Baseball in Croatia

Batter up!

It's baseball season in Croatia.  Karlovac has a semi-pro team in the European league.  They have won the championship in the past, so we were excited to check them out.  One of the pitchers on the team is from America and is here for the season. Hopefully, we can meet him at a future game.  We went to a game last weekend at the neighboring park.  The opposing team was from Slovakia. We're not sure who won because we didn't stay for the entire game.  I love watching baseball but why does it have to last so long?  Next time we will be prepared with snacks, sunscreen, and a cushion to sit on.

Sisters Bushong, Rusick, Higgens, Martineau

We had exciting news this week.  We found out that one of our sisters who went home early due to illness, is coming back!  Yes, and the best part is she is coming to Karlovac.  Sister Rusick landed in Zagreb on Friday morning and the Grants drove her to Karlovac Friday afternoon.  She is healthy, looking great, and ready to get back to work,. We are happy to have her back.  That means that we will have four sister missionaries for a week.  Sister Higgens and Sister Martineau will go to Rijeka and Sister Rusick and Sister Bushong will stay here.

Happy Birthday E. Mangeris!

Karlovac District (plus two)

 Everyone came over for dinner Friday night to celebrate Elder Mangeris' birthday and to welcome back  Sister Rusick.  He turned 20 on Sunday and we were in Rijeka for Branch Conference.  He has been here for several months, and we know the day is coming when he will be transferred.  We love these missionaries. His companion Elder Pantelakis has fit right in, and they are both amazing with the language.  We had a nice dinner and instead of birthday cake, we had strawberry shortcake for dessert. (with candles of course) The strawberries came from Italy.

Chestnut tree in bloom

 When we arrived in Croatia last October, we noticed numerous roasted chestnut stands on the streets. Which means there are a lot of chestnut trees. It is the first time I've had roasted chestnuts.  They taste like a hard cooked potato and are quite bland. The chestnut trees are now in full bloom, and the blossoms are spectacular!

We are gearing up for the David Archuleta Fireside in Zagreb on May 15th, and working on getting the word out.  He is famous in America, but not everyone knows him here in Croatia.  We would like to fill up the chapel, so publicity is important.  We have several capable people working on posters, Facebook pages, and pass along cards. We are enjoying being a part of the planning committee.

Welcoming committee

 Dinner w/ Petersons & Grahovac's

We visited Rijeka this weekend for Branch Conference.  We stayed at the Hotel Jadran.  When we arrived, this little guy was there to welcome us as we got out of the car. We went out to dinner with the Peterson's and the Grahovac's.  The Peterson's have a week left on their mission and will head home to Utah to plant their garden and hug a grandchild or two... The Grahovac's are taking their place. They come from Germany, but were both born in Croatia. They raised their family in Germany and here they are, back in their homeland. They are fluent in both Croatian and German, and I know the people will be blessed by them being here.  We are happy when we hear of new senior missionaries coming out.  EK said had he known how amazing serving a senior mission is, he would have retired five years earlier!

We headed back to Karlovac on Sunday and will have Zone Conference on Monday.  I'm looking forward to spending a Sunday in Karlovac.  I feel like we haven't been in our home branch in weeks.  We have a baptism next Saturday.  Rajko has attended different churches in the area, looking for the truth.  He saw the sister missionaries and asked them about the Mormon Church.  They have taught him for several weeks, and he has committed to being baptized.  We are excited to welcome him into our branch.  As he learns more about the true gospel of Jesus Christ, the light in his eyes grows brighter, and we are blessed to be a part of it.  Being converts ourselves, it brings back many sweet memories of our conversion.  It seems so long ago that the missionaries knocked on our door in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The decision we made to be baptized, is one that has blessed us in so many ways, and has allowed us to be here to serve the people in Croatia.  God loves all of His children and wants them to return to Him.  The Atonement of Jesus Christ allows that, if we strive to follow Him.

The word of the week:  Stretan Rođendan (stre tan Ro jen dan) which means Happy Birthday!