Stays from Frankfurt

On July 20th we drove to Sarajevo to pick up Elder Randy and Sister Rebecca Stay at the airport.  They are our Area Welfare Specialists in Frankfurt.  We had an uneventful (pleasant) return trip back to Tuzla.  We were able to have the Stays speak in church on Sunday and then spent an enjoyable afternoon together with the elders. 

Monday we drove to the mountain village of  Hrasno to show the Stays a clean water project which we have been working on there.  Phase 1 (one of our first projects) is just about done.  We are hopeful to get Phase 2 approved and on the books for next spring.
 

After our visit to Hrasno we headed to the town of Sapna in Eastern Bosnia.  On the way to Sapna we stopped in Kalesija to visit the greenhouse to see how the greenhouse garden was doing.  This is the same garden which the young elders helped to plant back in April.  It is also the one that the tomatoes came from (last week's post).  You can see how the garden "grows".  The crop is only tomatoes and paprika (bell peppers).

 

 

After the Kalesija sidetrack, we continued to Sapna to evaluate the restroom situation.  School is out for the summer and the smell is not nearly as strong as it was the last time we were there.  The plan is to get the corrections made before school starts the end of August. 

  

We called it a day and drove back to Tuzla, where we had a delightful dinner out by the lake.  Tuesday morning we packed into the car and drove to Ljubovija, Serbia across the Drina River separating Bosnia from Serbia, where we met Elder and Sister Maughan (humanitarian couple for Serbia).  We met with the deputy mayor of Ljubovija where the Maughans discussed a potential water project.  Ljubovija is a small town with a population of about 4,000.  The town loves the Maughans as they were able to help the school children with boots last winter.  After visiting with the city officials we drove up into the mountains to a Roma village where we viewed the potential water project and picked blackberries. 

About 6:00pm we started our trek to Novi Sad where the Maughans live.  On the way we passed several roadside markets with wagons loaded with cantaloupes and watermelons.  Agriculture is an extremely large business in Balkans.   As you can see, they grow their produce big.  This is a cantaloupe.

Wednesday we went to the market, did some sightseeing, and had lunch.  After we went to the Maughans apartment where we had some training from the Stays and discussed "words of wisdom" for the couples who will eventually follow ourselves and the Maughans on this mission.  The Maughans already have a couple called to replace them.  We do not yet.  We pray that a couple will be called and be able to overlap with us for some training before we go home in November.

 

 

 

 

The clock in the picture above was on the wall of the restuarant where we ate.  If you start at 4:00 you will understand how many people feel about time when they are eating or having a drink with friends. 

 

We left Novi Sad Wednesday about 5 PM and had a pleasant drive back to Tuzla.  The roadside is field upon field of sunflowers, corn, and hay.  We might also mention that the Serbian countryside is flat! You might think that you are in Kansas.