Getting Settled in Tuzla

Early Monday morning the 9th (our one month anniversary of being in Croatia) we packed up our "egg" car and started out for Tuzla.  The trip is a 5 hour drive, one way.  It's about 2 1/2 hours of freeway and once we hit Bosnia it is another 2 1/2 hours on a two lane road.  The countryside is beautiful with fields of corn, hay, pumpkins, and sunflowers.  Nearly everyone has a garden as well.  We are not sure how they water their crops or if they even do, but the landscape is nice to look at.  Once we get into Bosnia we might get stuck behind a tractor carrying hay or someone riding in a horse and cart.  Life is definitely different here.  There are haystack all along the sides of the road.  They roll the hay into bales as well, but we find the haystacks quite quaint.

We arrived in Tuzla and unpacked.  Then we went shopping and bought some dishes, glasses, silverware, and cleaning supplies.  Came home ate lunch and started cleaning the apartment.  By bedtime we had finished our apartment and we spent our first night in Tuzla. On Tuesday it was more of the same.   We went out and bought more of the same for the Elders apartment and spent the afternoon cleaning their place.  We also purchased washer/dryers to be installed in the apartments. These machines take 3 hours+ to do a small load of laundry.
Wednesday we had planned to come back to Varazdin, but felt we were suppose to stay.  We visited the town centar and didn't really do much of anything.  In the afternoon we talked with our landlord and verified that the washers would be installed on Thursday as well as work would begin on getting the internet set up so we could have a secure connection to do our work.

Tuzla Town Centar

We returned to Croatia on Thursday.  We went to the police station to cancel our request for a visa here in Varazdin so we can register in Tuzla.  Each country makes you apply for your visa in country and each country does it differently.  And of course none of the forms are in English.  At least some of them have a little English which helps.

Friday we drove to Ljubljana, Slovenia to register the car.  It was such a change in scenery.  You can tell that the war did not affect the country of Slovenia.

Aerial view of Slovenia

 
Saturday and Sunday were spent like we always spend them and tomorrow we will pack up the car and make another trip to Tuzla.  Cross your fingers that the internet is connected so we can make our final move next week after a couples conference in Zagreb. 

We know that the Lord wants us in Tuzla.  We find it all very challenging and sometimes we feel that maybe this won't work.  That is when we have to remind ourselves that with God nothing is impossible.  We just have to put our hand in his and let him show us how to do it.  Satan likes to put doubt in our thoughts, and that is when the words to the Primay Song "Nephi's Courage"  helps.

           "I will go; I will do the thing the Lord commands.  I know the Lord provides a way;
             he wants me to obey. " 

We know that Heavenly Father is watching over us and that if we are patient and trust in him everything will work out.  Thank you for your prayers in our behalf.