Moving, Baptisms, Church Visitors

The AP's came by to get our mattress. Amazingly they got it in "the box" and you should have seen them get it and several boxes into the small elevator to get it into our new apartment on the 8th floor. Amazing young men and wonderful leaders and missionaries. Elder Grahovac/Call.

Paul pretty well cleaned out our apartment even though we were going to be there for another good week. The living room had three little end tables in it with the computer on one of them. We were sleeping on a foam mattress until the end. We made at least four trips to Ljubljana getting everything over there. We should have had only three suitcases each but we were closing an apartment and taking all the CES stuff with us.

This was also the time when three of our wonderful missionaries were going home. Elder Freeman, Elder Ferrin and Elder Jensen. The first two's parents came to get them and the Branch had a wonderful party for them. Missionaries, Branch members and Pres. Bzik at the rail.

Children at the party. We love them.

We found a new mall called Cross Roads at the west end of Zagreb. It has an InterSpar store which is much like a Super Walmart or Target. It has about anything you could want. Food is at the far end.

Paul, of course, found a scooter.

Our first Sunday in Ljubljana Elders Jones and Millington took us on a little tour of Center. First they took us to the top of their roof where you can see all of the city. That is a castle on a hill right above center.

This young lady came out of our building with these two dogs. Can you believe they live in an eleven story apartment bldg?

We went with the Schmoes and Monique from Karlovac to Tihana's baptism in Varazdin. The Elders are preparing the baptismal font by ironing the cover which goes around the portable font.

She had over 40 people there to celebrate and be a part of this wonderful day. The Willfords found Tihana around Christmas last year when they were trying to find a few more things to send to their children for Christmas. They wanted something authentic. Tihana was working in a lace shop and they started visiting and going back every few days. Tihana is one of those special spirits prepared so carefully by the Lord to accept His gospel. She had been looking for and praying to find the truth and had decided she would have to die before she found it. She is 26. Her mother has been in the Willfords home many times but her brother has not been supportive. She had set one baptism date but her brother would not let her go. She waited and set her birthday, August 15th as the day. It was a beautiful service with Elder Willford performing the baptism and confirming her the next day.

The Lewis' and the Willfords

On August 25th Sisters Hanson and Gutherie, Center for Young Adult coordinators, from Germany came to train us and all our Sr. couples. We picked them up at the airport and drove to Celja where we were able to hear the missionaries finish up their district meeting.

The next day we drove to Varazdin to train and visit the Willfords. It was a big festival in Varazdin so we were able to see Tihana and her coworker doing what they do, make beautiful lace.

Here are some of the pieces they have made. Her coworker is Anamarija. They work all day and get $2 an hour. Tihana had worked for three months without getting paid. It takes hours and hours to do this. She learned the skill from her grandmother. She is making some pieces for me.

Continuing their work.

Sister Gutherie, Sister Lewis, Sister Hanson in Celja

We then took Sisters Hanson and Gutherie where we did training with the Manleys and Thompson in Zagreb. When we finsihed we had time to catch a tram and go to Upper City for a quick walking tour, and I mean quick. Then we drove back to Ljubljana for the night. They stayed with us and we had a great time. Sister Hanson did a fireside for us in Zagreb. She was a professor at BYU and had been Assitant Director of the Jerusalem Center for three years and did a presentation called "In the Steps of Jesus". We had a great turnout with 7 investigators.

We needed to do laundry when we got home. Paul decided our one drying rack was not enough so he strung lines thru the living room to dry the sheets and the drying rack is on the patio.

This week we are being visited and trained by Brother Eckehard Jensen, CES coordinator, from Germany.

My cousin, Rick Hawks, had a couple of great quotes in his newsletter this week which I want to share with you.

"In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make our families the center of our lives and the top of our priorities.". (L. Tom Perry, .The Importance of the Family,. Ensign, May 2003).

"The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us.. (Spencer W. Kimball, Families Can Be Eternal,. Ensign, Nov 1980)

We are so blessed by the love and support of our immediate and extended family. We love you. Be an example, invite all to come unto Christ. We have such marvelous blessings and we need to share them with everyone. We learned today from Pres. Haglund, our Branch President the following. We are to "go, declare, cry, preach, teach, exhort" "All, every, each". The Lord will "prepare their minds and hearts".

Grandchildren

All our little bikers in Island Park this summer.

Katie was busy taking Kimberly's kids pictures when they were down.

Courtney (12)

Kaylee (10)

Mallorie (7)

Brayden (5)

Tyler, Josh & Gage

Tyler (9)

Josh (5)

Gage (2)

Riley (2) Robbie (5)

Moving to Slovenia

We have spent the last two weeks looking for an apartment in Ljubljana. We decided we had better see as much of Zagreb as we can. Downtown in the square they have this little train which will take you around the important places. Now that we are geting ready to leave we are finally learning our way around the city. It is a wonderful old city with such history.

We ran into Elders Mason and Anderson on the square and they sent us down the street with the Mexican Restaurant in old town square.

It was pretty good food.

On our walk home we saw them working on the street. They were pulling up the concrete around the tram rails.

Our new home is in this 10 story building. Who would have thought we would have found something in one of these big buildings. We were all set on something in a house and out in the country. The people who own this live right next door and have a son 15. They are wonderful and we liked them right away. The apartment was remodeled in 2006 and is very delightful. The AP's helped us move many of our things over. In the bus they got many boxes and our mattress. Amazing Elders in many ways.

This is our landlord, Damjan Kregar. He speaks very good English. His wife, Marija, and son, Matje. They live next door to us.

This is the kitchen.

And the dining room.

Elders Grahovac/Call & Elders Davey and Anderson & Elder & Sister Thompson stopped by to help load up the "Box" with our things.

Saturday we picked up the Schmoes and Monique from Karlovac to go to the baptism in Karlovac. Tihana is our YSA friend who makes lace. Elder & Sister Willford found her at work and visited and stopped by several times and then shared the gospel with her. She is amazing and so loves the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In Ljubljana we took a walk down to the old square and here we are at the seven bridges. We also found a another Mexican Restaurant in Ljubljana.

We spent two nights in Ljubljana and then came back to Zagreb for the week. Got back in time for FHE with the Thompsons. We attended District meeting on Tuesday and have spent the rest of the week working on our visitors who are coming for the next three weeks. The apartment is pretty bare. We will be ready to leave Sunday after Church and then will return next Wednesday with Sisters Hanson and Gutherie for some OutReach Training here in Zagreb. Summer is just about over here and everyone will be returning from the mountains or the sea. It makes all the missionaries happy because they had some great people they were teaching at the beginning of the summer and they will be returning.

Plitvica Falls, Celija Baptism, Missionary Car Wash

Marko said "We are the same size!!!" Marko stayed over from the Conference and needed a white shirt. He is a great new convert of 4 months and lives in Zadar.

Monday on P-day Elder and Sister Thompson took us to Plivica Falls. A beautiful national park made up of about seven lakes which drop down and flow into each other. It was a busy day. On the way we stopped at a town just above it where falls water flows thru the houses.

This is Plivica Park. We spent most of the day there walking around and taking a ferry across one of the lakes to get back to the car.

Paul and I at the lake

Wednesday we drove to Celija by way of Ljubljana with the Thompsons. We stopped in LJ first to look at apartments. We are being moved to Slovenia at the end of the month. There is only one senior couple there now, The Lindorfs and they are the office couple. After looking at a few places we headed off to Celija for the baptism of Renata Cigler.

Elder Call, Dunlap, Renata, Elder Johnson, Sister Okoren, Sister Shorten

Some Celija YSAs

Saturday the missionaries hosted a free car wash and tour of the building. They had such a great time. The Branch members were there to take people thru the new building while their car was being washed. They had a full page ad in the paper

Elder & Sister Schmoe (Humanitarian Missionaries in Karlovac)

Marko came and cooked lunch for us. He is a new convert in Zagreb of 3 months and went with us to the Czech conference.

A photographer from the newspaper came to take some pictures.

Missionaries hard at work. They had a great water fight when it was all over.

Today, Sunday, we went to Karlovac to Church. This is Elder Jensen's last day in the mission field.

We met with our landlady, Marija and her daughter, to go over what belongs to who. The missionaries have been with her for about 8 years she said. Her daughter is here from Germany and speaks English.