After three months here, we finally took a weekend trip to Zadar, Croatia, for the 30th anniversary memorial of Krešimir Čosić. The entire Old Town participated in celebrating this Croatian legend. For those unfamiliar, Krešimir was one of Europe’s greatest basketball players. The first European star at BYU, an Olympic Gold and Silver medalist, an NCAA All-American, and later Croatia’s ambassador to the U.S. during the Balkan War. A man of great faith, he turned down an LA Lakers contract to return to Yugoslavia to share the Gospel.
We attended a "Legend of Krešo Tribute Concert" outside the Sveti Donat. A musical retelling of his life. Our friends, the Ostarčević family (Mišo played basketball with Krešo), gifted us VIP tickets. We sat in the second row, right behind Krešo’s family and later learned we appeared on the TV broadcast... Can you see us? If we look little it is because we are amongs all the basketball players
It was a beautiful evening, and the venue was completely packed — with standing room only in the back. The program featured interviews with former teammates, and a newscaster who had known Krešo personally served as the narrator.
The entire tribute was moving and so well done. I’m truly grateful we were able to be there.
While in Zadar, we stopped at a café for a drink and even the juice bottles featured
Krešimir Čosić’s image. He is so beloved here. Though it’s been 30 years since his
passing, his presence is still felt everywhere.
On Saturday, the group of BYU students who visited us in Sarajevo the week before, came to Zadar to hand out free Krešimir BYU Basketball jerseys, I picked a few for us : )
The weekend was extra special for us because Charles knew Krešo during his mission in Yugoslavia. Although he never got a photo with him back then, we made up for it with some fun snapshots next to Krešo’s cardboard cutouts, which were placed throughout the city.
The city was filled with people for the memorial, and by some miracle, we ran into Charles’
old landlord, Ivan Valek, from when he served as a missionary back in 1979!
Ivan had also been one of Krešo’s teammates.
Throughout the city, there were exhibits celebrating Krešimir’s life.
Along the Riva, by the sea, a row of signs told his story in both Croatian and English.
Many of his quotes were displayed, several of which had a spiritual message.
A bold thing to share during the communist era.
This display board highlighted his legendary career at BYU.As the saying goes, "Marriott built the stadium (the largest in the USA at the time), and Krešo filled it."
One of my favorite photos on the display
boards included our friend Mišo Ostarčević.
. 
I love our amazing friend Ankisa Ostarčević. Charles first met Ankisa and Mišo over 45 years ago when he lived in Yugoslavia. She is truly beautiful inside and out, and we are so grateful for her friendship.
We were able to attend church on Sunday and spend time with our dear friends in the Zadar Branch.
After the meetings, we enjoyed a linger longer with plenty of delicious food, followed by a beautiful baptism.
The city of Zadar holds a very special place in our hearts. Both Charles and our son Nathan served here during their missions. It truly feels like our second home — we love it here so much.
I had to put my feet in the Adriatic Sea! Next time I visit I will bring a bathing suit!
One of the hardest parts of our mission is saying goodbye to our missionaries. Three of them will be leaving us soon. 2 have completed their missions and will be heading home, and Elder McConkie is being transferred to Novi Sad, Serbia. We spent our last P-day together exploring Sarajevo taking the gondola up to the famous Olympic bobsled track from the 1984 Winter Olympics.
The bobsled tracks wind through the forest and now covered in cool graffiti art.
The Smiths and we treated the missionaries to a farewell dinner at our favorite restaurant in Old Sarajevo, called Varhana. The food is so good — and so inexpensive! Honestly, I think it’s cheaper to eat out than to cook. A Neapolitan pizza or lasagna only costs about 10 to 12 BAM, which is around 5 to 6 dollars.
On Wednesday we did service with MFS Emaus in Doboj. Charles and I with the Sister Missionaries delivered meals on wheels to several families in the community,
While the elders were busy doing some gardening, I made Helping Hands T-shirts in Bosnian, which we’ll wear during our upcoming service projects. We’re really going to miss our “7-foot selfie taker” when he transfers!
The team at SFSMS always spoils us when we come to serve they prepare a delicious three-course meal every time. They always make way too much food, which works out perfectly for our young missionaries, since they get to take leftovers home with them.
On Thursday, we all took a trip up to the mountains to visit the cabin of one of our new members, just about a 40-minute drive from Sarajevo. He is an amazing man with so many stories to tell: a war veteran, police officer, ski instructor, and mountain climber. He had a picture of his son on Mount Everest!
It was another amazing beautiful day
That evening, we had a goodbye party for our beloved Casbeer family, who are heading to Africa for their next assignment working in the U.S. Embassies. We shared a special musical program, followed by a light dinner and desserts. We are going to miss them so very much.
This photo was taken from the Ostarcević balcony in Zadar. Zaadar is famous for their sunsets>
Thank you to everyone who has followed along I truly appreciate your interest and support of our mission!
Comments
Post a Comment