Visitors from home!

A few weeks ago we received a text from my nephew and his wife, Joey and Cambi, asking if we might be open to some last-minute visitors. They were planning an anniversary trip and had found some cheap flights from LA to Sarajevo. Of course our answer was PLEASE come! We love any chance we get to show friends and family our favorite corner of the world

They attended church with us on Sunday, and on Monday Charles and I had a full day of humanitarian work, so they went on a war tour of the city. That evening we took them to our second favorite city in Bosnia, Mostar, to see the famous Stari Most.(old Bridge)

After Mostar we took them to see the beautiful Blagaj Tekke Monastary, built beside the vivid blue spring of the Buna River where water flows straight from the cave beneath the rock

 
 Charles was excited to show them his latest interest, these ancient tombs called Stećci. We visited the historic graveyard in Bosnia filled with these stone monuments dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. Some of the carvings even show early signs of Christianity, with crosses and other symbols etched into the stone

Charles and I have started a bucket list of cities and places we want to see in Bosnia before we return home next fall, and Trebinje was one of them. That was our next stop. It’s a charming city with a walled old town and an Orthodox temple sitting on a hill that overlooks the city. It was so fun exploring and taking in the beautiful views.

Trebinje is located near the border with Croatia and just a 30-minute drive from the beautiful city of Dubrovnik, the “Pearl of the Adriatic.” So we took Joey and Cambi to get a little peek of our beloved Croatia. 

When you visit Dubrovnik, a must-do is walking along the city walls that surround the old town. It was supposed to rain most of the time Joey and Cambi were visiting, but as you can see, we were blessed with sunny skies! 

We ended the day exploring the old town, visiting several beautiful churches, and touring a museum that was once the residence of Dubrovnik’s rectors (mayors) for 450 years from 1358 to 1858 In those days, a mayor served for only one month and was not allowed to leave the residence during that time. All of their work had to be done within the walls of the home so the citizens could be confident they were not being corrupted or influenced by bribery. They were able to run for office every 2 years, 

While Cambi and Joey were visiting on the day tey took a tour of the city Charles and I attended a big contract-signing ceremony here in Sarajevo.  Mayors and city staff from 13 municipalities across Bosnia came together to sign agreements with Muslim Aid, for the new 2026 greenhouse and pregnant heifer projects. Charles was one of the speakers. He did a grest job. He explined about fast offerings and how the funds for these projects come from dontions form the members of our church. It is a big help that he speaks the language. 

Ivan Majc, our church communications director, also spoke about how our church carries out humanitarian work around the world, serving all of God’s children—regardless of race, creed, religion, or politics. We’re excited to start the process again of finding families who could use a hand in becoming self-reliant by startig their own businesses.

We have monthly Relief Society activities with our small branch, usually just 2 to 4 women including on zoom, along with the four of us missionaries. This month, we had a special cooking lesson from one of our sisters, Iris, who runs a baking and candy business. She taught us how to make a traditional Balkan cookie called hromašica, and they were absolutely delicious!

We had a exchange of missionaries in Bosnia recently. It’s always hard to say goodbye to our departing missionaries, but so much fun to welcome the new ones...we love them all! 

A tradition we have when new missionaries arrive is to give them a tour of the old town and treat them to some classic Bosnian food and desserts. It’s a great way to help them feel at home right away and to get to know them all.

Just when we thought winter was finally easing up, we woke up to this! The snow only stuck around for a day, so it wasn’t too bad but it sure was a beautiful surprise.  I am glad it waited to snow until after our guests left for home.