Team Croatia Missions Trip - Day 6

Day 6, Saturday- We hit the town of Cakovec again for witnessing. Brett took this particular corner. The first few days of weather had been pretty mild, cool actually. It was now starting to really heat up.

We all took a break at one of the cafes in the square for drinks and ice cream. There were tons of these stores that sold gelato, that was more of an "ice" than a "cream" and had wonderful swirls of real fruit and stuff in it.

At least I got a Coke Zero, still wanted it iced, however. This place made we wish we had little outdoor cafes where we could all meet up together every afternoon.

Reuben finishes up his ice cream.

Alen, who was from Croatia, joined us for several of our outings that week. He was a great guy and was a tremendous help in translating for us.

What's up Digger?

Saturday afternoon we drove out an hour or so to have a picnic by this river, enjoy the sunshine, and see a little more of the country. Due to a lot of rain, the river was pretty high, and we had some difficulty getting down to this spot from the roads. There was even some roadblocks set up, where the path was blocked up with rocks and dirt. We thought that warning must not apply to us, so our four vehicle caravan drove up a steep enbankment to the side of the roadblock and we forged on through to the picnic site. If we could drive around it here, it should be no problem getting out. (Do you sense any foreshadowing yet?)

Jared and Justin set up fishing lines.

Cody, the oldest son of the Leslie family.

Justin

Bethanny and Lizzie

Lacey and me

Rebekah, daughter of the Croatian national pastor. I loved how you pronounced her name, it was RAY-bek-ah, and remember to roll the R. Isn't she a cutie?

And here's the group right before we leave the picnic site and head back to Cakovec. This actually could have been an eerie "before" picture . . .as in, this was right before I broke some bones, got stitches, etc. Remember back in Day One, I said stay tuned for drama with the Toastermobile? Here it is. Just after this was taken, we all loaded back up into the vans. The missionary families were in their own vehicles, some of our group went in the Leslies' van, and the rest of us got in the rental van (the Toastermobile). We headed out on the dirt roads that would lead us back to the town we were residing in, but didn't go back the way we came, instead following the river and coming to another roadblock of dirt and gravel. It was a pretty steep enbankment on the side, but we really didn't have a choice but to rev it up and drive up the slope in order to get out to the main roads. The first van charged up the hill and made it to the top of the slope. It was our turn.

We got a good start going, but just as we headed up the slope, the left side of the van sank in the wet ground and all of a sudden, we are stuck with the van leaning over at a terrible angle. It's hard to explain, but it was not a good situation at all. We all kind of froze inside the van, not knowing what to do. The wheels were stuck, so it wasn't going to be moving any more forward, but it felt like it was about to roll over any moment. With 9 passengers in it, if it started rolling, it was not going to be a pretty sight. Maybe what freaked me out more, was when I saw the people in the first van get out and run toward us with panicked looks on their faces. Hhhm, maybe we are in deep trouble . . . I braced my hands against the roof of the van, thinking that if it started rolling I could maybe protect my neck from hitting first. We all kind of didn't know whether to remain completely still or to climb out of the right side of the van, hoping that the shift in weight wouldn't set everything in motion. The rest of the group was surrounding us by now and they told us to climb out as fast as we can. So, we did that. Thankfully, the van did not tip over as we exited to right. After several minutes of discussion, one of the Croatian guys climbed into the van and was able to drive it out of its predicament. We were so thankful that no one was injured and that we didn't have to explain to the van rental place why we were returning a damaged vehicle. We all breathed a sigh of relief and agreed that it would definitely be a story to tell later at home. I know several people have pictures of the whole incident, but my camera was in the van. I'll have to borrow someone's picture and post it sometime.

Anyway, we were able to drive back the other way and made it "home" later that evening.

Team Croatia Missions Trip - Day 5

Friday morning, we held the last day of Bible classes for the children. Every day, they were such a treat and it was so rewarding to work with the kids. The language barrier was still somewhat an issue, but we heavily relied on the few kids who could interpret to the others for us. We tried to push ourselves out of our comfort zone too and attempt to communicate back to them in their own language, though the kids had no problem laughing at our attempts.

What would Vacation Bible School be without flannelgraph? As Melissa and Pastor Rich told of the story of the conversion of Paul, Jason and Lacey worked the flannel board.

Our second activity was much like hot potato. They passed around a package that was several layers of wrapping and between each layer was a bunch of candy. When it stopped at a kid, they had the option to keep the candy for themself, or to share it with others.

They were all very interested in getting the candy.

We did some more face painting, and little Viktorija chose a pretty flower.

Some of them asked to have our names painted on their faces. It was striking to see possibly how much impact you could have on a young life in such a short span of time.

Brett performs his famous Missing Wedding Ring trick for Stoijan. Given the stories we had been told about the gypsy population, I was concerned that one of them might pull a sleight of hand of their own and the ring would go missing for sure. But we didn't come across any of that, and the kids were surprisingly well behaved the whole week. They were energetic at times, but they all got involved in the activities and crafts we did, and seemed to enjoy the three mornings of class.

The kids loved to have their picture taken. We were happy to oblige.

In the afternoon, we went to another town nearby named Verazdin (Vuh-rahj-din). It also had beautiful castles and a quaint village feel. It was rainy that day, so the missionaries told us not to expect too many people outside. There is a mindset that wet weather causes people to fall ill, so most of them stay inside when it's raining. They also feel the same way about ice cubes and cold drinks, which I had a very hard time getting used to. About four days in, I wasn't the only one who was craving a Big Gulp with tons of ice.

I love how neat and clean the streets are leading towards the main village square.

This statue was outside one of the churches. Notice how the toe has changed color from so many people rubbing it or kissing it for good luck.


Brett's Grgur Ninski impression.

It seemed like every rooftop in the country was the same color.

Team Croatia Missions Trip -Day 4

I was hoping I would recap the missions trip on a daily basis, but unfortunately, real life gets me sidetracked too often.

Day 4 in Croatia was a Thursday. The ladies held Vacation Bible School for the children again in the morning, while the guys headed out to the town square. Still, quite a few kids showed up that day, maybe even a few more from the day before. Our team brought white t-shirts and fabric markers and let them all design their own shirt to keep. I must have left my camera behind that day, because I have no pictures of that morning.

After lunch, the whole group headed into the main part of Cakovec to witness to the locals, pass out tracts, and meet people.



Down that pathway is the main square of the town, with shops and eateries along the side. The buildings and architecture are stunning and quaint at the same time. The team split up in small groups of two and three and stationed ourselves at various spots around the square.

Lizzie stood at a corner in front of a bank. In contrast to our Ireland trip, we really had to break through the language barrier. We weren't able to converse in Croatian, and most Croatians spoke very little English, if at all. Typically, the younger ones had a greater chance of knowing English. However, the tracts we handed out were all written in Croatian, so our job was to hand out as many as we could, and if they happened to speak English, then we could start a conversation with them.

Here's Brett, in his Titleist visor :) speaking with a couple of people. Most of our encounters started us with saying, Dobre dan, meaning hello. We would ask if they spoke English. If they said no, we would hand them a tract and tell them it was for them to read and have a good day. If they said yes, then we told them we were from America, and came over to their country to spread the good news that Jesus loves them. We said, there are a lot of religions out there that teach you have to DO something in order to earn salvation, but Jesus Christ died on the cross so that you DON'T have to do anything, but accept the free gift he gave. In our limited English conversations, we tried to convey the grace the Christ offers frees them from the bondage of sin and works. Several people were saved as a result of conversations like this throughout the week.

Lizzie and me at the end of the afternoon. We got to know each other really well on this trip, and I believe that she's a fantastic friend who is fun to hang out with. Lizzie is going through medical school, is "wicked smahrt", and she is the person to go to if you ever want to learn more about microphagia, western blots, and all other cellular biology topics. Her heart seeks to serve the Lord and I'm already praying that her medical residency keeps her in Toledo, because I would sure hate for her to have to give up her medical career to stay in this area :)

The castle in Cakovec. I'm sure it has some official name, but I forget it now.

More of the castle.

At the end of the afternoon, we went walking around for awhile, taking in the sights of the town.

Thursday evening was the second night of the evening meetings at the Baptist Church. Jeff spoke with the help of Pastor Rich, the translator. It must be difficult to speak only a sentence or two at a time, then pause while it is spoken in another language. Listening to it, however, wasn't a problem at all and your mind got used to the back and forth sounds.

Stay tuned for Day 5 . . .

Team Croatia Missions Trip - Day 3

On Wednesday, we began the morning with breakfast and then a morning session with Jeff Cox. Brett and I have known him since our good ole' days at High Street in Springfield, Missouri, and he's currently on the staff at Kansas City Baptist Temple. For our American group, he taught in the morning and led a series on beings mimics of Christ. Excellent series. . . I always learn so much from Jeff's lessons, and Team Croatia was definitely blessed.

On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning, the ladies organized a Vacation Bible School for the kids at the church. From 10-12, we had Bible stories, made a craft, sang songs, and played a game. We had around 25 kids show up on the first day, many of which come from the gypsy villages. The Roma people, or gypsies, are sort of a separate group from the Croatians, and many of them live together in villages, which are typically poverty-stricken, delapidated communities. I didn't get the chance to drive over to any of the villages, but the ones who did see them said that they were heartbreaking. Jared saw a young girl, probably around 3 years old, sitting outside naked. Her father sat at the door of their house, refusing to let her inside, but forced her to stay in the open in hopes of garnering sympathy and/or money. The missionaries told us it was not uncommon for the children to be outside with very little clothing during the winter months. It was eye opening to realize how bleak living conditions were for certain people. Yet, we were also surprised at how loving and open many of these children were.



Melissa practices her designs for the face painting. It was a huge hit, the kids loved having their faces painted.

While the girls did the Bible school, the guys hit the streets of Cakovec and did some witnessing.

Pastor Rich interpreted for us that day. It took some getting used to, not being able to quickly communicate. For one activity, we split up into two groups and taught them Acts 16:31 in English. Afterwards, we had them teach it to us in Croatian. They had no reservations at all about laughing at our attempts to speak their language, especially the most difficult part, which was trying roll the "r"s. Some of the kids knew a little English, so they helped us talk to the other kids. We quickly got over being self-conscious and jumped right in, in attempts to reach out to another culture. It was good for us to get out of our comfort zone.

This was Viktorija, who had such a cute little face! One of the keys I learned to the language was that their j's sound like our y's.

I forget this girl's name, but she was very kind and was there every morning.

The first day of Vacation Bible School.

The Croation language must have a sense of humor . . .the abbreviation for the United States of America is SAD.

Of all the relationships I developed on the trip, this picture represents one of the most moving. Meet Elvira, the girl in the middle. Don't think of the Oak Ridge boys' pronounciation, but once you correctly roll the "r", it sounds more like Elvita. Brett just ended up affectionately calling her Velveeta all week, we had to explain to her that he was calling her a cheese. Anyway, when we broke up into two groups to teach each other the Bible verse in our respective languages, she was in my group. She probably spoke the most English out of the group, so I used her a lot to be my translator. Elvira was very patient with me as I attempted to speak my first Croatian phrase, Vjeruj u Gospodina Isus Krista ce biti spasen (or something like that . . . Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.) It was one of those times where you just instantly connect with someone and have a friendship. Of course, it helped when she looked at me and said, You . . are . . very . . pretty. Hhhm, crazy, but I really, really like this girl for some reason!! Besides that, though, she was very helpful as she helped both the Americans and the Croatian kids to communicate to each other during the week.

The day was also Hannah's birthday. She is the daughter of the missionary family, the Leslies. Hannah was a super sweetheart, she jumped right in and started teaching us Croatian words, and filling us in on the culture. Her parents said there aren't many people she can speak English with, and that really made us think of how lonely and isolated missionaries and their children can get. Hannah is a very bright young lady, and she was so encouraging to us Americans as we were trying to adjust to a foreign culture. Her mother, Tori, baked her a cake and we sang happy birthday to her after the evening church service.

Afterwards, we went back to the Baptist Union and gave her some gifts. Our group stopped at a store on the way to find presents to give her, which gave us one of the trip's funny memories. About 7 of us barge into the store, and start scouring the shelves for possible gifts. We are all chatting back and forth across the aisles, trying to do the Kuna to Dollars currency exchange, loudly saying, Will this work? What about this? How much does this cost? Who cares? We felt like we definitely confirmed the Loud American stereotype. Oh well, we just wanted to do something nice for her and let Hannah know we appreciated her.

Team Croatia Missions Trip -Days 1 & 2

From July 6-16th, a group from our church, Toledo Baptist Temple, embarked on a trip to Croatia to take part in fulfulling a commission given to us to "Go". It was such a rewarding time, and the sights and experiences were so monumental and breathtaking that it seems a little overwhelming to attempt to describe it in one entry. And, though I tend to be quiet in real life, I lean towards wordy once my fingers are on a keyboard . . .so there's your warning. My plan is to recap the trip day-by-day to give a glimpse to those that prayed for us and were involved with the team even as they remained stateside. I took nearly 400 pictures during the week, but will try to pick the highlights.

The first picture I took was at the airport in Amsterdam. Our team of 15 people had made the overnight flight from Detroit to Amsterdam without a hitch, and not until we were checking in for our flight from there to Croatia did we realize that there was a huge glitch. Except for one person, all of our tickets from Amsterdam to Zagreb, Croatia had been cancelled. A massive blame game ensued - KLM pinned it on our travel agent, who knew NWA was to blame, who thought Croatia Air was guilty . . .or something like that, I still don't understand it. It was a very confusing, high-pressure situation that ended up with customer service people vacating their desks, several phone calls to the States at 3 am their time, and about 5 people yelling at Brett and our group who insisted we cut in line when we were simply moving around to another counter like the customer service ladies asked us to do. It was actually getting sort of so hilariously serious that I had to snap a picture.

The part that didn't make sense about our tickets supposedly being cancelled in June, was that all our luggage was still tagged to arrive in Zagreb. Had our second flight been cancelled, wouldn't our luggage have been set to arrive in Amsterdam only? Anyway, it was a GREAT start to the trip, but with some quick thinking and flexibility, we were able to work out a solution. Half of the group were still able to get on the original flight, and we were assured that everyone's luggage would arrive with them. The other half got on a flight to Budapest, Hungary and Brett's brother, an international tour director, was able to help make arrangements for a driver to meet us at the airport and drive us 3.5 hours to Croatia.

Here we are in the van riding from Budapest to Croatia. We don't remember much about the ride, most of us slept the whole time.

Everyone was finally reunited at the Baptist Union, where we stayed for the duration of the trip. It was actually a great facility for missions groups to lodge at, with double-bed rooms and private bathrooms, a decent kitchen, and large meeting room. It was located in Poleve, which was only 10 minutes away from the church we were working with in Cakovec, pronounced "chock-o-vitz", or, for our group, "chexmix". Everyone arrived to the Union by Tuesday evening, July 7th. The missionaries, the Leslie family, met us there and a couple women in their church cooked us a traditional Croatian meal of stuffed green peppers, potatoes, and sweet cornbread. It was very delicious and we were finally able to relax after the stress of getting to our destination. In the area we were in, there were lots of cornfields, and it looked a lot like Ohio.

The sun setting on the corn fields was a beautiful sight. Also in the picture is the van we rented, which Jason said felt like driving a toaster. Look for an upcoming entry on Day 6 for drama surrounding the Toastermobile.

Here is the church in Cakovec, the Neovisna Baptisticka Crkva Stablo Zivota (Independent Baptist Church, Tree of Life). Johnny Leslie, the missionary, and a Croatian national, Pastor Rich, work together to pastor this church and also one in Verazdin, about 20 minutes away. Our group planned to split our time between the two works. Tomorrow begins the actual mission work . . .