The Church Historian, Elder McKay, and his wife visited our mission along to interview members and missionaries. Charles and I were invited to meet with him in Podgorica.
We drove 5 hours to the airport to pick them up.
We were so happy to run into an old friend, Tarzan, from when we lived in Podgorica.
Our first stop was Doclea, an ancient Roman city that once served as the capital of the local Roman province and the site where Elder Nelson dedicated the country in 2010. We had visited before, but we never knew the exact location of the dedication. This time, we were shown the precise spot, it is where these photos were taken. We were privileged to hear the exact prayer that was offered that day.
We were joined by a wonderful group: the junior missionaries; the senior missionaries, Elder and Sister Smith, and Elder and Sister Murray; Brother and Sister Ault; the Church Historian and his wife, Elder and Sister McKay; and two additional Church historians, Brother Miller from Salt Lake and Brother Fingerle from Germany.
We had plenty to share, especially with Charles having served three missions here: his first from 1979 to 1981, then our first mission together as senior missionaries in 2020–2021, and now again. Our son Nathan also served in this mission, adding even more to our story.
The next day we traveled to Zenica to check on the cows that had been delivered the week before. A veterinarian joined us to assess their health and monitor their pregnancies. We learned that the cows are further along than originally expected, and we should be welcoming new calves in February. One of the farms also had a flock of beautiful sheep. The scene looked like a postcard. So beautiful!
You can find these haystacks all over the Bosnian Countryside. I love them!
And of course, in true Balkan fashion, we were treated to an amazing lunch featuring cheese made from their own sheep, along with homemade pastries and meats. Our friends Maddie and Jonny joined us, which made the day even more fun!
We also visited some Beehive that we gave to a family to see how they were getting along. She told us that her bees produced 96 liters of honey! That's alot of honey!
Admir from Muslim Aid always takes such good care of us, never missing a chance to show us around the cities we visit. After we finished at the farms, he took us to the Vranduk Fortress, perched on a rocky hill above the river. The fortress dates back to medieval Bosnia, and it was fascinating to explore. Charles even got to try his hand at archery. If the arrows had been a bit sharper, I’m sure they would have stuck in the target!
The fortress included a small museum filled with tools, weapons, clothing, and once again, in true Balkan style a feast on display! Admir couldn’t resist helping himself… though unfortunately for him, everything was made of plastic!
I did make a new friend. She had a small booth outside the fortress where she sold her knitted items. I bought this hat from her. With the weather getting colder, it didn’t take much to convince me!
We ended the day with yet another feast. All this amazing food is becoming a serious problem for me and the scale! Charles, on the other hand, has been happily taking advantage of the cold weather by getting a hot chocolate whenever he can.
That weekend we had another District Relief Society activity, this time in Zagreb, Croatia. Sister Smith, a member named Suzana, and I made the five-hour drive to attend. Zagreb has a real church building and it’s beautiful! In our District (a small stake), we have several branches and a few groups, but no wards… yet. And we currently have only two actual church buildings. Most of us hold our Sunday meetings in rented office spaces.
We had more than 60 women attend. It’s always such a blessing to gather with the district. From our previous missions, we have friends all over, and it’s wonderful to see them at activities like this. Most of us stayed through Sunday so we could attend church together. It was refreshing to worship with more than just a handful of people and to be in a branch with youth and children. It felt like home.
On Saturday evening, we took a bus into Old Town Zagreb. Suzana had never been there before, so we gave her a little walking tour to see all the sights.
It was another amazing week!
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