Another busy week

On Monday, May 12th, we attended a Red Cross appreciation event in Sarajevo. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was recognized as a donor for recent flood relief efforts and for providing new equipment to local soup kitchens.

We were glad to have the Majc’s from Slovenia with us. Ivan Majč, the Adriatic North District Communications Director, covers events like this, taking photos and writing for local and Church news. He’s a pro photographer and great with people. Both he and Charles spoke when we received our award. Ivan said it doesn’t matter our nationality or faith, we’re all God’s children here to help each other. The room burst into applause. It was amazing 

And in true Bosnian tradition we were treated to an all you can eat delicious lunch.   

  

After lunch, we played tour guides and took our guests on a walk through Sarajevo’s beautiful old town.

Of course, we had to stop by the famous Pigeon Square and the pigeons definitely showed up! There were hundreds of them fluttering around.

We wrapped up the day the best way possible: with two scoops of sladoled. Perfect ending

On Wednesday, we took a trip to the town of Olovo with Muslim Aid. We met with the mayor and had a little signing ceremony for a really cool project for 16 families in need from the area will be getting pregnant cows!

The idea is to help them start their own small milk and cheese businesses so they can support themselves. Such a simple way to make a huge difference.

And once again in Balkan tradition, we were treated  our second feast of the week. The meal started out with a platter of meat and cheeses and amazing fried bread, then came soup, salad, and then the main course! And don’t forget dessert An apple tart.

Our friends the Bates, humanitarian missionaries in Turkey and Croatia, rotate every 90 days due to visa limits. When they need to be out of both countries, they visit places like Serbia or Sarajevo. It was great to have them here last week.

This is Sara, my new friend. She is the queen of thrift shopping! She showed me all the best spots in Sarajevo. I got two sweaters for $3 and a polo for Charles. She scored two nearly new pairs of shoes for $1.50 each!

On Friday, we had an important meeting with several federal ministers, joined by a representative from Frankfurt. We’re hoping for government support on a major project. We met with the Ministers of Social Services and of Displaced Persons and Refugees. I kept wanting to ask if the Minister of Magic would show up too! Overall, it was a success—looks like they’ll help fund what we need to move forward.

On Friday evening, we were invited to dinner by our downstairs neighbors, Helen and Lot Smith. They also invited our wonderful Bosnian attorney, who helps all the missionaries since 2011 with their white cards and visas. It was such a pleasure to meet his wife and two children. 

Saturday we had a Relief Society activity. We went on a walk in a quest for Sladoled (ice cream)

 

The quest was a success! We found some icecream! 

   Plus some other yummy treats

Did anyone watch Eurovision?  It’s a pretty big deal on this side of the world. In case you’re wanting to know, Austria won!

On Sunday, we held a special service after church to honor a heartbreaking loss. One of our new members from Sierra Leone recently lost his sister, her husband, and their two children in a tragic house fire.

To show our love and support, we held a memorial service followed by a shared dinner.

I

We served some traditional African dishes. ❤️

K