Finishing our ANM Mission

One of our last responsibilities in the
mission was our transfer cooking
assignment at the Mission Home,  sending home a large group of 14 and receiving in 11 new missionaries and their trainers.


On Monday night we said goodbye to our favorite elders and sisters from Maribor.  We have shared some wonderful experiences together and shed some tears as we had our last meal together.

These young elders and sisters will always hold a special place in our hearts and we will continue to pray that their lives will be rich and blessed because of the sacrifices made in the mission field.  It wasn't an easy mission for anyone of them.






We come home with a stronger testimony of the
restored gospel of Jesus Christ and His limitless love for us.  We have felt his presence beside us as we sometimes struggled with decisions and challenges. 





We have seen His hand in blessing members who have given their all to commit to membership in His restored church. We've felt the comforter when heartache or problems seemed to overwhelm.

Our love and appreciation has grown and we will be returning home humbled and grateful for our great country of America and our family and friends who have sent prayers and encouragement continually.  We couldn't have done this without you all!

Coming home September 5, 2018. Zagreb, Croatia to Frankfurt, Germany to San Francisco, California to Salt Lake City, Utah!!!!!!!!!

Arriving at the SLC Airport we were greeting by so much love and happiness, it was hard to speak!  Glad to be home! 







Greeted by some of our darling grandchildren.







We look forward to reporting on our mission on Sunday, September 30th, at 11:00am in the Bountiful 15th Ward located at 1250 South Main Street in Bountiful, Utah.  Hope to see you all there!

Hope you enjoyed sharing this journey with us!

It was A LOT OF WORK!

Just so you will know that we didn't just play tourist out here, here is a short list of the responsibilities we have had.

Apartment inspections: 28

Audits conducting in five different countries: 9 + 7 + 14 = 30

Senior Single Conferences planned & conducted: 3

Branch President, First Counselor, Branch Clerk, District Clerk,

Primary Teacher, Relief Society Teacher, Family History Consultant & Teacher, Activities Chairman

Attended Zone Conferences, District Leadership, District Conference,  Senior Missionary Conferences

Talks, Testimonies & lessons:  too many to count

Cooking assignments (NOT INCLUDING SUNDAY DINNERS FOR ELDERS & SISTERS)
Prepared:
96 Chicken enchiladas
180 cups toss salad
72 pounds of potato salad
180 cups of macaroni salad
15 breakfast casseroles
36 loaves of bread for French toast
140 pounds of mashed potatoes
45 pounds of roast
360 homemade rolls
30 pans of brownies
24 Loaves banana bread
1000 cookies

Just to mention a few,,,, and we would do it all again!!!

Interaction with Maribor Members & Friends

Our assignment in Maribor, Slovenia has been amazing.  So many wonderful people in this little branch of the Church.

Barbeque at branch president's home!

Balloon volleyball & ping pong tournaments for church activities.

Sharing special talents!













Special Birthday lunches together!

Sharing laughter!

Branch picnic on a rainy day!

 Working together!

Auditing Assignment Again

This was our last auditing assignment for the mission.  We had 12 meetings and audits to conduct from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Serbia and only 4 weeks to accomplish it plus our Maribor responsibilities.

First Stop:  Ljubliana, Slovenia
Kranj, Slovenia
Banja Luka, Bosnia
Osjek, Croatia
Novi Sad, Serbia
Begrad, Serbia
Sarajevo, Bosnia
Zadar, Croatia
Celja, Slovenia
Slovenia District (being audited as Chris is District Clerk)
Maribor, Slovenia (being audited as Chris is Branch Clerk)
Varazdin, Croatia

Just finished with three weeks of travel...and 4,000 miles of driving, we have accomplished our assignment.  Glad to report that all Church related funds are being well looked after in the ANM!

Although it was terribly hot, and long wait times at border crossings, we enjoyed visiting with our branch presidents, wives, missionaries, and members in each of the branches along the way.  What dedicated devoted people!

Various Castles in Slovenia

There are so many castles in this part of the world that I wanted to do a blog page for each of the ones we were able to visit.

Slovenia:

Betnava Manor

Betnava Mansion is a manor house located near the city of Maribor in northern Slovenia. A structure on the site is first mentioned in 1319, under the name Wintenaw. By the 16th century, it had grown into a fortified and moated renaissance manor house.










Bistrica Castle

Slovenska Bistrica castle is first mentioned in 1265.











Bled Castle





The history of the castle reaches back to 1004 when the German Emperor Henry II gave his estate at Bled to Bishop Albuin of Brixen.























Boel Castle

Now under reconstruction this old castle was used during the war as a prison.  The Republic of Slovenian currently owns it and are refurbishing it.

Brdo Castle

The present mansion was built in 1510. Following WWII the famous Marshal Josip Broz Tito used the castle as his summer residence.

Celje Castle

The earliest reference to Celje Castle dates from 1322. Castle is mostly in ruins, but is gradually being preserved.
























Jablje Castle

The original castle at Jablje was first mentioned in 1268.














Ljublijana Castle



Is a castle complex standing on Castle Hill above downtown Ljublijana, the capital of Slovenia. It is a key landmark of the town. Originally a medieval fortress, it was probably constructed in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 12th century.




Maribor Castle



Built about 1483, Maribor Castle is a Baroque mansion in the town of Maribor, northeastern Slovenia. It contains a regional museum.
























Predjama Castle



The castle was first mentioned in the year 1274 and built under a natural rocky arch high in the stone wall to make access to it difficult.





Ptuj Castle




The castle was built in the mid 12th century, when it was constructed to defend against the Hungarians








Strmol Castle




The castle is first mentioned in the 13th century, though there are no reliable records of its founding. This is the best preserved castle in Slovenia.





Viltrus Castle
North of Maribor, Slovenia is the Vltrus Manor House.  Built and remodeled in the late 19th century, it is now in ruins.  This castle leaves room for a lot of imagination with is decorative turits and boarded up windows and doors.

Croatia:
Trakoscan Castle


Trakoscan was built in the 13th century within Croatia's northwestern fortification system, as a rather small observation fortress for monitoring the road from Ptuj to Bednja Valley. It was added to over the years and is the best museum of an actual lived in castle.  Our favorite!!







Klenovick Castle

First mentioned in the 13th century during the reign of the Croato-Hungarian King Bela IV. It is now used as an hospital for those with tuberculosis.





















Veliki Tabor Castle
A castle and museum in northwest Croatia, dating from the middle of the 15th century. The castle's present appearance dates back to the 16th century. Most of the castle was built by the Hungarian noble family of Rattkay, in whose ownership it remained until 1793.



Varazdin Castle 

The first written reference to Varazdin was in 1811, when it was mentioned in a historical paper. This castle is the center of Varazdin and all cobblestone roads and shops spiral out from it.

Many other castles and old ruins dot this country and there was never enough time to find them all. 

Tina, Bill & Jamie Visit

So much fun having visitors from the USA.  On May 27th we were excited to welcome Chris' sister Tina, her husband Bill and our neice, Jamie to the mission.  We met them at the Zagreb airport after their travels included 3 different airline delays, and arriving instead of at 2 pm, at 12:00 midnight.  Poor travelers were worn out from all the changes.

After a good nights sleep at the AirB&B, we headed out the first day for a visit to the Crnich ancestral home village of Mrkopalj. 













Tina, Jamie and Chris are standing in front of their great uncle's family's headstone...Berislav Crnic

After a rewarding visit to the mountain village of Mrkopalj and connecting with our ancestors we drove towards the coastal town of Riejka and north around it to the peninsula of Istria.  Our goal was the very southern tip and the old town of Pula.







Near the town of Pula artifacts have been found which date the area to 1000 BC.  Much legend and history are associated with this town and it would take a book to talk about it. 




One fascinating part of their history is from the Greeks regarding Jason, who stole the golden fleece.  With the help of Medea he ran away.  Colchis were chasing them, but could not catch Jason, a very skilled sea traveler. 


They didn't dare to return without the golden fleece, so they settled in the upper Adriatic, where the Illiric tribe lived, and named the city - The City of Refuges, and in their language - Polai (Pula).  Centuries later greek pottery was found, as well as parts of a statue representing Apollo, and some other traves of Greek culture. (from Croatian History.net)



Of course the Romans played an important part in the history of Pula. Under Emperor Vespasian, a big amphitheater was built (6th largest in the world). Here were gladiator fights and other brutal amusements for the masses.

Through the years, ownership and occupation have changed hands in Pula, but it remained strongly Croatian and today, they continue to rebuild and grow.







After a night in an Old Town apartment, we returned to Slovenia crossing the border and our scheduled visit at Postonja Cave & Prejama Castle.







 

Last stop for the day was at Ljubljana where we toured the castle and then had dinner on the river.  Another late night getting back to Zagreb but filled with great sights and memories.

Next morning up and off to a castle tour day.  First stop at Varazdin with pizza at Dominic's, our favorite! 

 Next stop, Trakoscan and the now required picture of our visitors on the steps leading up to the castle.  I think we are somewhere near a dozen visits to this favorite castle.

Ending the day in Maribor, where we stayed at the Crnich' apartment and did a quick tour of Maribor. 





























Our last day with the family took us to Pekel Cave, a new little cave we found between Maribor & Celje.  A beautiful, peaceful walk next to a small stream brings you to Pekel cave complete with it's underground waterfall.  It had rained early that morning so inside the cave was dripping with water.  Fantastic underground adventure.








Another hour down the road brought us to Lake Bled which couldn't have been more beautiful.  It was raining a little when we got there but within 20 minutes it stopped so we could take the boat ride to Bled Island and visit the little church on top of the hill.  We were treated to a new baby swan swimming next to it's mother. 

It was raining again lightly by the time we got back to the mainland. We took a short walk along the lake and then headed to a special restaurant next to the water, ending the near perfect day with a delicious local meal.

We had a very fast paced-see every thing we can in 4 days trip, but spending time with family in this magical land was a wonderful blessing.  Thanks Tina, Bill and Jamie for stopping by!