Fun with family

Zadar missionaries

We spent a few days in Zadar because the senior couple (the Devers) went on the temple trip to Switzerland.  Elder Dever is the Branch President and  asked EK if he could take over on Sunday while he was gone. So we stayed in their apartment and attended Sacrament Meeting.  We were able to spend p-day with the elders and to say hi to Elder Pantelakis who served with us in Karlovac.  Zadar is a beautiful city, one of our favorites.  We took a walk in Old Town and as we neared the sea organ, we noticed a cruise ship docked nearby.  Two women from Norway saw the elders and thought (with their white shirts and ties) that they worked on board.  We visited with them for a little while and they laughed when they realized their mistake.  We also saw a strange sight on the water passing us by.  It looked like a submarine, and all I could think of was Ringo singing Yellow Submarine.  Of course it stayed in my head all day long.  My brain works that way.  We had some lunch and headed back to the apartment.  We were able to attend district meeting with the elders.  District Meeting is a weekly meeting for missionaries that usually include the senior couple.  It includes planning for the week, instruction and lessons, language review, and goal setting.  We ended up attending three district meetings during the week - Karlovac, Zadar, and Varadžin.  That could be a record, it is for us.

Sailing on the Adriatic Sea

Kate & Gav

We came back to Karlovac and got ready for Kate & Gavin's visit.  They started their trip in Venice, and after a few days headed to Slovenia where we picked them up. We were able to take them to church in Karlovac on Sunday.  It was fun to introduce them to all of our friends.  We spent the next week taking them to Slunj, Plitvicka Park, Dubrovnik, Zadar where we sailed the Adriatic, Pula with the ancient Roman ruins, Split, a castle in Slovenia, and many other sweet little towns along the way. The first three days were brutally hot, and then it cooled off toward the end of the week. The hotel choices were a big hit and I would recommend them highly.  Zadar- Hotel Bastion, Dubrovnik- Hotel Lero, and in Pula- Hotel Oasi.  I have to say the schedule was prettyi ntense, we saw a lot of amazing sites in just a few days, and we did a pretty good job keeping up with those youngsters!  EK and I were tired by the end of the day and had no trouble falling asleep.  It was fun spending time with family and it was hard saying goodbye.  We dropped them off in  Slovenia where they flew out the next day.  It was nice having a little vacation, but now it's time to get back to work.

Pula

Karlovac District

We met the missionaries for district meeting and headed out to Varadžin for a Self Reliance Workshop on Saturday night.  We stayed the night and attended church on Sunday.  A new member of only 5 months gave a talk on pure love. It was a beautiful talk with a powerful message.  He said, "What is the most liked from the first moment I entered our church?  The pure love of Jesus Christ, the most sacred and only love of our Savior warmed my tired heart and that will remain forever."  end quote The message Z gave was simple, yet profound.  The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is simple enough to understand, for all who will listen.  We are grateful that we listened to those young missionaries who knocked on our door over forty years ago.  Our lives and the lives of our children have been richly blessed.  Another young man in his 20's who was baptized in January blessed the bread.  Although you don't hear D speak many words, he sat at the sacrament table and recited the prayer flawlessly.  The Varadžin Branch is very special, and we are blessed to be able to spend time with them.


The word of the week: obitelj (o bee tel) which means family