Sunday March 31, 2019

This week was transfers, which means we were without a car from Sunday evening to Wednesday night.  We had an appointment Monday morning with an NGO located down the street from the chapel. We rode the tram downtown.  In all the time we have been here, we have never had our tickets checked by the tram "police."  Or even seen anyone checking tickets.  That day we were checked twice, and of course it was the day John's ticket wouldn't go through the machine.  We bought the tickets at the kiosk at the bottom of our road and hopped on the next tram.  The magnetic strip on John's ticket was coming off and refused to go into the slot.  We didn't worry too much - as I said, no one ever checks the tickets.  A couple stops down the track, the checkers got on the train and asked for tickets.  Of course they don't speak English.  John tried to explain the ticket wouldn't go into the machine.  They took us off the tram and tried to give us a 26 mark fine.  I kept handing it back to him and saying, "ne, ne."  He kept pointing to the English below the strip that states it is illegal to tamper with the ticket.  Is he thinking we went to the trouble to purchase a ticket, then messed with the magnetic strip so it can't be date stamped?  Then he starts saying "policija?"  And we say, "yes, call the police."  Meanwhile, he's handing John the fine and I'm handing it back.  This continues for a couple minutes until he confers with his buddy, who shrugs and tells us to get on the next tram.  The officer there initials John's ticket and tears a corner off.  How hard was that?  At the very next stop, another checker gets on.  This time it's my ticket because the stamp must match the number of the tram you are on.  Fortunately the passenger next to me spoke English and explained.  He took my ticket and walked away shaking his head.  My new friend rolled her eyes and said "welcome to Bosnia."

The meeting with the NGO was much nicer.  We were meeting to discuss a possible project with them.  They presented us with a poster-size thank you.  We said it was very kind but that we hadn't done anything yet.

Thank you from CVW

This NGO works with civilian victims of war.  We are going to submit a school backpack project that our branch can do as a service project - assembling the school supplies and backpacks.  It should be fairly simple, we just need to get it submitted and approved.

It was a beautiful spring day so we decided to walk part way home.  We just kept going all the way, just under 7k.  We could have taken a taxi but we weren't getting back on the tram.

On one of our walks this week we saw another first - a fire hydrant.

Fire hydrant on a Sarajevo street corner

We need to ask a local about this, but it looks like the hydrant apparatus isn't there until it is needed.  They open the water cover and attach it, then remove it when finished.  We don't recall seeing another one anywhere in the city.

If you have access to the European or Croatian issue of the April Liahona, we are the centerfold story.

Page 1 of Liahona article

Page 2 of Liahona article

Sorry, I've rotated the photos every which way and can't get them to stay right-side up.  The public affairs couple took the pictures and sent them to us.  Not sure if that's why or more likely my in-expertise at fault.  Anyway, this is about the laundry facility we built at the refugee center in Zagreb.

We have a busy travel week ahead.  We are grateful to be here and for all of your prayers on our behalf.