Back to Podgorica

At the first of the week we paid Lot's first parking ticket in Bosnia (On SUN morning those places usually full of parked cars seemed like a perfectly good place to park. We didn't see the "parking with permit only" sign - yikes! In our defense, the sign was turned backwards towards the building - lol) It was only $10 and now we know how to pay a parking ticket at the post office). 

We had our regular District Council meeting with the young elders and sisters and Elder and Sister Stafford - coordinating efforts and schedules for the coming week. We also traded to a different car and prepared to leave for Podgorica for a week. Watering house plants, laundry and making sure the car was full of gas and had wiper fluid. We took a different route and saw a new-to-us hillside fortress and beautiful landscapes. 

It is only 150 miles from Sarajevo to Podgorica, but it takes about 6 hours to drive, as the average speed is 35 mph on this route. 

When we arrived in town we went to dinner with Elder and Sister Allan (Humanitarian) and then over to the Orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ. It is a beautiful building with the walls and ceilings filled with frescos of gold and bright colors. The frescos depicts many orthodox saints and events in the life of Jesus Christ. The cathedral is open for visitng, but I was uncomfortable taking pictures in a house of worship. My favorite part of the cathedral was an inlayed floor tile depiction of "Noah's Ark. (You can view the mosaic by searching - "floor mosaic, cathedral of the resurrection of christ, podgorica" - image)

In the cathedral court yard, the had about a dozen wooden huts set - some selling treats, handmade items, or orthodox goods. We found a young man, David, who was selling local sweet, nutty confections handmade by his mother. My favorite was the Rosen Torte (the square on in the middle, topped with white chocolate). 

Https://heavytable.com/rozen-torta-serbian-pink-cookies/

We have enjoyed the cultural learning that we are experiencing. Montenegro's population is predominately Orthodox Christian. They observe the Greek calendar, rather than and Gregorian calendar used in the United States. Based on this calendar, orthodox christians observe Christmas on January 7th, with New Years the following week. So when we arrived, it was the day after orthodox Christmas and many businesses and offices were still closed. 

The next few days we spend the day with the young sisters, Sister Auna (from HI) and Sister Robinson (from WA) teaching friends of the church and visiting congregation members. On Friday, we drove 60 KM west, to the coastal town of Budva. The weather was quite overcast and we were in the fog and clouds as we traveled over the mountains towards the coast. About half way down the grade, we broke out of the clouds and saw the ocean and city. 

We found a parking space (which is sometimes tricky) and walked to our first two lessons. 

After our lessons with friends of the church, we met the Nikitin family in the "old walled city", who graciously gave us a tour. Within the walls of the old city, we saw ruins of a Roman bath (2nd-1st century B.C.), St. John Baptist Church/7th-12th Century and the Budva Citadel, a medieval fortress. The Citadel now houses a museum and library, but we saved that adventure for another day. 

The Nikitin's were such lovely hosts and we had such a joyful visit with them.

On Saturday, we helped clean the church and had 3 meetings in the evening; a planning meeting with the local leadership, a Balkan history lesson by one of our fellow senior missionaries and a Senior Missionary council meeting (the last two meetings were via Zoom, attended by senior missionaries from the 5 countries of the mission - Slovenia on the north to Montenegro in the south).

Our week ended on Sunday with great worship service at church and a lovely meal hosted by Elder and Sister Allan. We were joined by a friend, who came from Budva to share a meal and have a lesson with the sisters. 

Spiritual Thought - Our acknowledgment of God's grace and miracles

Matthew 7:7-8

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find' knock and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For everyone that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. 

The day we drove to Budva with the sisters, we came to a place in our day and plans when we were undecided on how best to solve a problem. Based on the knowledge that was available to us (using our physical senses and logic) we could not know how best to proceed. We and the sisters verbally discussed our possible options. 

Sister Robinson said, "I think we need to say a prayer." She offered a prayer and asked that Heavenly Father would enlighten our minds and we would know how best to proceed. We got done with the prayer and I said, "I think we should...."

There was no voice, vision or flash of light, but we moved forward in faith. Our day was a good day and we accomplished the tasks for which we had hoped. 

As we look back, we know that we made the best decision. In hindsight, there were crucial factors that we did not know, but God knew.

I know that God hears and answers prayers. When we look to Him, willing to act in faith, He will bless and help us.