Last Zone Conferences

This past week we had the wonderful blessing of visiting all 3 Mission Zone Conferences, prior to us leaving. 

We drove to Belgrade, Serbia - leaving first thing in the morning, so that we could do the "walking tour of Belgrade with President Savić in the afternoon. We were happy to have the Smiths and Ensings join us. President Savić is a pioneer member of the church in Belgrade. He has seen the change and struggle within Serbia for many years. He has also seen the growth of the church and been there to faithfully support it. We took the public transport up towards the Kalemegdan Fortress & Park. We walked on Knez Mihailova, Belgrade’s pedestrian street through Old Town. I was amazed at vast knowledge of history and culture Brother Savić shared with us. 

We visited two beautiful old Orthodox churches; Ružica Church and Saint Petka’s Chapel. Ružica Church or "Little Rose" was orginally a powerhouse in the fort and it's chandeliers are made of spent bullet casings, swords, and cannon parts from World War I. (quite interesting). 

Saint Petka’s Chapel, also known as the women's church is much smaller and the frescos inside are very beautiful. 

The Fortress sits beautifully at the top of a hill, overlooking the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the view is expansive. 

It was also at the top of this hill that Brother Savić shared his experience with Jeffery R. Holland, when Brother Holland came to dedicate the country of Serbia for the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Serbia has been a land of much conflict and it was beautiful and hopeful to listen to the prayer that had been offered by an modern-day apostle.  

Our Zone conference experiences in Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana were instructive and tender. We had the opportunity to say "good-bye to all the missionaries (both young and senior) with whom we had served  over the past 18 months. Some we will see again, but there are many that we will probably never see again. It was particularly emotional with those young missionaries that we had come to love as they served in Sarajevo and now were serving in other parts of the mission. They are amazing  young adults and we are inspired by their commitment and faith. 

On Wednesday evening, after the ZC in Zagreb, we met President and Sister Cordray for dinner and a review our missionary service. It was a lovely evening of visitng and reminiscing. (as we have known them both since our last mission and shared many experiences). We are grateful for the opportunities we have had to serve both in Sarajevo supporting the members/missionaries and as the Senior Zone Leaders, with travel all across the mission.

Our Thursday ZC was in Ljubljana Slovenia and it was cool to visit that part of the mission. After ZC, we drove about a half an hour to iconic Lake Bled. (Images of beautiful Lake Bled appear requently on screen savers - it is lovely) On Friday, we met Elder and Sister Reed to visit the castle and take a boat ride to the island. 

We also had one annoying and negative occurance while visiting Bled. We were waiting in traffic near a roung-about and a woman rear-ended our car. It was quite shocking and annoying, but because she was not traveling very fast, we were not injured. Lot was quite frustrated! In all the driving we've done for our whole 18 months, no accidents. Now, in our last 2 weeks, an accident. The police were called and she was cited, as her reaching for her ringing phone was the cause. Drat! All, in all - we were grateful that there were no injuries and that our car was still functional. 

Like all of real life, even when you try to do everything right, sometimes there are bumps. 

Winding down and finishing up

Wow, we can't believe we are here at this point in our mission. We have two weeks left so we have been doing things for the last time and starting to say our good-byes. We have made many dear friends and have come to love the people here in the Balkan countries. As we were driving the other day, we were talking about how we never thought we would live in a Muslim country with beautiful mosques but also one that is still very war torn from a recent terrible war. The contrast between the beauty of Bosnia and ugliness of war is hard to comprehend. The resilience of the people here is so amazing. Many still suffer from physical and emotional wounds but they are doing their best to cope with the past and look forward with hope.

We went to one of our favorite cities Mostar, to see our wonderful friend there, Ljubica Blazevic. I sit back in amazement when I see her and Helen get together and visit. Neither one speaks the other's language but that doesn't slow them up. They both talk as fast as they can and by some miracle they both understand what the other is saying. It was hard to tell her good bye.

We have been to Dubrovnik (The Pearl of the Adriatic) three time with family and friends but never just by ourselves. We really wanted to see the beautiful clear Sea one more time. Since we were only about 80 miles away we ran down for a couple of days. It is the best preserved city on the Dalmatian coast and the most visited. Luckily we are still before the heavy tourist season. It is famous for their ice cream stands everywhere throughout the city. We stopped at one and Helen just order vanilla, the lady serving got very cranky with her and gave her samples of other flavors. When Helen said thank you but she just wanted vanilla, she got grumpy and couldn't figure out with all the wonderful flavors why anyone would just order vanilla. The city is so beautiful and the weather was perfect.

These five countries are all so beautiful. Yugoslavia was an amazing country when it was all together (except for the politics). The country was very self sufficient and diverse. They had lots of natural resources and land that was very productive. They can grow everything from grains to citrus to olives and figs. I hope that they can find a way to put off their prejudices and start looking forward to a brighter future. The Gospel of Jesus Christ can truly help them with that to find a perfect hope.  

General Conference, Easter and a Quilting B

Daily scripture reading/review of Holy Week was a great way to prepare for Easter and General Conference. They fell on the same weekend this year. It was wonderful to hear all the messages of about Jesus Christ and His gospel. 

In Idaho, we would have watched General Conference at home, but here we gathered at the church. It was great to listen and learn with the young missionaries, congregation members and friends. With the time difference, we would participate in the 10 am/morning sessions at 6pm/Sarajevo time - lol. It was a special conference, as we sustained Dallin H. Oaks as the new prophet and president of the church and a new First Presidency and 2 new Apostles, who were called to fill vacancies in the Quorum of the 12, due to the passing of President Nelson and Elder Holland.

On Sunday, we were invited for Sunday Brunch at Elder and Sister Lamb's apartment. We were spoiled with American Easter candy (the Lamb's family had brought to Bosnia), shared a meal and colored eggs; Serbian-style. These beautiful dark red eggs are cooked and dyed simultaneously in water colored with dry "red onion skins" (which Sister Lamb has been saving for weeks). After one decorates the raw egg with small leaves or flowers, you secure the decorations in place by wrapping it in a nylon stocking. The results are lovely. 

 

On Monday, after Easter, we traveled to Belgrade for Zone conference. We all left early so we could stop at the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial Exhibition and Srebrenica-Potočari Cemetery. It is a very sad, but important place to visit. At this place, we saw man's inhumanity to his fellow man represented in film, photos and personal stories. It is a place of grief and deep reflection.

As we drive through Bosnia, we see posters and graffiti say, "Never Forget Srebenica". A Bosnian friend gave me this small brooch, the "symbol of remembrance". The 11 petals represent July 11, 1995, the day the genocide began. The white color signifies the innocence of the victims and the green center represents hope. I am inspired by the survivors and am heavyhearted for their pain. I pray that as we remember this and other terrible atrocities, that we will guard against their repeating.  

From outward appearances, the April Zone Conference may look like all the ones before - learning, laughter, fellowship, but I always learn something new and am glad to have this opportunity. I am grateful for the time we spend driving and talking with our Sarajevo sisters. It make me very happy to see young missionaries who have served in Sarajevo and now are in another area - to catch up and express care. The feeling of love and camaraderie that exists among the young missionaries is infectious and I always learn and I am buoyed up by our time together. There is much serious learning, but always lots of fun, too. 

The other adventure of this week was "Sarajevo's First Old-Fashioned Quilting B". 

Lot and I invest many hours laboring in our missionary responsibilities - but there are times when you need to practice some self-care and do something else. I need to do something creative. 

Anyone who knows me very well, will not be surprised that I have become "fast friends" with the ladies at the local fabric store. 

I have sewn a couple of quilt tops and this last week, I invited my fabric store friends and Sister Lamb to our apartment to help me come tie a small quilt. I was sad Alma could not come (due to a family conflict), but Berina, Sister Lamb and I had a grand time.

Stitching together creates a sacred place of understanding and grace. One comes to realize that in spite of differences of geography or culture, there are so many things we have in common - hope, humor, faith and dreams.

Spring Senior Conference

Twice per year all of the senior missionaries in our Mission have an opportunity to meet together for several days to receive instruction and to build relationships with each other. One of the unexpected joys of serving as a senior couple is the friendships that we develop with other seniors. Last week was no exception. We had a wonderful and uplifting time.

We have been fortunate to have the largest number of senior missionaries of any proselyting mission in the world. They come from many different backgrounds and walks of life, but we are all here to serve and love the people of these countries.

This time we gathered at the beautiful city of Pula, Croatia. It's on the north coast of the Adriatic Sea. Pula is very old dating back to before the Roman empire and the time of Christ. It has one of the best preserved Colosseums from the Roman era still erected. They still hold music concerts and the oldest film festival in Europe in this structure. There were several other sites to see as well.

Our friends, Elder and Sister Lamb, offered a walking tour of old town and the next day we visited a neighboring city of Rovinj. I think it was everyone's favorite place to visit. 

Helen and a few friends actually climbed all the way to the top of the bell tower. They said the old wooded stairs were very scary.

Our Mission Leaders, Brian and Angelika Cordray will finish their assignment here in June, so this is their last time for this event. We gave them a surprise tribute video from all of us. It was a very touching time for all present. It was truly an inspiring and uplifting time. 

It rained like crazy the last day. The wind was so strong that it was raining horizontally. Most of us got very wet

There is a coastal mountain range between the coast and the inland part of Croatia. We didn't realize until we prepared to depart that what was rain at the coast was snow on the mountains. Most of the roads were closed either from the snow or the downed trees from the wind. Everyone were able to arrive to their homes safely but many took several hours longer than we had planned. Because of the many detours we got to see parts of Croatia that we hadn't planned to see. haha

All in all, it was a very memorable week. We're not sure how to feel, that this is our last time we will be together with all of the seniors in our mission.

More Road Trip(s) - lol

At the front of the week, Lot and I both drove a car with a set with the young missionaries to attend Zone Conference in Belgrade, Serbia.  

The agenda of Zone Conferences going forward has been modified, consisting of only 1 day (instead of 2). But the shortened schedule was filled with great instruction; from both President and Sister Cordray and the young missionary leaders, Zone Leaders and Sister Trainer Leaders. 

I am always delighted to see the young missionary's creativity in presenting principles and practices. Our Montenegro-Bosnia Zone leadership channeled their "March Maddness" energy to create a great presentation. 

I love these amazing ladies with whom I serve. 

At the end of the week, Sister Lamb and I took temporary possession of this bright blue Hyundai and headed northwest from Sarajevo, to Slovenia. About 3 hours into our trip, near Banja Luka, we stopped to pick-up Suzana, another sister from our branch.

The geographic footprint, of church members, under the pastoral care of President Cordray is the same for both the mission and the Adriatic District - 5 countries - Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Bosnia.  So, in order for members to fellowship and learn together, the locations of the activities moves from country to country. This time, the women's conference was in Maribor. 

We celebrated the 184th anniversary of the organization of Relief Society and had a fun weekend of strengthening our faith, hiking, learning a Slovenian folk song, sharing time together. 

This is where we were alll headed - to the top of the hill!

It was a little windy at the top of the hill! (as if you coudn't tell - lol)

A view of beautiful Maribor 

We spent one more night and after Sacrament Meeting on Sunday morning, we headed towards Sarajevo. My heart was tender, as i hugged some of those women I have come to love, ones I probably would not see for a long time.