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. 

 



Another Baptism and Wheelchair Training Specialists

On Tuesday we had another baptism.  That brings our membership to 9.  Sanja is a wonderful young woman and a terrific asset to our group. 

 

Her baptism was early Tuesday morning.  After the baptism our district returned to our apartment where we had district meeting with President Rowe.  After our meetings the young missionaries had interviews.        

On Wednesday we were invited to a meeting with the directors of the 65 other schools in Tuzla Canton (county).  The meeting was called by the Minister of Education.  The school directors were told about the success of the vision screening program in Tuzla Municipality.  They were then told that they would be selecting a team of 3 from their schools who would receive training from the doctors at the University Klinical Center.  They were given the vision screening sets and all appeared excited about the potential good this will be for their students - 31,000 students!

Thursday morning we departed for Zagreb bright and early.  After a quick stop at the mission office to pick up a care package from home we went to the Zagreb airport to meet out wheelchair training specialists.  Andy and Roylene Schnebly are from Bountiful, Utah.  They will be conducting  wheelchair training in Banja Luka on September 2nd through 4th.  The Schnebly's arrived about 1:00 pm, but their bags did not.  Their route to Croatia was Salt Lake to New York, New York to Paris, and Paris to Zagreb.  The flight to New York was late arriving due to weather so they missed the connection to Paris.  The bags were put on a later flight to Paris.  This flight got them to Paris in time to make their original flight to Zagreb.  We returned to Tuzla with only their carry-on bags.  When they reported their missing bags it was discovered that the bags were still in New York.  The bags were put on a flight to Paris, then to Zagreb, and then to Sarajevo.  They were then driven from Sarajevo to their hotel in Tuzla.  Thankfully the bags arrived Friday evening and the Schnebly's could change clothes. 

Friday morning we went to the Red Cross.  The Red Cross had scheduled some visits with wheelchair recipients.  The recipients were interviewed and pictures were taken.  Each recipient expressed their appreciation for the chair and told us the difference the chair has made in their life.

  

We spent Saturday getting ready for Sunday.  We will make the 2 1/2 hour drive to Banja Luka Sunday afternoon as our training will begin early Monday morning. --- More next week.

Goodbye Elders, Hello Sisters

As we told you in our last post, this new round of transfers threw us for a loop.  We lost Elder Quinn to the mission office, Elder Kroff to the president's assistance duties, and Elder Stuart to Banja Luka.  Sunday night we literally "packed" everything Elders Kroff and Stuart owned into our car and drove them half-way to Banja Luka.  Elder and Sister Ivins met us at the half-way point.  We then packed them and their stuff into the Ivin's car which is a wee bit smaller than ours.  They had the back of the car totally full of suitcases (too bad we forgot to take a picture).  They also had more suitcases stacked in between them in the backseat.  Not to mention, they had things on the floor in between their feet and stuff on their laps.  The drive was only 1 1/2 hours to the half-way point, so it could have been worse. 

Monday morning we packed all of Elder Quinn's things into our car.  Elder Sheridan only had to take an overnight bag, so we did not have nearly as much in the car.  We drove to Zagreb where we dropped the elders off at the Mission Office.  We were able to see several other missionaries and pick up the mail for Tulsa.  All the missionaries who are going home meet at the misson office.  They usually all travel from the MTC to the mission together, so it is like a family reunion.  They spend their last night at the mission home.  It is interesting to see how they have grown from their service.  We have seen several go home and miss them and their influence for good in this mission.

We took care of our meetings regarding wheelchairs and water projects with the Croatia Red Cross in Zagreb on Tuesday morning and then returned to Tuzla.  Late Wednesday night the sisters arrived in Tuzla.  We met with them on Thursday and helped them get registered at the immigration office.  Thursday was also Gary birthday so we went out to lunch to celebrate.  Thursday night the elders arrived by bus.  We always try to pick them up at the bus station as they have lots of luggage.  This time they also had some of the sisters' luggage. 

Our new missionaries are Sister Matthews from Heber City, Utah, Sister Orgill from St Louis, Missouri and Elder Graham from Sandy, Utah.     

This week we also took care of things in the office as well as made a payment for supplies to rebuild a primary school restroom in an outlying village.   Friday we met with the Ministry of Education and the University Klinical Center Hospital to discuss the plan to continue the vision screening of all school age children (31,000) in Tuzla Canton (county) this fall.  We also worked on ideas for going to Sarajevo to see about implementing a potential vision screening program there as well. 

Summers are slow in Bosnia.  Everyone goes on vacation.  These vacations are anywhere from one week to six weeks long.  We have learned that Europeans are serious about their vacations.  Speaking of vacations, our own children recently gathered together in Utah.  Rebecca and her family came down from Canada.  Reachel and her family came from Arizona.  They had a great day at Snowbird.  They shared it with us via pictures on Instagram. We look forward to the time when we can once again vacation together.       

We always have the missionaries over for Sunday dinner.  Today we are having Hawaiian Haystacks.  Everyone has been fasting, so there will not be leftovers.  But there are never any leftovers - hungry missionaries.

 

Where has the year gone?

On Tuesday we drove 5 1/2 hours to Rijeka ,Croatia.  That is such a pleasant drive.  Croatia has some fantastic roads.  They are toll roads, but you are able to drive at 120kmh (75 mph).  The roads are well maintained, not at all like the roads in Bosnia, which are all secondary roads.  Upon arrival in Rijeka we met up with Elder and Sister Babbel.  Together we went to a shopping center to pay for a washing machine which will be donated to a homeless shelter.  After paying for the washing machine we went back to the Babbels' where they fed us a wonderful lunch.  When lunch was over we drove 2 hours to Zagreb to prepare for meetings the following day. 

Wednesday morning we met with the Croatia Red Cross. For the last three years we have been working with the Croatia Red Cross cleaning wells which were polluted during the war in the 1990's.  The crews clean over 1,000 wells each year.  The church has decided to continue another year with a new project.  We were able to sign a contract with the Red Cross and move this important work forward. 

After our meeting with the Red Cross we stopped by the Mission Office for a lunch date with E/S Erwin, the office couple. There is a new restaurant in Zagreb called "California Burrito".  It is the closest thing to Cafe Rio/Costa Vida that you can get here.
 

Thursday morning we left Croatia and drove back to Bosnia.  We took the route through Banja Luka, the second largest city in Bosnia as we needed to evaluate a clean-water project which was completed last June.  We took Vicky Tadić, a Banja Luka church member with us as we couldn't remember where the school which we had worked with was located.  Previously this school had a septic system.  Whenever it rained the children had to be sent home from school as the tank backed up and the "drain field" overflowed.  The Church was able to provide the materials and supplies so that the city could connect the school to the city sewer system.  This project was quite successful and still working very well.  After visiting this project we went with Vicky to our favorite restaurant in Banja Luka, "Mala Stanica".  They have great salads and a chocolate souffle that can't be beat.  Vicky was waiting for her mission call and the mission call letter was waiting for her in Croatia.  She went to Zagreb on Friday for a pre-missionary training conference.  She opened her call at the conference with all the other missionaries.  **Vicky has been called to the Gilbert, Arizona Mission.**  We know that she will have a wonderful experience serving 18 months there. We left Banja Luka and returned to Tuzla about 4PM. 

 

 

 

Friday we were able to go to the Tuzla children's outpatient clinic.  The Church was able to purchase a few items from their "wish list" to help them with their work.  The outpatient clinic has been doing the vision screening of kindergarten children as well as performing screening on preschool children who come to the clinic for immunizations.  Did we mention what a great job they have done? 

 

 

 

 

Thus ends another week in the lives of the Winters in Bosnia and Croatia.  Time has gone by so quickly.  We feel a great urgency for the many things we still want to do before we go home in November.        

Mother's Day 2013

Last week we had a fantastic Fast and Testimony Meeting.  We had 28 in attendance.  Of course we had ourselves, the two sets of elders, the Smartts, and Ike and Gloria Ferguson.  But 18 non-missionaries is still a good number.  There was a wonderful spirit.  After the meeting we went to our translator, Mersiha's parents weekend house for lunch.  That was unbelievably good.  They cooked the meal in a peka cooker that works like a dutch oven.  Mersiha's mother used no oil.  She cooked some turkey, veal, lamb and beef along with vegetables.  It was simply delicious.  Ike and Gloria liked the cooker so much that they bought one and took it home.  It actually made it home via the airlines.  The box was opened at all the securities, but they got it home and look forward to cooking with it. 

Monday we started early.  Our first meeting was with the Minister of Public Health.  We learned that they had not received any forms from the schools to input the information regarding the vision screening.  Next we went to visit some of the schools to see how the screening was going.  Each school does the screening just a little different, but more than half of the screening in the schools is complete.  We also stopped by the Tuzla Red Cross Cantonal office.  The Red Cross has been so helpful in making this project happen. We could not of done it without their help.  In the afternoon we visited with the UKC Hospital.  The Ferguson's brought several things for the optical clinic at the hospital.  Everyone was so excited as we opened this up.  It was like Christmas morning.

 

Tuesday we met with the Ministry of Education where we discussed how we will go about doing the screening for the rest of the municipality.  We also were able to discuss how the information from the screening will be given to Public Health for recording the data.  After our meeting we went to visit some more schools.  While we were at one school the principal came in to talk with us.  She told us about a friend of hers whose son had been screened and they discovered that he had amblyopia. She called the father and he came over to the school so we could talk with him.  He told us that his son was going to be meeting at the UKC the next day and gave us permission to come meet him. In the afternoon we went to the outpatient where the UKC doctors trained the outpatient clinic staff to do the preschool vision screening.

 

 

 

Wednesday morning we met again at the Public Health Department along with the doctors from the outpatient clinic and UKC Hospital.  We were able to decide on the direction we needed to go to finish out the screening here in Tuzla and the plan for the rest of the Canton (county) in the fall. 

   

 

 

At noon we went to the UKC where we meet the Kalfic family.  We do not feel that this was just a chance meeting.  Armin is 8 years old.  Because of Taylor having the amblyopia in the same eye we were able to offer hope to Armin and his parents.  We showed him a picture of our grandson, Taylor.  We told them what his vision was when he was first diagnosed and what it is now.  We were able to let them know that doing the exercises to strengthen his eye and getting glasses will help him.  At least he will not go blind as he would have if had not gone unchecked.  The fact that the screening was able to help even one child has made it worth the effort, but while we were there others came as well.  The doctors at the UKC ophthalmology clinic have seen over 100 children that have been identified by the initial vision screening in the schools.  

Today is Mother's Day and all the elders are are calling their mothers.  We don't know who is more excited the elders or their families.  .

 

 

The elders are in the apartment downstairs making Susan a special dinner for Mother's Day.  It smells wonderful.  We have some of the finest young men in our mission and know that the Lord is mindful of the work that is happening here.  It is an honor and privilege to be a part of the beginnings of the church in Tuzla, Bosnia.

 

 

   

 

 

 

All Our Ducks In A Row

This week we spent time getting "all our ducks in a row".   The training for the people who will do the vision screening began on Monday.  Hopefully the screening in the schools will begin the end of the next week.  There are many supplies that need to be provided to the teams that will be doing the testing. We have been to the printers to get supplies, forms, and T-shirts printed. We spent an entire afternoon with Elders Compton and Quinn (our language experts) looking for wooden dowels to use for pointers. There are no Home Depots or Lowes here and finding dowels was easier said than done. Every place we went the answer was the same. "NO". Finally a bookstore said that they had a carpenter that they thought might be able to make them. YES! They will be ready on Monday. We are very much aware that the Lord is mindful of the details of our lives. We just need to pray, ask, have faith and the Lord will provide a way.
   

Monday we went to Zagreb to sign contracts with the Croatian Red Cross for wheelchairs which we will be bringing in.  While we were there it started to snow (hard).  We are so ready for spring.

 

We went to Kalesija on Wednesday to visit with the local Red Cross about a potential phase two of a water project which we are already doing with them.  We also talked to them about another project that would be providing tomato and pepper plants.  LDS Charities had donated two greenhouses to them.  In the past they have provided tomato and pepper plants to a local senior center, soup kitchen, and orphanage.   We will provide the plants and fertilizer which the local agricultural school will plant and help grow.

 

Tuesday was missionary transfer day.  We lost Elder Merl to Sarajevo.  He will do a great job there.  We now have a new elder.  Elder Lewis Sheridan from Ogden, Utah.  He arrived in Croatia on Tuesday. Brand new from the MTC.  He will turn 19 on April 20th so he is one of the first of the new younger missionaries.

 

 

Today being Easter we had a special dinner for the elders.  We had Chicken Cordon Bleu, Apple and Pear Salad, Honey Soy Carrots, and Broccoli.  Plus some Chick Cupcakes for dessert.  It was nice to be together this Easter Sunday.  The elders are also appreciative of everything we do for them.  It makes it fun to do something extra for them.

 

 

 

 

We miss the grandchildren today, but we have talked to some of them so Grandma will survive.  We want to wish a Happy Easter and will close with this message.

 

http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/he-is-risen?lang=eng