We were excited to welcome three new missionaries to Bosnia!
Sister Hunter, Elder Rokimov, and Elder Anderson joined us in Bosnia. Whenever new missionaries arrive, we love to kick off their first P-day with a tour of our beautiful city of Sarajevo. It was a cold winter day, but we bundled up, watched our steps on the snow and ice, and enjoyed showing them around this special place we call home.
Copper alley Eternal Flame for the unknown soldier
Feeding the pigeons in Pigeon Square.
We always end the tour with traditional Bosnian food at a restaurant called Željo’s. They are famous for their ćevapčići, grilled sausages made from a mix of beef and lamb. They’re served with warm, fluffy bread that looks a bit like pita but tastes so much better, along with chopped raw onions and kajmak. Kajmak is a creamy, slightly tangy spread, somewhere between sour cream and cream cheese, and it makes everything even better.
We truly are blessed with some of the best food in Bosnia, and the prices are hard to beat. A five-piece serving of ćevapčići meal costs about 7 marks, or roughly €3.50 about half the price you’d pay anywhere else in the Balkans.
Charles took me to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, for a Sister Missionary conference. On the way there, we decided to do a bit of sightseeing and stopped at the Jasenovac World War II Memorial. I learned that Jasenovac was a concentration and extermination camp located along the Sava River, where an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 people lost their lives, Jews, Roma, and Croatians who opposed fascism. Visiting the memorial was a deeply humbling and sobering experience, one that left a lasting impression on my heart.
More than 60 sister missionaries from five countries in the Adriatic North Mission came together in Zagreb for the very first Sister Missionary Conference. It was such a blessing to be all together in one place for two full days.
We even learned a few kolos, a traditional balkan dances, where everyone joins hands and dances in a circle. It instantly reminded me of the Greek weddings I photographed back in my photography days, and it was so much fun! Sister Cordray had us pull out our phones and open the Family Tree app to check for “Relatives Near Me.” I found several 9th and 10th cousins, but I also discovered a few closer connections, most notably Sister Graham. She is my 4th cousin! We share the same great-great-great-grandfather.
We also had several workshops, and I had the opportunity to teach one of them. The topic was notable women throughout history. If you can tell from my head scarf, I taught about Mother Teresa. She was an amazing woman who devoted her life to serving the poorest of the poor. Something many people don’t realize is that although she spent most of her life in India, she was actually born in the former Yugoslavia, in what is now North Macedonia.
While we were in meetings for the conference, the senior elder missionaries stayed busy playing pickle ball, and Charles took them on a tour of Zagreb.
Charles and I have also been involved in a humanitarian project at a local orphanage that is home to approximately 80 children, ranging in age from newborns to 18 years old. The Church recently donated new kitchen appliances to help support the orphanage, and we asked the supervisors if there were any additional needs on a smaller scale. They shared that they are always in need of socks and underwear, and a few of the boys mentioned that they would really love to have some soccer balls. This what a shopping cart full of socks looks like!
For my birthday this year, I asked my friends and family to help me give back by donating to this orphanage. I also shared the opportunity to donate here on the blog. Thanks to all of you and to the incredible generosity of my family we were able to purchase over $600 worth of socks, underwear, and soccer balls. We even picked up some of the children’s favorite treats.
After delivering the gifts, we spent time playing together, one big game after another of dodgeball, basketball, and football (soccer). It was full of laughter, energy, and so much joy. Truly, it was the best birthday ever
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. 💛
We took our sister missionaries to Mostar to visit a member of our Bosnian branch, Sister Ljubica. We arrived a little early, so we showed them the famous Stari Most (Old Bridge)
Dora is a cutie who lives next door. The sisters gave Ljubica a spiritual messageWe love Sister Ljubica. Because she lives two hours away, she faithfully attends church each Sunday through Zoom. She is one of our most devoted members. Each month we are blessed to visit her and bring her the sacrament.
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