Trip to Banja Luka and Sarajevo

When we did the Church videotaping in Bosnia, we met a young woman (not a member of the Church) who was wonderful at translating from Bosnian into English.  She had a wonderful spirit about her, so we invited her to join us when we traveled to the other cities in Bosnia to help us during our 5-day production.  She was a good friend of the missionaries and started taking the lessons.  About one month ago we received a phone call from her that she had decided to join the Church.  We were elated.  It was such a sweet experience to get a phone call from her, using the missionaries' phone as she wanted to tell us personally.  We were so excited and happy for her.  We really wanted to attend her baptism even though it is about an 8-hour drive.  We decided at the last minute that we just needed to go to be a support to the young woman. 

We had been wanting to visit the Banja Luka Branch in Bosnia to interview a gentleman who had attended over 100 English Conversation Group meetings.   Elder and Sister Brewer, who serve in Banja Luka arranged for us to interview several ECG students for short articles. It was so enjoyable to learn why these busy people take the time to attend the ECG meetings. One grandmother shared "that her daughter and grandchildren are learning English and she didn't want to be left in the dust."
   

We also interviewed three members who shared their faith in Christ with us for this year's Easter campaign on social media. Perry took photos of them and also took photos during the ECG class.
   

Friday we drove from Banja Luka to Sarajevo and enjoyed dinner with Elder and Sister Cooper who are Humanitarian missionaries with LDS Charities. It was nice to learn about their projects in Bosnia and one with refugees in Croatia. Sarajevo is one of our favorite cities. We enjoyed walking around the old town and sampling pastries and candy.
   
On Saturday, we attended the wonderful baptism and on Sunday we spoke in Church! Our church congregations are so small that when visitors come they are usually asked to speak on Sunday! Perry gave the message dearest to his heart that he had given in our branch.  The message was particularly poignant for a country with the most horrendous civil injustices and ethnic cleansing just 25 years ago.  The message is that the gospel of Jesus Christ can heal relationships, communities, and nations. He told the experience of Joseph Smith, our first prophet with a close friend, W.W. Phelps who betrayed him and which resulted in much suffering for the early Saints.  Later, brother Phelps asked Joseph to forgive him and to allow him to join again with the Saints.  Joseph forgave him and said, "friends at first are friends at last." Perry suggested that the power of forgiveness and the gospel of Jesus Christ could heal even nations.