We've been here for five weeks and one of our humanitarian couples has returned home and a new couple has arrived, so it's time to go train them. We are going to fly through Ljubljana, Slovenia and then on to Podgorica, Montenegro where we will meet the Cary couple from Colorado. We're a little nervous and a little excited about our trip, but it will be a great experience.
Our friends the Canfields took us to the Frankfurt airport early Tuesday morning. We couldn't find the drop off point for terminal 1, so we went back to terminal 2 to get dropped off and we were on our way. We found the train that shuttles travelers between the terminals and got on the train and we were in terminal 1 in a few minutes. We found the boarding pass machine and scanned our passports, punched in the right numbers for our reservation and out came our boarding passes. We didn't check any bags, but we each took a carry-on bag. We found out you don't carry it on the plane but rather check it just before boarding the plane and then they have it ready for you to pickup at the bottom of the stairs when you arrive.
Waiting patiently for boarding time
On board and winging our way to Montenegro via Slovakia
Beautiful Ljubljana, Slovakia
The Carys greeted us at the airport and drove us back to our hotel.
The M Nikic Hotel was very nice and included a breakfast buffet
Our room had two twin beds
We went to the Cary,s apartment and got to know them and scheduled our training plans for the week and also their appointments. We're all set for a busy week.
Training started Wednesday and went through Saturday. Everything went smoothly. The computers, printer, internet and phone all worked perfectly. We based our training on the Healy,s (we replaced them) training deck. It was a great outline and we covered a lot of material. I'm sure there are still a few questions, but we all feel comfortable with each other and can help work well together.
Elder Cary is the branch president as well as a humanitarian missionary and also supports two young missionary teams in town. He is one busy man. A new elder was transferred to Podgorica and needed information and his signature to get his Montenegro visa. The Cary,s love and care for the missionaries.
One evening we went to English class with them and met members of the class from the community. We had our picture taken with David, who is a successful Roma (gypsy) orphan. He works tirelessly to help an orphanage in town.
Us on a windy fall afternoon in Montenegro
My birthday fell on one of our training days, so we all went out for dinner and celebrated.
Great soup, it was called pottage soup. It tasted like a split pea with some type of grain in it. It was very good and hearty.
I had steak and ribs... yum! I've never had it so good on a mission!
Outside the restaurant are sidewalk tables for diners in the warmer weather. It was in the 40's that night.
Another day we drove to the coast to see the Adriatic Sea and some coastal cities.
It was a cool day with gusty winds.
Beautiful shoreline, some of the beaches had more rocks than sand.
That didn't matter because we weren't going in for a swim today.
Narrow city street with lots of shops.
Restaurant Izvor and its menu
Elder Cary is a real missionary and works to place a Book of Mormon every week. We bought some fruit and talked with the vendors.
This is a beautiful Orthodox church in town
There are steep cliffs along the coast. The wind was so strong it almost blew us off.
We found a cafe on the beach for lunch.
Another night we went to see the Little Niagara Falls and have dinner at the restaurant there.
Here is the falls. It's about 50 meters wide and lots of water flowing today. the river feeding the falls is invisible... there is a wide river basin that fills in the rainy season, but there was a deep trench (like a slot canyon) at the bottom of the river bed that was filled with fast moving river water. Some crazy people kayak through the narrow trench.
Love this lady so much! It is such a blessing to share this experience together.
Grandma had two trout for her dinner entree.
...and ate them both. Well she did have a little help.
The outside tables were empty because of the cold weather, but in the warmer weather it is packed.
Five days of training, English class, visits to see a potential humanitarian project and meet with an organization with whom we can partner. We met the young elders, toured the chapel, walked the streets, had dinner and enjoyed every moment of this assignment.
We saw the sun set as we were flying home. There are some spectacular views here with mountains, lakes, Adriatic Sea and a wonderful new culture to enjoy. We know the Cary couple will do great work to serve the needs of the poor in Montenegro.
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