Tying up Loose Ends

We spent most of our week tying up loose ends.  After being gone all last week we had lots of paperwork and bookkeeping that needed to be done in our office/apartment.  We also had several  little things with various projects that we have going that needed our attention.

Monday we visited with Arthur, a local ad agency that has produced a 30 second public broadcast spot for our vision screening program that will be aired on local television.  We also visited with the Red Cross about a possible meeting with the volunteers regarding the how things are going with the vision screening. Then we went to Lotosice (sheltered workshop) to make a payment for tables and chairs that they made for a school kindergarten which is another one of our projects.

Tuesday we went back to the Arthur to pay for the ad spot.  Basically the company created and donated the spot, we were only able to give them a small amount for the work they did.  We took the DVDs with the ad on it to the Red Cross so that they could get the spot run on TV.  We think it is a great spot.  Here is a link.  (the spot is in Bosnian, but you will get the idea)

 

http://druga.tv/info/14488

 

Wednesday we met with the volunteers and the medical students who have been doing the screening in the schools.  The screening is now completed in 7 schools of the 26 schools.  Next Wednesday and Thursday will be holidays here, so there will be no vision screening in the schools next week.  The Ferguson's will be coming on Saturday the 4th of May.  We made a schedule so they can visit some of the schools and see the screenings when they are here.  We also got feedback from the volunteers on how we can improve the overall screening program in the future.

Thursday we had another couple in our mission come to visit.  They came to interview the members of our group.  They are putting together the history of the beginnings of the church in Bosnia. 

Friday morning we took Elder Compton and Quinn with us to one of the local schools where we were interviewed by a local TV station about the vision screening project. 

Today Sunday we left early and drove with our four elders along with one of our members to Sarajevo for branch conference.  We had a enjoyable drive and arrived in Sarajevo in record time.  We did not get stuck behind any logging trucks.  Today was the last Sunday for the Smartts in Sarajevo. They will be returning home to Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Elder and Sister Smartt are responsible for helping to get the Church recognized as a religion in Bosnia.  There were many people in attendance who along the Smartts were instrumental in getting the Church legally recognized.  One attorney who helped in writing the necessary legal documents would not charge for her work and told Elder Smartt that she would be his missionary in Bosnia.  She again told us today that she would always be our missionary.  President Rowe, his wife and family were there as well as Mišo and Ankica Ostarčević.  Mišo and Ankica were the first couple to be baptized in Croatia by Krešimir Ćosić.  They shared their testimonies and told us about what church was like when they first started holding meetings in Croatia.  An interesting thing we learned was that they held church in their home for the first 4 years.  They only knew 3 songs, which they sang each week.  Hearing stories like that help us get through what we think are hard times. 

Till next week Vidmo Se.

 

Water, Water, Everywhere

Our week started with a trip to the border crossing between Serbia and Bosnia to a town called Zvornik.  Here we met Elder and Sister Maughan (the humanitarian couple in Serbia) and Elder and Sister Petersen (our water specialist) from Gilbert, Arizona.  The Petersen's arrived from Arizona the first of the month and have been traveling in Montenegro and Serbia visiting possible water projects in those locations.  The water specialists come to help missionary couples with the technical aspects of developing clean water projects.  Last week we were able to have them visit our potential projects.  After meeting at the border we went to the Bosnian town of Srebrenica.  Here we visited a memorial and cemetery dedicated to war victims. 

We all returned to Tuzla for a good night's rest and made plans to visit two potential projects the next day.  We had to rent a larger car to be able to fit the Petersen's, our translator and ourselves into the vehicle.  Tuesday morning we met early and traveled to the town of Kalesija.  We also took our young elders who helped with the planting of tomatoes and peppers in a greenhouse which the Church donated a few years ago to the Agricultural School in Kalesija.

 

 

 

   

We left our elders at the greenhouse and went to the mayor's office to meet with the city engineer. We are helping the village of Hrasno with phase 1 of a clean water project.  We met to discuss helping with phase 2 of the same project.   After our meeting at the Kalesija mayor's office we drove south to the town of Zavidovići (2 hours).  We again visited the mayor's office to talk about a possible project in the nearby town of Vocuza.

Then it was back to Tuzla.  Wednesday morning we drove about 1 1/2 hours northeast to town of Brćko.  Here we met with engineers and town officials to discuss the needs of a village called Brezovo Polje. 

 

After driving around, looking into wells, taking pictures of the insides of wells and discussing possibilities for clean water we returned again to Tuzla.

Thursday morning we again drove north 1 1/2 hours to the town of Orasje.  Both Orasje and Brćko are close to the Croatian border. The problem in Orasje is that they have 40 year old asbestos pipe lines which can cause serious health problems when they begin to break down.  We again met at the mayor's office and then visited a kindergarten which needs clean water for the children. While in Orasje, someone asked how the LDS Church was different from the Catholic or other churches.  We had a nice discussion centered around the Articles of Faith. After visiting the kindergarten we went back to Tuzla.

     Nap time at the kindergarten

 

Friday morning began bright and early as we drove to Vinkovci, Croatia.  We went to the local Red Cross in Vinkovci were we discussed renewing a well-cleaning project which the Church has been helping with the past three years.  We drove out to an area where the crew was waiting for us to clean out a well.  Some wells have not been used since the war as many of the people had to leave their homes during the war.  After returning they found their wells were contaminated.  The project involves cleaning and sanitizing wells to make them usable for families again.

 

 

 

  

  

  

  

 

 

 

After several trips up and down the well, debris was removed and chlorine was added.  The well was finally declared clean and we departed for Zagreb (3 hours) where we spent the night.  We took the Petersen's to the airport Saturday morning where they caught a flight to Frankfurt.  After reporting to the area office they will return home to Arizona.

 

We enjoyed having the Petersen's visit.  They brought us "hugs" from our granddaughter, Coco.  They also brought us a few other things from our daughter, Reachel.  There are not many adult members of the Church in Bosnia  so having someone to visit with is great.  The Petersen's lived in Maryland years ago and know many of the people we know from our days in Calvert County.  While we have been working on water projects the elders have also been busy helping with the vision screening in the Tuzla schools.  This week we will need to catch up on what we missed last week.

 

Our thoughts and prayers are with the many people affected by the events in Boston.  Till next week. 

Let the Screening Begin

This was a very busy week.  Did we say we were busy?  We were very busy! 

Monday began with a trip to Orasje.  Orasje is a village at the Bosnian/Croatian border.  In fact it is the border crossing of choice for us.  We went to Orasje to distribute more garden seeds.  We say seeds, but we are really giving them seed potatoes, onion sets, fertilizer and pesticides.  We drove to one ladies home and her neighbors came with wheelbarrows to pick up their seeds. 

 

 

 Most of the people who received seeds were what they call "returnees".  During the war they were driven from their homes.  They have since returned and are starting over.  Their homes were destroyed and burned to the ground.  They have had to rebuild them.  Add to that the high unemployment rate and drought which they experienced last summer and there you have it.  It is truly a pleasure to be a part of helping people to help themselves.

While we were in Orasje we stopped to visit a gentlemen who had received a wheelchair as part of a Church wheelchair distribution before we came.  After each wheelchair distribution we try to interview at least 5 recipients and get feedback on how the chair is working for them.

Tuesday we took one set of elders (Elder Compton and Quinn) with us to a ceremony at the University Klinical Center Hospital in Tuzla.  Prior to the ceremony we stopped in at the children's ophthalmology clinic to see if we could take some pictures of children having their vision screened using the materials which we have had printed and made.  No such luck, but Elder Compton got his eye checked as did Gary.  Both have new prescriptions.  Elder Compton got one for contacts and Gary got one for reading glasses.  Susan and Mersiha already had their eyes checked and their glasses are being made.  After the short detour, we went to the newborn unit.  The Humanitarian department was able to purchase a C-Pap machine for babies who are born with breathing problems. 

After the ceremony we were able to go the another department in the hospital. The Rehabilitation department has very modern and up to date equipment, but they are short on wheelchairs.  We talked with the director and then he gave us a tour of his department.  Susan recognized several of pieces of equipment from when she has had physical therapy following surgeries or other injuries.  You can bet she talked to him about something for the arthritis in her feet.

Thursday was the first day of the vision screening in the schools.  Of course as we were on our way to visit the schools we received a few phone calls about challenges, but all got worked out and we felt that everything went fantastic.  The screening volunteers really enjoy their work.

 

 

 

 

Each school which we visited with had their own way to do the screening.  The best part was by Friday afternoon the doctors at the University Klinical Center had already seen their first patient who had been referred to them because of the screening and another one had called for an appointment.  We have been told that before the war that vision screening was mandatory for all children.  We are so glad that after 20 years it has started again.  This has been a big job and we could not have done it without the support of the Red Cross, the Ministry of Education, Institute of Public Health, the doctors at the University Klinical Center, our vision specialists from Salt Lake and our translator Mersiha who helped us put things together.

 

 

 

  

We can not say goodbye for the week without a little bit of grandparent bragging.  This little guy will be 3 months old.  At least he will still have that cute little dimple when we finally get to meet him.

 

 

And this handsome young man turned 7 Saturday, April 13, 2013.  His name is Daniel Mason Court.  He lives in Raymond, Alberta, Canada.  He is in grade one.  He is great helping his Mom and Dad with his younger brothers.  He a one dynamite hockey player and he has learned to read.  He is our favorite 7 year old.

 

     

   

April 6, 2013 General Conference

We can't say enough about how excited we are for General Conference.  We are able to live stream it and enjoy conference as it happens.  We watched Saturday morning at 6PM our time.  It was GREAT!  Then Gary went to bed and Susan could not get enough, so she watched Saturday afternoon (10PM) as well.  By the time it ended it was midnight so that was it for us.  This evening we will watch the Sunday sessions.  What talk did you enjoy?  Which speaker spoke directly to you?  So far, this is one of our favorite talks.

 

 http://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch/2013/04?lang=eng&vid=2282506535001&cid=8

The is the young man which he spoke about, who was baptized last October.

 

The lady in the picture is the nurse he spoke of.

This is the 2nd baptism.

 

 Here he is at church today along with his brothers and his nephew.

 

And the elders.

 

How exciting to be a part of the the beginnings of the church in Bosnia.  We know this is why so many stumbling blocks were placed in our way at the beginning of our time here.  Your prayers and fasting in our behalf have helped us through challenging times.  We know there is still work to do.  There is still an uphill road, but it is comforting to know that the Lord is mindful of us and our little group.