Saying goodbye to Bosnia and hello to Croatia...

It's been a busy two weeks since I last updated, and we have also since changed location! The week before last was our retreat for the house churches, which we taught at. It was a great week!  I loved getting to see all the house churches come together to spend time like one big family. I taught my topic Tuesday morning and didn't feel very nervous, which was an exciting first! Haha the whole week was busy and tiring, but so much fun! We had a trampoline that we could go on with the kids and lots of beautiful places to walk. Speaking of the kids, Anna and I had them the majority of the week, which was fun but exhausting! It has been a challenge for me throughout the past month to deal with the language barrier, but at least with kids it's a little easier because they just want to play. Also, I think in that week I learned more Bosnian than the 6 weeks before! Hahah the kids were always trying to teach me new words while we were playing games. The week flew by quicker than I expected and before I knew it the retreat was over, and we were driving back into Sarajevo.

Our last weekend and half week in Sarajevo was wonderful, but sad. Saturday we finally made it to the pool, which was probably our most relaxing day off of our entire outreach. Haha I needed and really loved just laying out in the sun and swimming in the awesome pool. Plus it was great to spend the day with Larry and Jill just chatting and enjoying a peaceful afternoon. Sunday we made our last trip to the NATO base, which was also a little sad. We had a great time though. Monday morning we went to the Children's Center. We took some bags of groceries and a bag of balloons and went to say goodbye. It was tough to say goodbye to all those kids that we had so much fun playing with, and it was really tough to say goodbye to the women that worked there and love on those kids every day. Tuesday we went into the center and walked through the markets for the last time. We had lunch at our favorite place, ate our favorite meal, and then I went souvenir and gift shopping. Wednesday morning we did a deep clean of our lovely apartment and said a few more goodbyes before heading off to the bus station. 

Driving away from Sarajevo was surreal. It didn't feel like we were actually leaving. I remember the night we first arrived in Sarajevo. It was late and the lights of the city were beautiful, everything seemed to sparkle. I was so excited for outreach and what this city would teach me. Well two months later, we are driving away and sad to see it behind us. The time we spent was extremely challenging at times, but there were also wonderful moments that made every tough time worth it. We grew as individuals and as a team. We are a family. I've finally hit the point of dreading to say goodbye to these amazing people in just 5 short weeks. It will be weird to be home and not wake up to all of them sitting around the breakfast table waiting to start the day. I will stop there before I make myself cry. Haha

So we travelled to Mostar, BiH on Wednesday afternoon. The views traveling into the Herzegovina section of Bosnia were beautiful. We made it there in a little over two hours and when we arrived at the bus station were greeted by the hostel owners who were there to pick up our luggage so we didn't have to carry our massive backpacks in the heat to the hostels. It was so sweet and so appreciated. The hostel was great! They really make an effort to have a family environment. In the evenings they have all the people staying at the hostel down to the patio for Bosnian coffee. Thursday we did some team debrief work, then had lunch and headed out to swim in the river! The river was beautiful but very cold and very strong. It was so hot though that the cold water felt amazing. You just jump in, swim around for 10 seconds, then jump out and warm up in the sun. Walking back from swimming I had an interesting interaction. A street child that was out begging came up to our group after her mother spotted us and sent her in our direction. When she came up I said no, but apparently she didn't like that answer so she smacked me... On the butt... I only had a swim suit on, so it was literally on the butt. Yeah, so that was a moment that I was thankful for self control. My initial reaction was to pop her for smacking me, but knew that wouldn't be the greatest idea, plus we were out in the main street. I also realized that she doesn't really know too much better. I mean, she should... But being raised in the streets forces them to be more aggressive and rough, especially since the parents are often rough and abusive.  . Anyways, Mostar was beautiful, and it was also a much needed bit of down time.

Now onto Croatia! What can I say? I'm in heaven. Haha I've been dreaming of going to Croatia every since I started watching ER? There was a really good looking guy that was Croatian and his language sounded cool. Lame, but hey it is what it is. Moving on... Croatia is beyond beautiful. It's warm and sunny, and there are palm trees! Didn't realize how much I had missed them until they were there in front of me. Also, the sea is incredible! The water is sooo clear and blue and AH. So nice. We got to explore Split Friday afternoon, which was awesome. It seems very Italian in many places. We got to explore Diocletian's Palace, which is now full of shops, apartments and awesome places to eat. At 8pm we got on a boat to take us to Trogir, and it was the most beautiful ride ever. There are mountainous island everywhere. The sun was just starting to go down, so we enjoyed a beautiful sunset. An hour later we docked in Trogir and made our way to our apartment. The apartment is great. It has enough beds for everyone and two full bathrooms which is such a blessing. A new experience here has been no A/C in the house, so it's hot. There is a mini A/C in the kitchen, but it doesn't quite reach all of the apartment. Also, there is no hot water. But the combination of these two things work well together! You're hot, so you go take a cold shower, and it's all good. Haha :) 

This week we will be working an English camp! I think it's going to be a lot of fun! We are doing in like 2 minutes from the sea so there is a lovely breeze, and we by a swim break! Woo! I think is will be a great end to our outreach! In closing, Friday we fly back to the Czech Republic. I'm so excited to see the rest of our team! I'm sad that our time of traveling is over though. I have learned to love the roads between locations and the excitement of being in a new place. 

P.S.  I'm getting super tan :)

XOXO