A Whirlwind of a Week

 Just a warning – This week’s post may be longer than future posts. 

This week has been a whirlwind of experiences. After our Monday-Friday at the MTC, we spent the weekend with our daughter and her family in Heber City, UT. On Sunday, we attended church with them and Charlotte and I prepared a delicious Thanksgiving dinner (as we didn’t know if we would have a traditional celebration on Thanksgiving Day in Bosnia). We played games and spent time together. It was wonderful.

Early Monday morning, Charlotte took us and our 6 suitcases and 2 personal items to the SLC airport and we began our journey towards Sarajevo. At the airport we met up with Elder and Sister Nielson, who are also headed to serve in the Adriatic North Mission and will be living in Slovenia. It was an overnight flight and so on Tuesday, about noon, we and the Neilson’s arrived in Zagreb, Croatia. 

We and Elder and Sister Nielson were met by our mission leaders, Brian and Angelika Cordray. We gathered and loaded all our suitcases and ourselves. 

All I can say, is, “It’s a good thing they brought the van!” LOL

After a delicious late lunch, we were dropped at a hotel and were able to have a good nights sleep. In the morning we met back at the church and after a little instruction, they gave us a car and a map with the address to our apartment and said, “off you go to Sarajevo.” And so, we went. 

It was about a 5-hour drive from Zagreb to Sarajevo. We saw some beautiful countryside as we drove along the Bosna River. I saw rural houses with greenhouses or small gardens, still with un-harvest cabbages. We saw cities with tall apartment buildings. We also saw beautiful mosques, with domes and minarets. 

It was dark when we arrived in Sarajevo. As we arrived on the surface streets, traffic was bad and were moving slowly. In a way, that might have been a blessing, as we had a little longer to get in the correct lane or to react. We followed the directions on the map, but when we arrive at the destination, we were pretty sure we were not at the correct address. We called Elder and Sister Stafford (who are serving here in Bosnia on a Humanitarian assignment). Our suspicions were correct – we were at the wrong place. Correct street, wrong house – LOL. 

They instructed us to drive back a couple blocks. We felt very grateful to see Elder Stafford, waving from the curb and directing us into our parking place. 

The Stafford’s and Elder and Sister Wilkerson’s (a couple serving as mission housing coordinators) had prepared our apartment for our arrival. The mission has provided us a lovely, safe apartment and there was even homemade soup and rolls from the bakery, for that first night’s dinner. The Stafford’s helped us unload the car and gave us brief instructions about the apartment. They then they left us to settle and to fall into bed. 

When we woke up on Thursday, we were curious to get a peak at our neighborhood. We were surprised to see so many hills. We have a lovely view. So much for which to be thankful! 

We and the other missionaries (both young and senior) were invited to have dinner with the Casbeer family that evening. We gathered and brought our contributions. It was a wonderful evening of fellowship and food. 

Friday and Saturday were filled with trying to settle in, some shopping and starting the paperwork process for legally living here. In helping us get a “lay of the land”, Elder and Sister Stafford’s picked us up Friday about noon and drove us downtown. We parked and walked to the rented building where we gather for church (so we would know where to park and could more easily find it on Sunday morning). 

We walked into old town and down the pedestrian shopping streets – jewelry, leather goods, souvenirs. There were outdoor coffee shops, restaurants, and glass storefronts filled with baklava and Turkish delight. We also saw many mosques, where men were studying and a beautiful Catholic church. We walked along the Bosna River and stopped near the Latin Bridge, where Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were assassinated on 

June 28th, 1914

This week has been very full. Full of things that have been challenging – a long flight, jet lag, settling in a new home, a language that is foreign to our ears and groceries goods whose labels we cannot read (good thing for the pictures - LOL). 

Yet, it has also been full of things that have been a blessing – new friends, the kind efforts of those who help prepare our way, the helpful man at the gas station and the support of each other. We are grateful to be here and look forward, “feeling excited and ready”.