Not much - Just Making Preparations

Monday we visited the University Klinical Center Hospital (UKC) to see how the next round of vision screening training was going.  The doctors at the hospital are now training teams from each school who will be doing the vision screening in the other 62 schools in Tuzla Kanton (county).  That is 16 groups with 15 people in each group.  Needless to say, we think the staff at UKC Ophthalmology Clinic are the best!  As we spoke with the doctors, they expressed to us the difference this project has made in the lives of the children here in Tuzla.  We learned that they have seen and treated over 100 cases of amblyopia (lazy eye).  If amblyopia isn't caught and treated early in a child's life, blindness in that eye will result.  We have been so thankful that we had the opportunity to be part of this project.

 

The rest of the week was spent getting several projects ready to submit for closure.  Most of our area projects are completed and we want to have them closed before our replacements arrive.  We did receive word that the two new water projects which we submitted have been approved.  Since we have had an unreasonably warm fall (temperatures in the mid to high 70's) the crews are hopefully to be able to start working on the projects before the snow flies.  We still have to get contracts approved and signed.

We drove to Orasje (near the Bosnia/Croatia border) on Wednesday.  We met with the Red Cross officials there regarding how many and what types of wheelchairs will be needed for an upcoming wheelchair project.

Thursday we received some large exhaust fans for a school restroom remodel.  Most of the work had been completed, however we ran into a problem securing large exhaust fans.  With the fans purchased, we will be able to finish and close that project.  An interesting side note: Gary was talking with two of the people we use on a contractual basis and one of them said:  "You (people - Mormons) don't smoke or drink do you?"  The other said, "No they don't, they are better Muslims than we are." 

We did receive word this week that we will be able to meet with the Ministry of Education in Banja Luka in regards to doing a vision screening project similar to the one which has been done here in Tuzla.

As we were trying to find the other pictures (which are lost in cyberspace) we discovered some pictures which we left out from previous posts.  We will include them here.

Our last visit to Sarajevo to meet with partners for vision screening

Kiwi Vines

 

Pomegranates 

 

That does it for the week.  We look forward to our vision screening specialists coming next weekend.  Hopefully we will be able to visit with partners both in Sarajevo and Banja Luka with hopes of furthering the vision screening in both those cities.

 

On a final note one of our young men was able to receive the Aaronic Priesthood today.  It is truly a wonderful feeling to see our members grow in the gospel.  We had the opportunity to have Elder and Sister Goodsell come to our church today and speak.  Elder Goodsell is a counselor in the Mission Presidency. 

 

 

 

Speaking of young men growing in the gospel - this evening (morning in Utah) we had FaceTime with our family - our oldest grandson came on after getting ready for church - doesn't he look like a future deacon?  He is now 10.  They are growing up on us.  We are truly blessed and thank our Father in heaven daily for our family and their support. 

 



Zadar, Croatia

Monday we helped the Elders get a new sim card for their phone.  Then we made preparations to go to Zadar, Croatia, to meet with Elder and Sister Matosić. 

Tuesday morning we started out at 6:15am for our drive to Zadar, Croatia.  We arrived in Zadar about 1:15 in the afternoon.  We visited in Zadar with Elder Baldwin, Elder Proud, Sister Compare, and Sister Sturtevant.  After joining them for district meeting Elder and Sister Matosić drove us around Zadar to see the sights.  We were able to go to the Kresimir Čosić Sports Arena.  Kresimir Čosić is responsible for bringing the church to this part of the world.  If you would like to know more about Kresimir Čosić -
 
https://www.lds.org/church/news/print/church-members-in-croatia-celebrate-the-churchs-40-year-presence-in-the-country?lang=eng

After the sports arena we drove to a lookout point where we could see all the town of Zadar.  This was followed by a trip to centar and a visit to water's edge.  Sister Matosić had mentioned that they would take us to the sea organ.  We could hear the organ before we saw it.  The organ was built after World War II.  Rather than build a boring wall, they made the sea organ which is played by the waves.

http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om24550.html

We also visited the market place via some Roman ruins.  Susan purchased some handmade lace.  Croatia is famous for their handmade lace.  She did not purchase any of that kind (a bit pricey).  But we were able to see some of this lace.  We learned that the lace from Hvar is unique in that the thread is collected from the aloe leaves of agave plants that grow on a nearby island. The leaves are picked at a certain time of the year and are then specially processed to produce a thin, white thread. The Benedictine nuns in the town of Hvar are the only ones who make the Hvar lace, which is also called "aloe lace".  There is also Lepoglava lace and Pag lace.

 

 

Notice the bench (piano keys)

Holes for the sea organ

 

Boy is that sun bright. 

 

 

 

Agave plant flower

 

Meanwhile back in Bosnia Tuesday was Bajram (Eid-al-Fitr).  Which means it was a holiday (4 days of holiday).  On top of that, the Bosnian soccer team played Lithuania Tuesday night.  They won the match 1-0.  The win qualified Bosnia for the World Cup which will be in Brazil in 2014.  They celebrated till the wee hours of the morning.

 

The reason for our trip to Zadar was to see about the possibility of doing a project there.  We visited a school for troubled youth and the Zadar Red Cross.  These are potential projects, but we will want till our replacements get here to decide whether they want to do any of these potential humanitarian projects.

 

After our meetings we visited the docks before we departed for a meeting in Karlovac. 

 

 

 

While in Zadar we saw pomegranate trees, olive trees, and kiwi vines.  Did you know that kiwi grows on a vine?  They have large leaves and the vines are much like grapes.  The drive to Zadar was beautiful.  As we drove back we saw a huge mountain range - how we missed it on the drive in is beyond us.  It is definitely autumn time and we enjoyed our drive. 

 

Olive trees (you need to look close to see the olives) 

 

 

 

We met with the Branch President in Karlovac, Croatia, regarding the branch garden project.  While there we were able to see Elder Stuart.

 

 

Thursday we stopped at the mission office in Zagreb.  We visited with two new senior couples.  Elder and Sister Lambert and Elder and Sister Croft.  We like to take the office couple out to lunch when we are in Zagreb.  We do not have an office couple at this time, but we were able to take Elder Quinn and his companion Elder Brown to a new place that serves hamburgers. 

 

  

Lunch over, we returned to Tuzla arriving in the evening.  Friday we had district meeting with the sisters and elders.  Saturday we use as our P-day which brings us back to Sunday. 

 

That does it for the week.  We are making prepartions for our vision specialists from Salt Lake and still making numerous lists for our replacements.  We know that they will be overwhelmed just like we were, but the Lord will bless them just as he did us.  

 

Visa Extension and Another Baptism

Monday we drove to Sarajevo with our translator to meet with the Federal Ministry of Health to talk about the potential vision screening project we would like to do there.  Sarajevo is a larger city than Tuzla so we will tweak the project a little to make it work.  All in all, it was a very positive meeting. 

Tuesday we met with the doctor at the University Clinical Center who has been doing all the training for the vision screeners in Tuzla.  The plan is to continue the screening throughout the rest of Tuzla Canton.  This requires training three people each from 65 more schools.  This is a big job for our doctor, but she is a "believer" in the project.  She is excited about the difference it has made in the lives of the children who have been referred to their clinic to help improve their vision.

Wednesday was district meeting with our missionaries and also making the necessary preparations to go out of town on Thursday.

On Thursday we had to leave town as our visa expired on October 10th.  We went to meet with the Maughans (humanitarian couple) in Novi Sad, Serbia.  The Maughans came with us across the pond last June and they will go home about the same time as we do.  Upon arriving in Novi Sad the Maughan's told us about a challenge that has arisen in one of their projects. We listened and discussed with them regarding the problem and hopefully it is getting resolved.
 

 

We returned to Tuzla on Saturday getting a new passport entry stamp so that we will be able to obtain an extension for our visa.  It was a peaceful and relaxing drive.  The leaves are beginning to change.

 

Saturday night we had another baptism.  This young lady is the daughter of one of the members who was baptized earlier this summer. It was truly a spiritual event.  She was confirmed today at church by Elder Winters, bringing our membership to 10. 

This is a bitter sweet time for us.  We are excited about going home, but we are going to have a hard time leaving.  We have made so many friends, both the missionaries and the local people. The members have become like family to us.  We will look forward to a reunion with many of our Tuzla returned missonaries at some future date and hope that it will be like Alma and the Sons of Mosiah when they met in Alma 17. 

Till next week . . .  Doviđenja (Goodbye)     

General Conference and a New Missionary

On Tuesday we drove Elder Graham and Elder Sheridan to Banja Luka, Bosnia.  Elder Graham has been transferred to Banja Luka where he will work with Elder Fausnaught.  Elder Stuart and Elder Sheridan then caught the bus to Zagreb.  Elder Stuart was transferred to Karlovac, Croatia.  Elder Sheridan was going Zagreb to pick up our new missionary.  After a day of training for the new missionaries at the chapel in Zagreb our missionaries returned to Tuzla on Thursday evening.  Our newest missionary is Elder Frederick from (near) Tampa, Florida.  So far we have learned that he is the oldest of 7 children, has great language skills and can beatbox.  The beatbox talent immediately won over our younger members. 

On Wednesday we had the opportunity to visit the orphange here in Tuzla to see how the work is progressing on some plumbing repairs which we are helping with.  It is wonderful to see the difference that small ways of helping others improves the lives of those in need.

Thursday we drove to Sapna, Bosnia to visit the primary school where we have helped to purchase some material to re plumb the restrooms.  As soon as we entered the school we could immediately tell that things were better.  There was no smell!  Another success.

Saturday night ended our week.  It was uplifting to be able to stream conference live.  10am Salt Lake time is 6pm Bosnia time.  We gathered with the elders and sisters to watch the first session of General Conference.  We will watch the Sunday morning session Sunday night at 6pm.  Next week we will download a conference talk so that our members will be able to listen to a prophet's voice.  Our goal is to be able to secure the Internet before next conference so that we will be able to invite members and investigators to come to our building and listen to conference.  We feel it a blessing and privilege to be part of the 80,000 strong missionary force.  May we testify to the truthfulness of what Elder Ballard spoke of.  The Lord will bless you in your work.  Fear will be replaced with faith.  He will give us opportunities. 

Today at church we took a picture of the new Tuzla missionary group.  We also took a picture of those in attendance today as well as a picture of those who desire to be future missionaries.

It is wonderful to be a small part of this great work.

Today is the 5th birthday of James, our grandson.  He is such a fun person.  He likes music, has a huge vocabulary and is the most cheerful boy ever.  We love him,  

 

 

Till next week. . . .