A beautiful day in the mountains in a small village called Romanija with all the missionaries and friends
The best part is that it’s only a quick 45-minute drive from downtown Sarajevo.
This adorable cabin belongs to a dear friend and fellow member, Nežad. We all helped him open the cabin for the spring and summer months.
In true Bosnian fashion, he insisted we sit down first for an incredible four-course lunch filled with fresh salads, hearty soups, meats, cheeses, and homemade pastries. Only after we were completely stuffed were we finally allowed to begin our work.
After hours of cleaning, chopping, burning, and moving piles of wood, Nežad casually informed us that dinner would be fresh fish served with homemade bread. As I’ve been saying for the last 18 months, the amazing Bosnian hospitality and unforgettable food have created one constant problem: fitting into my clothes. I still refuse to buy a bigger size.
Just down the mountain from Nežad's cabin there’s a spring called Careve Vode, or “Emperor’s Water.” Locals swear the ice cold water has healing properties and can take a few years off your life. After drinking it, I’m not sure about younger, but I can say it tasted a whole lot better than anything coming out of a bottle, cold and freshing.
Another amazing Zone Conference in Belgrade! These conferences are always so inspiring and uplifting. My favorite part is getting to see all of our wonderful missionaries. We love being with them.
We’ve been living in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 14 months now, and there are still so many places we hope to see. So we spent another day being tourists. This time we visited Konjic with our friends Jonny and Maddie Parkinson. They will only be here a few more weeks, and I am going to miss them so much when they leave.
The water there was a beautiful turquoise blue. We hiked to a viewpoint that overlooked the city, and above the city and the bright blue river were the beautiful snow-capped Prenj Mountains. They are often called the “Herzegovinian Himalayas” because they are so rugged and beautiful. It honestly looked like something straight out of a postcard.
All over Bosnia and Herzegovina you still see reminders of the Balkan War that happened just over 30 years ago. Many people still live in buildings scarred by the war. It is a sobering reminder of the pain and destruction that happened here, and of the strength of the people who rebuilt their lives afterward.
Our dear friends and fellow senior missionaries serving here with us in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be returning home next week. We threw them a little going-away party. Sister Smith loves music and once mentioned that one of her favorite things is making music with friends and family, so we planned a night filled with music and food.
Some people performed, and we also had a few fun sing-alongs. I even bought some toy instruments so we could all join in and play along together.
We have absolutely LOVED serving with them and are going to miss them so much!
This is our newest friend in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Doria. She is a student living in Sarajevo and is originally from Tuzla. We helped her celebrate her 21st birthday at a charming restaurant called Singing Nettle. We ordered several different house specialties and shared everything family style. Every single bite was melt-in-your-mouth, sooooo good!
A few days later, Doria was baptized! She came to to church about 6 weeks ago when we first met her, She told us she had a dream about the Church and then found our address online. Wanting to learn more, she came in and asked if she could buy a Book of Mormon. We were so happy to tell her that we don’t sell them. we give them away for free!
Ljubica, one of our members from Mostar zoomed in and gave a talk about baptism, and the missionaries sang a beautiful song that Doria joined in singing.
She was smiling the entire day. Afterwards, we served desserts and visited together. It truly felt like the best day ever.
It was such a beautiful day. We had a full house at church on Sunday! There were about 20 BYU students visiting, plus a returned missionary and his family. It was AMAZING having the chapel so full. Singing the hymns with a room full of voices was so sweet and powerful.
I think this is the most we have ever had in our Relief Society class in the last 14 months.
I LOVED it
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