Monday we drove to Karlovac, Croatia. Once we cross the border into Croatia the roads are very nice. They have a 4 lane toll road. To get to Karlovac you drive like you are going to Zagreb and then turn southwest just before you get to Zagreb. When we left our house at 6:45am the temperature was 14.5C and the weather was clear. The closer we got to Zagreb and Karlovac the temperature dropped to 3C and the weather changed to fog and rain. When we were about 30 minutes from our destination everything stopped. After about 45 minutes we inched our way off the toll road. The GPS tried to reroute us on the toll road again, but the entrance was closed. Finally it gave us another way. Thank goodness we arrived in time for our 1:00 pm meeting. Our meeting was with a group of parents who are trying to develop a program for children with autism. (Sounds like we need our son, Jesse, to come help get this program off the ground.) What they want to do is get a building and furnish it so that the children can have physical therapy. Once they get a building and a therapist we might be able to help with some equipment. After meeting with the parents we met with the new branch president in Karlovac to discuss the branch garden project which is beginning it's third year. (We visited this garden when we first came to Croatia in June.)
Tuesday morning we had meetings with the Croatian Red Cross where we discussed a potential wheelchair project as well as reviewed the Well Cleaning Project which is also in its third year of operation. We had previously visited this project in June.
Well cleaning in Croatia
Normally we would have returned to Tuzla after our meetings, but we made the decision to stay till Wednesday so that we could take home our new elder (Merl) and Elder Kroff. If we had not stayed, they would have had to stay Wednesday night and then catch a bus (5 1/2 hr. ride) to Bosnia early Thursday morning. The memory of our first days with that "deer in the headlights" look sealed our decision. Our new missonary is Elder Merl from Austria. Nine new missionaries (8 elders and 1 sister) arrived on Tuesday Jan 22nd and an orientation was held for them and their companions on Wednesday the 23rd. The meeting finished about 4:30pm. We departed shortly thereafter and arrived back home about 9:00pm.
Gary, Susan, Elder Merl, Elder Kroff
At 4:15am (Zagreb time) Wednesday morning our Magic Jack phone rang. It was Andrew and Reachel telling us that they were at the hospital and the arrival of our 8th grandson (9th grandchild) was finally going to happen. Andrew felt bad when he found out what time is was here, as in Arizona it was 8:15pm. We went back to sleep for awhile and they called back after he was born. Oscar Andrew Bagley is everything we could have asked for. It is going to be a difficult 10 months till we can hold him. Reachel's sisters are going to fill in for us. Lizzy and Sara will go to Mesa next weekend and Rebecca and her family will visit the 15th of February. We feel truly blessed to have this new grandson and appreciate the support our children give to us while we are here. We do not have to worry about our house or any of the every day problems that come up. It is a great blessing and we are very thankful for everything our children do for us.
Oscar Andrew Bagley
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