Getting acquainted with our new city

Elder and Sister Newton left us on Tuesday morning so we are really on our own now.  I have had a cold all week so we stayed pretty close to home.  We did venture out to Penny Plus to pick up a few items for the apartment.  Penny Plus is kind of like Home Depot but also has a section similar to K-Mart or maybe a dollar store quality where we bought a trash can and some baskets/bins to keep things in the kitchen and bathroom.  We have learned that the tenants are responsible for repairs and upkeep in an apartment.  John wanted to buy a pair of pliers at Penny Plus but couldn't find any that weren't tin snips or needle nose or vice grips.  He finally ended up with an offset pair that seem to do what he needs.  He has the faucets cleaned and running properly now and the shower drain unclogged.

The front of our apartment building

We live on the second floor (or first if you are European and number the ground floor as 0).  We have a similar balcony on the back side as well.  There is only one apartment per floor.  The third floor is still under construction so no one is above us yet.  The landlord lives in Switzerland; the manager lives on the ground floor with his brother.  He speaks a little English and is very nice.  He brought us some baklava and another pastry I don't know the name of but it was delicious.  He said he made them - we want to remain on good terms so he brings us more!

Another view of the building and our mission car

There are several embassy employee homes around us.  I believe the one next door is Turkish.  I don't know who is behind us but they appear to have a play group or maybe daycare.  We see several children and moms in the yard and we hear them teaching the children English sometimes.

The mission car is a nice Hyundai sedan.  We have to share with the elders and sisters if they plan exchanges in a different city and at transfer times.  The elders live about two blocks from the chapel.  The sisters are a little further out but they are right on the tram route.  We like the traffic light system here - if a light is green, it flashes four times as a warning, then turns orange, then red.  If a light is red, it turns orange before turning green.  Drivers are fairly courteous for the most part, although they love to use their horns.  We are slowly leaning to find our way around with the help of Google Maps.  We have a GPS but it's no help in Bosnia.  We only use it when we're in Croatia.

Our lovely red kitchen

The small fridge is on the right of the oven.  If we turn it up high enough to keep the food cold, it will freeze the food at the back.  The freezer is below the fridge.  The sink is a shallow basin that splashes when you turn the water on.  We do have a dishwasher that works well.  I would trade it for a disposal but those aren't allowed here.  The stove top is next to the sink.  Virtually no counter space.

The living room with yellow leather furniture

We are very comfortable here, even if we miss all the comforts of home we are used to.  The washer will hold only 4-5 white shirts at a time so we are doing laundry frequently.  The machine is a combination washer/dryer but the dryer doesn't really dry anything.  I had two towels in it for four hours and they still weren't dry.  So we hang everything on drying racks in the extra bedroom.

Saturday we explored a little and found some addresses where we have appointments next week.  Then we did the grocery shopping.  We take our list and the phone with google translate so we can sort of know what we are buying.  We thought we were buying a dry soup mix but further translating tells us we have a spicy cake of chili peppers.  Definitely not what we wanted.  I wanted some celery and ended up with the whole tree.

This is how we buy celery in Sarajevo

It is as tall as the inside of the fridge so it had to be cut up before it went in.

Wednesday was district meeting.  The zone leader and companion were down from Banja Luka for visa issues so they joined us.  We informed the missionaries that we have been instructed to start doing apartment inspections.  They haven't been taking place and we were told to make sure we do them monthly going forward.

Zone Conference was Friday.  We were happy it was held in Sarajevo so we didn't have to travel anywhere.  There are four sisters and six elders serving in Bosnia.  Only one other senior couple; they serve in Banja Luka.  Bosnia is all one zone.  President and Sister Melonakos arrived Thursday evening and we had dinner with them.  The AP's drove down from Zagreb for zone conference as well.  President Melonakos stayed the weekend to conduct Branch Conference and change the branch leadership.  Elder Cooper is now the Branch President of the Sarajevo Branch.  The first counselor is an American embassy worker, the second counselor is a young elder in Tuzla.  Same thing for Relief Society; the president and first counselor are in Sarajevo, the second counselor is in Tuzla. 

We both spoke in Sacrament meeting today.  We prepare a talk half as long as our allotted time to allow for the translation.  Today only one local member was at church and one investigator, along with the embassy families and the missionaries.  Guess they heard who was speaking.

The city is about 85% Muslim so it's a little like living in Utah and having a chapel on every corner - there is a mosque on every corner here.  We hear the call to prayer five times a day and the bells of the orthodox church four times, we think.  The bells chime at 6 am, noon, 6 pm and 10 pm.  The call to prayer times vary depending on sunrise and sunset.  We haven't quite figured out when to listen for it.  We like these reminders that we are living in a different country with a different culture.  Sarajevo is surrounded by mountains so we are also reminded of home with the frequent smog and inversions.

We know we are bring watched over by a loving Father in Heaven, who loves all of His children.  We appreciate your prayers on our behalf and for all the missionaries.