Transfers

The first part of this week was spent in recovering from a terrible head cold.  Susan started coming down with it on Friday night and by Sunday she was down for the count.  Monday Gary started to get it.  Drinking lots of herb teas and taking the essential oils that our daughters have sent helped us to recover.  By Thursday we were both feeling much better. 

It was a good thing that we felt better on Thursday as we were scheduled to go to the town of Osijek, Croatia.  Once again it is about a 3 hour drive from Tuzla.  We arose early and arrived there close to 10:30am.  In Osijek Elder and Sister Preston have been helping us develop a project.  It is working with a home for psychologically ill adults.  The patients currently live in an institutional setting.  The government of Croatia has implemented a program that patients with the capability to become more self-reliant could be moved to live in an apartment or home setting with the hope of gaining more independence.  The residents will shop for their groceries, cook their own meals, care for their clothing and clean their apartment with staff supervision.  This has been a community effort.  The government has provided the apartments and has remodeled the interiors with new walls, ceilings, floors and windows.  They updated the plumping, electrical, heating and cooling systems.  The Church is providing the basic household appliances.  Other organizations are providing furniture, bedding, closets and dishes.  One the patients who will be moving into one of the three self-reliance apartments is a member of the church from the Osijek branch.  Our primary purpose in driving to Osijek was to pay for the refrigerators, washing machines and stoves for three independent living apartments.  We also enjoyed seeing the work that has been done and in visiting with the Prestons.

After going to the store to purchase the appliances and arranging delivery we had the opportunity to visit the three apartments.  Like our apartment, from the outside they do not look like much, but they have done an excellent job remodeling the interiors.  The pictures are not much, but you get the picture.  One apartment even had the furniture in it and is ready to be moved into once the appliances are installed.

 

We spent the rest of the week getting several projects ready to close as well as submitting a new clean water project for approval.  We also continue to make notes and get things ready for our replacements. 

 

Friday morning we got word on missionary transfers.  All the missionaries have been very anxious about this transfer.  Elder Sheridan will be training a new missionary here in Tuzla.  Elder Graham will be going to Banja Luka to work with Elder Fausnaught.  Elder Stuart who has been in Banja Luka will be going to Karlovac, Croatia to replace Elder Brown who is going to be working in the mission office. Elder Quinn will be staying in the office.  Elder Meline is going to Rijeka.  As a side note, Elder Merl will be training a new missionary as Elder Compton is going home on Tuesday along with Elder Kroff.   Our sisters will be staying her in Tuzla.  We hate to see Elder Graham leave.  He is a great young man and he is our pianist.  But we will live, and the Lord will provide.  We are delighted to be able to keep Elder Sheridan and Sister Matthews and Sister Orgill.  They have all done such a wonderful job with the work here.  As we left church today everyone was gathered around the keyboard singing "I Know That My Redeemer Lives".  

 

 

 

With next week being conference, we look forward to being able to hear the messages that the Brethren have prepared.  Since we do not yet have the Internet in our church building, we will have Fast Sunday as always.  Then we will be able to download the talks and share the messages in the following weeks with our members.  Everyone is anxious to be spiritually fed and hear the word of the Lord.  

 

We also want to acknowledge birthdays this last week.  Rebecca and Jordan share their birthday on the 24th.  Landon is now our favorite 6 year old.  They all had a wonderful day. 

 



 

Our first week in Croatia

Sunday morning we walked to the church with the Elders. There was a total 11 in attendance including us. The meeting was in Croatian, however, the Branch President's wife had written her talk in English so we would know what she was saying. She also taught the Sunday School lesson and again provided us an English translation. After church we walked home, only got lost once. We had the Elders over for dinner and set up our trip in the morning to the Police Station.
Monday we made our first trip to the Police Station to apply for our visa. You must apply for a visa every time you move from one city to another. We did not have the right forms, but we began the process. In the afternoon the couple we are replacing, the Erickson's returned from Banja Luka, Bosnia.

Our first trip to the "MUP"

Tuesday began our visits to humanitian project partners that the Erickson's have worked with in Croatia.  The main purpose of our visits was to introduce us to them.

CARTIAS (a part of Catholic Charities in Croatia). One of the projects was buying a stove and a industrial potato peeler for a soup kitchen in Varazdin. The soup kitchen feeds about 250 people a day.

RED CROSS in Varazdin.  This project is clean wells, many of which were damaged in the "homeland war" when Yugoslovia broke apart.

HIGH SCHOOL in Varazdin. This high school is more like a Tech Center. The school made some sheets, duvet covers, and cabinets for rehabilitation hospitals and care centers. The Church acted as the intermediary bringing both together.

VARAZDIN RESIDENTIAL REHABILITATION FACILITY Several projects have been done here. This is where the sheets and duvets were donated as well as cabinets and shelves.

CENTAR FOR REHABILITATION VARAZDIN Here they have about 250 residents (ages ranging from 4 - 90). Again sheets and duvets have been donated. This facility really tugged at our heart strings.  The residents are very well taken care of here.  The place was immaculate and all the residents we meet were delighted to see us.  We liked how they made the decorations for the hospital. 

Making Decorations

Decorations hung

RED CROSS WELL PROJECT  We began the morning very early to visit a town called Daruvar.  We have partnered with the Red Cross to clean 1000 wells.  A two man crew comes in and cleans a well out.  They test for bacteria content and certify the well is safe for drinking.  The family helps with the labor in cleaning the well also. 

Members of family who well was being cleaned 

Another member of family

The red cross and cleaning crew

Upon returning to Varazdin about 5pm we received a call from President Rowe, our mission president.  He would like us to move to Tuzla, Bosnia.  This transfer will not take place immediately as there is not a place for us to live there yet.  However, in the not too far distance future, we will be moving to Bosnia.