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. 

 



Our New Apartment

Yesterday, Saturday, June 29th was our daughter Reachel Bagley's 33rd birthday.   We were able to Face Time with her and her family.  They were are spending the afternoon in their backyard at the pool as she lives in Arizona. Then according to Facebook she continued to party the rest of the day and night.  It looked that she had a great birthday.  We sure are glad that Reachel is a part of our family.  We are also thankful for her talents.  If not for her, this blog would not happen.  Anytime we have a problem, we call our computer guru. She is a amazing mother, wife and daughter.  We are proud to be her parents.

Saturday was a big day for us as well as we moved to a new apartment.  As many of you know our apartment did not have central heating.  This last winter was fairly mild, but we felt it best to get a different apartment with parking and central heating.  The young elders are also moving to a new apartment as well.  They will move tomorrow - pictures next week.  Since we have office furniture we hired someone to move us.  Thursday and Friday afternoon we spent the day packing up the old apartment.  Saturday morning the movers came and loaded everything up.  We only moved 3 kilometers from the old apartment but it was quite the ordeal.   The movers came at about 8AM and we were all moved into our new apartment by 11AM.  The rest of the day was spent unpacking and getting things organized so that we could cook dinner and get ourselves ready for church on Sunday.  Our new apartment is so nice.  We feel very blessed to have it. 

 

As you can see we have plenty of room now.  It is not to late to come over for a visit.  This summer the weather has been quite pleasant.  Last year when we arrived it was usually hot.   So hot that we had three months of drought.  We have a balcony at our new apartment as we did at our last one.  At night you can sit outside and enjoy the cool night air and smell the Lipa (Linden) trees.  They smell a bit like lemon peel.  It is funny, but we don't remember smelling these trees last year.  It is really quite pleasant to just relax and enjoy the pleasant scent.

 

 

We were able to visit Orasje on Monday.  We visited the Pcelica (Little Bee) Kindergarten.   This project consisted of working with the city and Red Cross to replace asbesto pipe to the school with new PVC Pipe.  The children now have clean drinking water.  The local radio station even interviewed us. station.

 

While we were in Orasje, we went to the neighboring town of Domalijevac.  Back in April we were able to distribute potato seed and onion sets to a few families that were in need.  We went back for some pictures for our project journal.  We have a most delightful visit with one of the ladies that received the help.  She was happy to see us again and expressed her appreciation for the help.  It is such a privledge to be able to serve a mission in this way.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

This past week our daughters Lizzy and Sara were brave souls and drove to Raymond, Alberta, Canada with three boys under 10.  From what we hear all six of the grandsons (Taylor, Landon, Dallin, Mason, James, and Thomas) are having a great time.  We have tried to Face Time with them, but it gets a little crazy?#!*.  We hope that Lizzy, Sara, Rebecca and Jordan will survive as well. 

 

Hope everyone at home has a wonderful 4th of July.  It truly is a blessing to live in America and enjoy all the freedoms that we do.    

Our First Young Woman

In our post last week we were on our way to a baptism.  We had such a sweet outpouring of the spirit there. After coming out of the water, she kept saying "I feel so good!"  We have our baptisms at the swimming pool of a local hotel.  It is a very busy place and sometimes it is difficult to reserve the use of the pool.  We were able to get a slot at 7:45pm Sunday night so we took it.  She was baptized and confirmed the same evening.  She is our first young woman.

 Elder Sheridan, Amela, and Elder Kroff

 

Elder Kroff, Elder Sheridan, Gary, Amela, Elder Quinn, Elder Compton

 

Singing "If the Savior Stood Beside Me"

 

Monday we traveled to the town of Orasje (close to the Croatian/Bosnian border).  We had submitted a project to replace some asbestos lined pipes so that a kindergarten will have clean water.  Since it was approved, we went to get things going on this project. 

 

Gary, Susan and Kristina (principal)  

 

On our way back to Tuzla we stopped in a town called Srebrnik.  We pass through this town on our way to and from the border.  There is a fortress in Srebrnik built in 1333.  We decided it was time to visit.  The view was unbelievable.  Everything is so green right now.  You can truly enjoy the beauty of the countryside.

 

  

 



Early Monday morning we put Elder Compton and Elder Kroff on the bus to Zagreb.  Elder Compton was transferred to the Adriatic South Mission.  Elder Kroff was picking up another new missionary to replace Elder Compton.  The missionaries (9 sisters and 2 elders) had a horrible time getting here.  They were suppose to arrive at noon on Tuesday.  They got here at 7:30pm on Wednesday.  How is that for an adventure to begin your mission?  Elder Stuart, our new elder, is from Logan, Utah.  Needless to say he is suffering from jet-lag.  We are delighted to finally have him here and are confident he will fit in quickly.  Jet-lag, language, and new surroundings can be a little overwhelming.

 

  Elder Stuart, Elder Kroff, Gary, Susan, Elder Quinn and Elder Sheridan

 

The local Cantonal Red Cross is one of our best partners.  They have helped make it possible for the Church to bring wheelchairs and other supplies into the country without paying custom charges.  Their photocopy machine had quit working.  We received approval to purchase a new one.  It is a pleasure to be able to help an organization who does so much for the needy.

 

       

Thursday was Susan's birthday.  While we were getting our car serviced, Elders Quinn and Sheridan arranged to come to our apartment, bake cupcakes from scratch, and decorated the place.  It was a delightful surprise. You can not go the the party store here to get your supplies, nor do they have cake mixes on the shelves at the store.  This took a great deal of thought and effort on their behalf and it did not go unnoticed nor unappreciated. 

 

 

Notice the firework candles

 



Friday we traveled toward the Serbian border to the town of Bijeljina.  Here we did a follow up on the wheelchair distribution we did back in February.  We had the opportunity to visit one of the wheelchair recipients.  He is a diabetic amputee who lives with his two sons and their families.  Everyone is unemployed.  He has no pension.  If he had not received a wheelchair from the church, he would not have a wheelchair.  It is always such a delight to be a part of serving our fellowman.   

  

 

We had an excellent fast and testimony meeting today.  Four of our local members and investigators shared their testimonies.  It is a privilege to see the church grow here.  We look forward to seeing how things will change over time. 



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.