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Saturday, November 7, 2015

A Castle in Karlovac

We found our first castle.  There are many castles in the mission, but we didn't know there was one in Karlovać. It is the oldest monument in Karlovać (built in the 13th century).  We were hoping to get a tour, but it wasn't open. We'll try again another day, but we did get some great pictures.
Old castle/Old couple
Beautiful reflection

We took a walk down to Centar and decided to grab some lunch at a little sidewalk cafe.  I saw a man with a plate of onion rings, and they looked good.  The waitress took our order and I pointed to the man's plate.  The waitress asked, "lignje"?  And I said, "da".  When it came I bit into a ring and it was a little rubbery.  Can you guess what it was?  Yes, it was squid.  It was quite tasty, but I left the tentacles for E.K.
Bullet riddled building
No, these are not onion rings

 We also walked in an area where we noticed many buildings still scarred from the war.  It is hard to imagine that it was only 20 or so years ago.  As we saw the large caliber bullet holes, we thought of the many people who feared for their lives and for the lives of their children.  How awful that must have been for them.

In response to the announcement from the LDS church asking members to help world's refugees in a  growing humanitarian crisis, we along with many other people throughout the world, gathered together as a branch to do our part.  It is said to be the world's largest humanitarian crisis since Word War II.  We completed 150 kits, which may seem small, but combined with others' efforts  will help ease the burden of some.
Hygiene kit assembly
Mushroom sandwich...yum!

The elders took us with them to visit Ivaca, his wife Zdenka, and their son Krešimir.  They were so kind and gracious and made sure that we had something to eat.  It was a sandwich with mushrooms, red pepper sauce and a hard boiled egg.  It was very good.  We learned of the amazing musical talent the family has.  Krešimir plays guitar, and their daughter is a trained opera singer.  They showed us a video of her singing, and another with her singing a song with Ivaca, her father. He has had no training, but has a beautiful voice.  We went away with warm feelings of friendship and the promise to return.

We had Zone Conference in Zagreb and our district missionaries were in charge of an hour's presentation on achieving goals.  They did an amazing job, teaching by the Spirit. We were proud to be a part of their district.  I did like the fact they ended with a quote by Vince Lombardi.  Being from Green Bay, Wisconsin, it can only be a good thing to end on that note.
Karlovac District
We had language class and I was able to snap a picture of our class.  They are consistent in coming, and their English is improving significantly.  It also helps us with our Croatian.
Language class

Last but not least, we can't forget Elder William's special day.  We had district meeting and afterwards, celebrated his birthday with pizza, cake, balloons, and party hats (thanks to the sisters).  Happy Birthday, dear Elder Williams.
One special birthday boy!

    We went to the gas station to fill up our tank, and I noticed this extinguisher next to the tank.  Interesting safety measures they've taken.

And... Christmas is coming.  We can see it in the lights being put up in the city and the decorations in the stores.  We even bought a tree at Metro (similar to Costco).  We feel a chill in the air and we are waiting for our first snowfall.  I love going out in the evening and smelling the wood fires that are heating the many buildings in the area.
Putting up Christmas lights

The word of the week:  glazba which means music.  We are excited to attend a concert next week in a beautiful historic building where there will be a harpist, and flautist performing.
 

4 comments:

  1. My daughter directed me to your delightful blog. My daughter is Sister VanWagoner and she sings your praises in her letters. Please give her a hug for me.

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    Replies
    1. We love your daughter. Thanks for sharing her with us!

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  2. I just told our daughter Brielle the word of the week and she started chuckling when she heard "glazba." You two are amazing! I just told Jason that I want to be on a mission with you two!! We love you so much! Thanks for sharing your light with us.

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