A road trip to Baveria Germanny, to buy Pregnant Cows

We took the most beautiful road trip through five countries all the way to Bavaria, Germany… to buy 32 pregnant cows 🐄 (we are serving the BEST mission!)

We work on several humanitarian projects, but I have to admit this one might be my favorite!

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One of my favorite moments was standing on a dairy farm overlooking a peaceful lake with the Austrian Alps in the background. It honestly felt like something out of a postcard.

 Before we even arrived, we were given paperwork for each cow, including a full pedigree chart showing their parents and grandparents and even how much milk they produced. I had no idea cows came with résumés like that! And let me just say… every single cow was adorable! 

          

They were so nosy and would come running to see us. We were specifically looking at Simmental cows, a high-quality breed known for producing rich milk with a high cream content. And that little tuft of hair on top of their heads? I can’t handle it. So cute! 

 

Some of the barns even had cozy “beds” for them (yes, actual beds!). All of the cows had been carefully prescreened and selected except for one sweet girl with a bad leg who didn’t make the final cut

I had to laugh when I caught Admir, 0ur fearless leader from Muslim Aid doing the exact same thing I do every day in Bosnia… using Google Translate to read the menu 😄 Thank goodness for apps that make life (and ordering food!) so much easier.

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This was our cow shopping crew from right to left… Charles, Admir from Muslim Aid, the dairy rancher, our vet who came with us from Bosnia, and our cow broker from Germany who helped us purchase the cows.

This trip was definitely one of the highlights of our mission. Big THANK YOU to Admir for letting us tag along!

 

Twice a year we have an Adriatic North Mission wide 5K, and missionaries from all five countries join in. It’s such a fun tradition! This time, Charles mapped out the course for us. Since he runs 3–5 times a week, he definitely knows all the best spots. He picked a beautiful route along the river that runs right through downtown Sarajevo and it did not disappoint.

  

One of my favorite pastries in Bosnia is burek, a delicious, flaky pastry filled with meat and onions. They also make it with cheese, potatoes, or my personal favorite… zucchini. Soooo good! 

he sister missionaries took a cooking class from the sweetest Bosnian baka (grandma), and I’m determined to learn her secrets. She made it look so easy to make.

  

My goal is to have this recipe perfected before I come home so I can make it for our family Sunday dinner. 

We took a trip to Zagreb for District Conference and decided to arrive a day early so we could visit Varaždin. It’s the only city in Croatia, with a small branch of members and missionaries serving, that I hadn’t seen yet.

It turned out to be such a sweet surprise. Varaždin is a quiet, beautiful city that honestly reminded me a lot of Slovenia… charming streets, peaceful vibes, and just so pretty.

And of course, one of the best parts was getting to spoil the missionaries a little lunch together and some delicious palačinke (Croatian crepes). 

This is Gregory of Nin, a very important figure in Croatian history. He was a bishop back in the 10th century who fought for people to be able to worship in their own language instead of only in Latin. Because of that, he’s seen as a symbol of standing up for the people.

These statues were created by a famous Croatian sculptor, Ivan Meštrović, and you’ll find them in a few cities around Croatia. And the fun part… there’s a tradition that if you rub his big toe, it brings good luck so of course everyone does it! That’s why his toe is so shiny compared to the rest of the statue.

I’ve now seen all three statues… so I’m hoping that means a little extra luck is coming my way ✨😄

 

The next day we attended District Conference. There were two meetings on Saturday a leadership training meeting and an adult session. Since talks are given in several different languages, we all use headsets for translation.

Because  this is our second mission in the Adriatic North, we know quite a few members throughout the mission. One of the best parts of this conference is getting to see our friends plus a few missionaries we have served with.  On Sunday, we attended two more meetings a new and returning member meeting in the morning and a general session in the afternoon. During the afternoon meeting, we saw just how close we are to becoming a stake, which is pretty amazing to witness.

Because members travel from five different countries to attend, they prepare sack lunches for everyone to take after the meetings such a thoughtful touch.

I’m ending this week’s blog with some sad news. Our dear Sister Mira passed away. We will miss her. It brings some comfort knowing she is with her husband again, who passed away last year. She had been very lonely without him, so it helps to know they are reunited.