the mood for sense enjoyment and
relaxation but rather create a good focus on the Holy Name.