Transfer to Maribor, Slovenia

We received word at the beginning of December that we would be tranferring to Maribor, Slovenia as soon as possible.  It was difficult to leave behind our friends from the Varazdin Branch so close to Christmas but began to say goodbye.  It was an emotional meeting on December 10th, when Chris was released as their branch president.  We felt very loved and appreciated.  We will miss all those hardwork, sacrificing members in Varazdin.

Monday morning, December 11th, we did our final run to the MUP (police department) to "unregister" and returned to our packed car, where we said goodbye one last time to the Elders and headed north to the Slovenia border.

We began to get excited about our next chapter in this mission assignment.  As we drove across the bridge into Maribor, we could see our cute new home on the other side.  Our apartment is straight ahead, in the middle of these buildings.

It is truly in a historic building and although it has been remodeled, it has all the design and flare of a real European home, with a little Italian flair.  The ceilings are 10 feet tall, and lots of ceramic and white washed walls. We fell in love with it immediately.

The Church building is about two Salt Lake City blocks away and that is where we have to park the car.  I quickly purchased a new thicker scarf, hat and better legg'ns.  It's a cold walk along the river at 8 pm at night.  

We are excited to explore this part of the mission more indepth but already love the city and the people we have met at the branch.  They have a local member as branch president.  President & Sister Filder, with their two boys, David & Tim, (ages 2 & 4).  We will see what the Lord has in store for us here.

Christmas 2017

Merry Christmas 

Elder & Sister Crnich

Adriatic North Mission

Fun Things about living in Varazdin, Croatia

What a great idea!  Coin operated grocery carts.  You get your kuna ($) back when you return the cart.  No longer are carts floating around the parking lot, drifting into people's bumpers and side doors.  No inconsiderate consumers leaving their carts at the edge of the street.  All carts are returned to the store or under neath their carport. When money is involved, everyone wants theirs back. 



Countdown street lights!  No more wondering when the light is going to change or impatient driver's trying to run the red light.  You know exactly how many seconds you have before you have to stop and how many before you can go.  Of course everyone starts to go when it's close and the light turns yellow.  We still have to watch out for the anxious driver.  But at least you aren't kept in the dark wondering when it's your turn to go.













Since I have five teenage grandchildren.  This picture is for them.  Yes, even Croatian teenagers have to take driver's education!

We are lucky!  Our apartment building has an automatic gate opener.  We don't even have to get out of the car.  Most senior apartments, you either have to pay extra for parking on the street somewhere, or get out of the car and open large gated doors, drive in and shut the doors.  We feel very blessed, especially on rainy cold days.

People here ride bikes everywhere.  Infact, most people do not even own an automobile.  You can see them riding in all kinds of weather.  It's pretty amazing to see someone riding a bike, talking on their cell phone, and holding their umbrella.  Very talented riders!













Chris is a true Croatian with his love of fresh baked bread.  There is no need for me to even try to make bread, as on nearly every corner is a Pekarna....a bakery, filled with fresh loaves of bread, rolls and special bread confections!








One of the first things I did wrong here was at the grocery store.  Our first night we picked up some fruits and vegetables and took them to the checkout stand.  With an expression of irritation, the clerk took them to a different counter and weighed them.  We have since learned that you always weigh and print out a price tag before putting the produce in your cart.  Oops!  Bad me!!












True European Flavor are the houses covered with flowers.  Every window seems to be covered with beautiful lush growth.  Somehow it makes even the most run down home, beautiful!  Each one seems more spectacular than the next and I'm afraid I keep taking pictures.  What will I do with them all??



Every building is made from cement.  Not just the foundation but the walls and ceilings.  These buildings are built to last...and they do for hundreds of years.

















For Andy, who is the family expert in everything cement, here is a picture of the unique way they frame walls with cement.















They have a particular ethnicity here, people who are are called gypsies.  I believe they originated from Romania but they tend to live off of the discarded items of other people.  They are found traveling around town on their bike and going through the garbage bins.  If you leave anything out on the street or front yard, the gypsies will pick it up and carry it away.  They gather all kinds of things from plastic bottles (which are recycled) to strips of metal scraps.  I think they must be very hard working but they don't have a very good image here.








Every Thursday morning and Saturdays you will find all town centars (centers) filled with local product and home town entrepreneurs. Very truly organic food.

 For several months we have driven by a particular spot where on Sunday morning about 5 farmers park their vans loaded with potatoes, cabbage, onions and apples.  We first started smiling at one particular man, then a little wave, then big waves and smiles, each time we passed.  He returned the waves and smiles but because it was on Sunday we didn't stop to buy his produce, but felt guilty for not stopping week after week.  During the the past couple of months, it has now developed into his waving at us before we even get too close.  Last week we noticed he was there on a Friday morning.  We quickly stopped and met him face to face.  We were all smiling and laughing, talking without talking....He didn't speak any English and us no Croatian. but we knew what each were saying.  We showed him our badges and purchased our potatoes and look forward to waving at him again this Sunday, but with a much broader smile!!!

Thanksgiving at Mission Home

Thanksgiving in the Mission Field was spent at Zagreb with 26 other missionaries from the Croatian District.

Chris was all excited because we have found a butcher, which said he could get us a turkey for Christmas.  You don't find them in the stores very often.  We had it all ordered and the night before, we received a call that they would not be able to fill the order. 

We quickly went to our local Metro (Costco) and found one small frozen turkey, about the size of a large chicken.  We called the office elder in Zagreb and asked him to head to their Metro there.  He found three more small turkeys and the game was back one.

Thanksgiving morning we picked up the elders, drove to Zagreb and stopped off at the Metro to pick up a turkey breast, and 25 pounds of potatoes.

We dropped the elders off at the mission office where they would spend the afternoon contacting and we headed to mission home to get the turkey's going.  Sister Miller went with us and we began peeling potatoes and making the roll dough.

We ended up mashing potatoes, making gravy and setting up the buffet, while everyone else got settled in and visited.  Other senior couples brought side dishes of sweet potatoes, dressing, salad and coconut cream pie and yes, even pumpkin pie was found!  Ice cream and whipped cream topped off the meal!




After dinner the elders and sisters played a game similar to "Cops & Robbers".  Our branch elders were in charge and with some adjustments it became a game with prophets, missionaries, and other evil and good characters found in the Book of Mormon.  They had a great time and even when the game went over in time, the mission president said he wanted to finish it.

We all had a great time and are looking forward to Winter Zone Conference in two weeks where they will be able to play the game again after conference meetings.












Lots to be thankful for this year and excited already to be home for the next one!!!

Transfers - Cooking Assignment

One of our new assignments has become cooking for transfers at the Mission Home.  It's a lot of work but so rewarding.


Starts with buying all the groceries.  Thankfully on the largest transfer ever, 14 missionaries coming in, we had help with the shopping.

Transfers involve dinner one night and early breakfast for the missionaries heading home.  We get to listen to their testimonies and spend the evening with them and the mission president while they receive their final advice and share their spiritual experiences and testimony.  It's a pretty awesome opportunity.














Then later that same day, new missionaries arrive after traveling around 12-14 hours from Salt Lake City to Zagreb.  We feed them their first dinner in Croatia.




We love their excitement and enthusiasm and feel so privileged to be one of the first to greet them on their mission.  We give them their evening dinner, breakfast and lunch the next day and then they are assigned their companions and off they go.























It's a crazy three days, two nights but feels so rewarding.  We are becoming know as the mission cooks!  These transfers happen every 9 weeks.

Single Senior Conferences

November was the month of Single Senior Conferences.  Chris and I planned, and organized the conference and  along with other senior missionaries hosted it at the Mission Home.  We hold two senior conferences on consecutive weekends for the single older members of the church in this mission. 






First conference was for the ages 46+,  where we had 9 attendees from Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia, some traveling up to 13 hours to get to the conference.  We provided three meals: dinner, breakfast next day and lunch. 

They stay at the mission home and participate in  activities such as early morning yoga (taught by yours truly!), scripture chases, spiritual thoughts and inspirational messages, games and testimony sharing.

The theme was "Charting your own Journey".  We had several members share their life's journey to find the gospel, and talked about what each are doing in their own lives. 

We talked about the Book of Mormon being the ultimate journal; written by many prophets through the years.We gave them their own journal and pen and encouraged them to keep a record of their spiritual thoughts and experiences through life's journey. 




Everyone seemed to enjoy getting to know each other and sharing the two days and night with members from all over the mission.  They will now be Facebook friends.

Our Second Conference was the very next weekend for the 31-45 year old.  This one brought 15 members in.  One man traveled over 16 hours on a bus to come from Montenegro to attend.  That's a big challenge here. It's
a long way to travel across the five countries and no one has a car.  Travel has to be done by bus or train with lots of stops along the way.  Most members can't really afford the cost of bus and train either.



It's pretty rewarding to watch them interact and learn from each other what challenges they are going through and that they are not alone, even if they are the only member of their family and neighborhoods. 

We plan and host these conferences twice a year.

Halloween Croatia Style - All Saints Day /All Soul's Day & Day of the Dead

 So there are fascinating tradition here!  Not too many people celebrate Halloween American style here.  We did see one family on the street with trick or treat bags and costumes, but most of the housing is behind locked gates or apartment buildings with keyed entry, so it's not very inviting for a lot of trick or treaters.

The one tradition they do celebrate here big time is All Saints' Day, which is November 1 and All Soul's Day/Day of the Dead on November 2nd.

On All Saints Day, the faithful attend church to remember the saints and their dearly departed. 

People travel long distances to place flowers on the graves of loved ones and burn specially decorated candles to help the departed souls find their way to ever lasting light.

Years ago, it was traditional for the family to have a sumptuous feast at the gravesite and leave food and drink for the departed.





I know it sounds strange but it truly is a beautiful sight to visit the local large cemetery at night, along with large crowds, to view the beauty of the candles and the magnificents of the flowers.  I have never seen such large mums!!
















Driving home from Zagreb last night in the dark, you could see several cemeteries in the distance, which were glowing with red candle lights.




As soon as we were back in Varazdin, we took the Elders and Zoran and visited our own cemetery. 

So many people, that the police were directing traffic and parking was a chore.  At one little stand outside the cemetery, you could buy a bag of popcorn to enjoy your walk through the cemetery.





The candles continue to burn for at least two days, through All Souls' Day or Day of the Dead, but often they glow into the next week as well.

Senior Missionary Conference

We spent three days at Senior Conference, being instructed and uplifted by our mission president and office staff, and travel to and from the conference made up the rest of the trip (with a couple of over night stop overs along the way!) We had opportunity to visit several historical sites, which I will try to briefly share some information about. This is truly an amazing part of the world, one which you too can see if you come to visit or better yet, volunteer for a mission here!!!

We had so much fun sharing the gospel with all the hotel clerks, waiters, shop owners, and other tourists along the way.  Growing up in Idaho and Utah, I don't think I've ever met anyone who had NEVER heard of the Mormon Church and here, hardly anyone has.  It's great to be asked, what church do you belong too....and tell me more about it.

We traveled with our friends the Mayberry's, another senior couple, and they are great fun.  One of our favorite experiences came the 2nd day of travel.  We had stopped over night at Split, a city along the coast, and were taking a walking tour of the 616 AD Stone Palace.  There were only the four of us and one single girl in the group. She had been born in Germany to a US military father and Germany mother. We walked around listening to the tour guide and of course talking a little to the girl.  

After the tour ended we decided it was time to get some lunch and she asked if she might tag along.  We stopped at a cafe within the Palace and began sharing with her.  I asked if she had ever seen the elder's walking around with their white shirts and clean look.  She said, she wasn't sure but maybe.  We laughed a lot and talked about our church and why we were on a mission.  At one point another missionary couple also traveling to our conference stopped at the table and began to converse with her as well.  It was one happy loud group.  She ended up spending the whole afternoon into the evening with us and we all shared facebook contact with each other. (She was on a tour of several countries by herself and staying in hostels.  She had been bitten by bedbugs the night before, so Amanda, I shared my lavender oils with her and she was so grateful that it took the itch out of them.  When we got back to our apartment, I I/M her how much fun it was to spend the day with her and hoped the rest of her trip went well.  She sent back a request and here are her words:

"Had a wonderful time with you guys! I really like your energy.  I've been thinking a lot about religion in general lately. I could tell how close you guys are.  I've been feeling really lost on my trip, and I think I could use the kind of connection to God you all have cultivated. I was wondering (and I understand if you don't have the time, but I would seriously appreciate it) if you could give me an introduction of what your religion is all about?"

Wow!  we were sooooo happy and excited.  Sadly, we didn't see the message until it was too late to do anything about it that night and she left on an 8am tour the next morning.  We have since contacted her and will be sending her information and the missionaries as soon as possible.  It was a great start to the trip.


We took a ferry ride to Lupod, Island to visit one of the members from Osijek Branch, where the Mayberry's serve.  

Visiting with Mirko was pure pleasure.  
We learned that he was basically an orphan who the missionaries found at age 16 on the streets of Osijek and offered him the gospel.  He eventually served a mission of his own in England and was working "at the sea" for the summer to earn enough money for college.  He will be applying for the Church's Perpetual Education program. 

He happily gave us a quick tour of his part of the quaint island, offering us free limes, lemons and pomegranates off the trees.  

Another missionary opportunity was in Kotor, Montenegro.  We were spending a lot of time in one store trying to decide on whether to buy a hand carved Christmas Santa or not and became good friends with the clerk.  We learned all about her history and where she went to school, and her religion.  We shared that we were missionaries and she was so interested to know what we do.  She asked a lot of questions and we told her where to find the Montenegro branch.  We felt like she was a sweet new friend.  Montenegro is the farthest east part of our Adriatic North Mission.

We ran into three or four different sets of people who yell..."Missionaries!!"  They knew who we were and were so excited to find us in these odd places in the world.  Two from Utah, One from Florida, one from Idaho.  It's been a fun dream come true to have someone recognize your name tag when you are so far from home.  

The family from Idaho were a young man and woman, with two small children and mom 6 months pregnant.  They had been to Germany to visit their father who was ending his senior mission, and were bicycling across Italy and Croatia....we couldn't believe it...bicycling????  6 months pregnant and riding with kids in bike car seats???  Were they crazy....we'll they were from Idaho!  haha.  I can say that can't I?  They manage the outdoor theater in Driggs.  Mons I think were their names.

Historical Information of the places we stopped:

Split is a town on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast, and is known for its beaches and the fortress-like complex at its center. The Diocletian's Palace, erected by the Roman emperor in the 4th century. It was once home to thousands, its sprawling remains include more than 200 buildings. 




















Within its white stone walls and under its courtyards are a cathedral and numerous shops, bars, cafes, hotels and houses.  The Palace is surrounded by tall ancient walls with four different gates, Bronze, Silver, Iron, and Gold.  Only the Emperor was allowed to enter by the Gold Gate!

Dubrovnik: 
Dubrovnik is a city in southern Croatia fronting the Adriatic Sea. It's known for its distinctive Old Town, encircled with massive stone walls completed in the 16th century. Its well-preserved buildings range from baroque St. Blaise Church to Renaissance Sponza Palace and Gothic Rector’s Palace, now a history museum. 

Paved with limestone, the pedestrianized Stradun (or Placa) is lined with shops and restaurants.

Dubrovnik defensive walls encircle the entire old town of Dubrovnik. Two kilometers long, and consisting of 17 towers, 5 bastions, two corner fortifications, and the St. John Fortress, they are Dubrovnik’s main attraction. 






















City dates back to the 13th century, although the walls were also constantly reinforced in later years.  Dubrovnik old town is located within the city walls. 

And the city walls, although the most popular site to visit in Dubrovnik, are just one of many of attractions in Dubrovnik old city. Built entirely of the white stones, polished with ages, the old town abounds in Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque palaces, churches, and monasteries.

Lupod Island
Lopud is a small island 4.63 square kilometres off the coast of Dalmatia, southern Croatia. Lopud is economically the most developed of the Elaphiti Islands, and can be reached by boat from Dubrovnik. 

Lopud is an island of true Adriatic summer feel, full of Mediterranean and subtropical vegetation, amazing cypress and pine parks and citrus gardens form the landscape of this magnificent island. It is no wonder then that in the time of the Dubrovnik Republic this island was a preferred spot of the patrician families to build a summer residence. 

Throughout history Lopud has been known as an island of sea-captains providing the Dubrovnik Republic with many highly reputed seamen. In 16th century, Lopud had 30 churches, a vast number of Dubrovnik aristocracy summer manors, several monasteries and greater population. Today on Lopud you can see numerous remains of early-medieval churches, summer manors and fortifications.

Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor is a fortified town on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast, in a bay near the limestone cliffs of Mt. Lovćen. Characterized by winding streets and squares, its medieval old town has several Romanesque churches, including Kotor Cathedral. It's also home to the Maritime Museum, which explores local seafaring history. 

The old town – that is the most famous part of Kotor, where the Kotor history, culture, and tradition are being preserved. The old town of Kotor has a great number of monuments of the medieval architecture: churches, cathedrals, palaces, and museums. Its beauty is complemented with the multitude of narrow streets, squares, and markets. The old town of Kotor stands out also by the great number of stylishly made gates, palaces of the wealthy families, and a great number of stairs. 

The old nucleus of Kotor today is considered to be the best preserved medieval urban entity in the Mediterranean. The largest and the most impressive are, by all means, city bulwarks which surround the town. They are about 5 km long, 20, high, and about 10 m wide. Bring completely preserved, they are a unique sample of the fortification architecture in Europe. 

Island of Hvar

Hvar, a Croatian island, is best known as a summer resort. Highlights of the port town Hvar include its 13th-century walls, a hilltop fortress and a main square anchored by the Renaissance-era Hvar Cathedral. The island also features beaches such as Dubovica and inland lavender fields. 

     The Franciscan monastery was founded in 1461. Within the calm and silence of the

      Monastery you can enjoy in monastery’s rich museum, among which the collection of old masters is exceptional.

Plitvica Lakes

The trip wouldn't be complete without a quick stop off at Plitvica lakes.  In the summer time these paths around the lakes accommodate 15,000 people a day.  

Walking around the lakes

this time of year was beautiful.  
                  The leaves had changed and the colors most spectacular.  (I must say, not near as beautiful as the mountains in Utah, but then I might be a bit prejudice!) Not crowded at all!

Plitviče Lakes National Park is a 295-sq.-km forest reserve in central Croatia. It's known for a chain of 16 terraced lakes, joined by waterfalls, that extend into a limestone canyon.

      








     Walkways and hiking trails wind around and across the water, and an electric boat links the 12 upper and 4 lower lakes. 

 



It was a beautiful fall day, spent with friends and enjoying the beauties of nature.

Chris took nearly 1000 digital photos over the days we were on this trip.  It has taken me another two months to sort through them and to slim them down to a manageable size.

                                                                                
A fantastic Senior Conference and wonders of this part of the world, but the most

memorable sites will be the people we met and enjoyed along the way.  Being a missionary

for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints is the happiest time of the year!