Sunday in Tuzla, Bosnia

Saturday, the Winters picked us up in Sarajevo and drove us the 2 ½ hours to Tuzla, Bosnia which is a pretty college town where they live.

We stayed in the Tuzla Hotel which was clean and modern, but had an elevator that quit working for ten minutes while we were stuck inside one day.  (Rebecca refused to use that elevator again, making Randy wait while she used the second elevator). 

The hotel included a continental breakfast with a wide variety of cheeses, meats, fruits (I had dates every morning) and typical other breakfast items.

Breakfast meat was either brats or hot dogs.

The cold cereal includes muesli (which Rebecca eats everyday with yogurt).  The other cold cereals tend to have the texture and 'stick to your teeth' quality of "Captn Crunch."  Randy eats those twice a day.

Delicious soft cheese : I love all the variety of flavors

Meat pate

Chocolate and hazelnut cremes : not blended like Nutella, but side by side

After breakfast we wandered alongside a canal/ river with many small vegetable gardens along the sides. (Virtually every home in Bosnia had a garden and fruit trees). In one garden we saw a lot of sticks piled up around a tree like a teepee.  While we were watching a lady who had obviously spent the night there came out to put on her shoes. 

 (We wound our way thru town, passing lots of people - I did not feel comfortable taking their pictues - lining the sidewalks selling food from their home gardens, mostly tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.  Eventually we found a market with mostly fruits and veggies, but also some cheeses, flowers, and inexpensive clothes and shoes).

Pumpkins in lots of different colors, like in New Zealand

One vendor had this great old scale with weights

Locally grown blackberries and blueberries

Local statuary : a mother goat. We then went to church in a lovely, new rented storefront room of a building, right in downtown, across from the public park and near the only Orthodox church in town.  About 20 people showed up including some investigators (4 senior missionaries, 4 elders, and about 10 members).  The nation of Bosnia is Muslim and the locals attending church were either converted from Islam or were Muslim investigators.  I spoke on the Beatitudes.(Rebecca spoke on ‘pure religion’ and acts of charity.  The elders translated our talks) Back row L-R  Elder Quinn (who happens to be from Flower Mound, TX and had a great bishop, Bishop Van Cosby!), Amela, Sonja, Elder Kroff, Elder Stuart, Valentino, Elder/Sister Stay   Front row L-R  Jasmina, Sister Susan Winter, investigator?, Dijana, Milka.   Milka (great name: in Hebrew it means "queen" : she was  pleased) rode a bus for 2 1/2 hours to get to church, arriving at 7:30 AM. Amelia is a new member whose English was awesome. Across from the church is this resort, built around Europe's largest natural salt lake.  They have added pools, waterfalls and fountains