This has certainly been a week of variety. As I stated last blog, last Sunday we had District Conference. I found out after I wrote the blog exactly what a small church this truly is. After conference, one of our Sisters from Alpine was approached by a man who said, "I didn't know you were in this mission" and she replied, "Do I know you?"... He said, "I am from Alpine Utah and you played basketball with my daughter... my brother and I are over here Boar hunting and wanted to attend a church". You just never know! (Some of the speakers at the Conference were boring..just a joke :o)
I don't remember if I mentioned, but Alan and I are taking Serbian lessons two times a week...I'm not sure why cause it's not a language we will use daily when we get home. But a lady judge we know who had come to our English class for a while is out of work and struggling and we thought it would be a great opportunity to learn at least some minor phrases. She speaks English very well and it has been helpful. We are slowing gathering short sentences, much like Molly, our one year old granddaughter. :o}
Last week we also traveled to Tuzla, Bosnia to visit and kind'a orient a new Senior couple. Tuzla has not been open to missionaries for very long and there are about 8 members and are considered a "group" not a "branch". For now, their church is one room in a store front. Bosnia is a more mountainous country while Serbia is more like Nebraska. It did our heart good to travel in the mountains...just like home. It is truly a very pretty country and it is dotted with Mosques because they are mainly Muslim.
We rushed home on Thursday from Tuzla because a Senior couple was coming to help with a church audit. They are from Bountiful and leave for home this Tues. They were also making a "goodbye" trip. That will be us one day and some days we can't wait and other days it makes us very sad. They stayed with us overnight and that always creates a little pressure for me, but it was good to have a last visit. Watch for the Ivins return missionary's post in the Clipper.
I don't remember if I mentioned, but Alan and I are taking Serbian lessons two times a week...I'm not sure why cause it's not a language we will use daily when we get home. But a lady judge we know who had come to our English class for a while is out of work and struggling and we thought it would be a great opportunity to learn at least some minor phrases. She speaks English very well and it has been helpful. We are slowing gathering short sentences, much like Molly, our one year old granddaughter. :o}
Last week we also traveled to Tuzla, Bosnia to visit and kind'a orient a new Senior couple. Tuzla has not been open to missionaries for very long and there are about 8 members and are considered a "group" not a "branch". For now, their church is one room in a store front. Bosnia is a more mountainous country while Serbia is more like Nebraska. It did our heart good to travel in the mountains...just like home. It is truly a very pretty country and it is dotted with Mosques because they are mainly Muslim.
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| This is one of the many mosques..they all have the minaret from which the Muezzin calls the members to prayer five times a day. |
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| This is an Orthodox monastery just over the boarder from Serbia in Bosnia. The domes are gold like our angle Moroni. |
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| A side view...there are stately dorms built behind to house Monks or Nuns or Priests...we don't know. |
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| This type of haystacks are all over Bosnia. They all have a pole up the middle. |
We rushed home on Thursday from Tuzla because a Senior couple was coming to help with a church audit. They are from Bountiful and leave for home this Tues. They were also making a "goodbye" trip. That will be us one day and some days we can't wait and other days it makes us very sad. They stayed with us overnight and that always creates a little pressure for me, but it was good to have a last visit. Watch for the Ivins return missionary's post in the Clipper.
Saturday was a great day... We baptized our 17 year old Nemanja. The Lord had prepared him for the missionaries. He had become friends with Aleksander (our lost sheep boy) and ask him to baptize him. So it was a wonderful day for both of them. It was Aleksander's first time and it took him three times to get the words right so Nemanja is sufficiently baptized. In the winter, we have to go to Belgrade to baptize because our rubber font can only be used outside. We had 11 people who attended from Sremska that we had to send on the bus. Seven (+ 3 children) were investigators with our missionaries. Well when they went to catch the last bus, there was no bus and we are already on our way home with Nemanja's parents. Luckily, one of our investigators called a friend and arranged for a van to come and pick everyone up...of course for a good price, but we did get them all home finally. Always an adventure.
Then we had Sunday and it too was an interesting day...our branch Pres. has a broken car and he didn't attend church. In the middle of church we got a call that he had been hit in his town of Sasinci while on his bike by a drunk driver. Everyone was so upset, so we put church on hold and several went to the hospital. He is a stubborn man and checked himself out of the hospital and went home....but he is fine. Thank goodness. His Niece said.."Well if he had been in church, it wouldn't have happened". Only in Serbia sympathy moment.
Our only in Serbia Moment:  |
| Nemanja on the right and Aleksander on the left...some old Senior Missionary in the middle. |
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| Our two proud Sister Missionaries |
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| Everywhere you look people are gathering wood for the winter. |
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