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.