Today is Women's day! For breakfast we had sausage, eggs, and bread. There was also Euro Kreme! Euro kreme is kind of like nutella, but its tastier and is split between chocolate and plain/vanilla.. though it doesnt really taste like vanilla. Anyways, we put it on our bread with breakfast and it is absolutely divine. If you're ever in Europe, definitely pick some up at the local grocery. After breakfast, we finished getting ready and met the rest of the team (Liberty) outside. We met Suzi, and she walked with us past the river (a beautiful walk we enjoyed each morning), to go to an open air market. Feeling adventurous, I decided to practice my Bosnian along the way. Unfortunately, I mixed up "good morning" and "good evening". So, at 8:00 am, I walked down the streets saying good evening to numerous Bosnians. They eached laughed and responded with good morning. It took me awhile to realize my mistake. Anyways, as a sidenote and Bosnian lesson, "Dobro jutro" (doe-broe you-troe) is good morning, and "Dobro veče" (doe-broe vay-chay) is good evening. Once arriving at the center, we helped the mission's team set up for women's day. Women's day is one day a year when women in Bosnia feel valued and appreciated, similar to our mother's day. The center prepares a lunch, and usually decorates for the occasion, welcoming in Bosnian women for food and games. This year, the theme was Hawaiian luao haha! We sat with the women and attempted some small talk, though our Bosnian was extremely limited on the second day. (Personally, I really enjoyed the language and tried to learn as much as possible during my time there). For women's day, the lunch was prepared and served by the men, whom were dressed in hawaiian shirts and grass skirts, for our laughable enjoyment. We also got to learn a dance the women do in Bosnia - somewhat relatable to Greek wedding dances (in a circle dancing around the room). We also played limbo and had a hula-hooping contest after lunch. Many of the Bosnian women hadn't hula-hooped before so they found this quite funny. When the women finished up, we received kisses as goodbyes along with plenty of ciao!'s and "vidimo se's" (veedeemoe say - see you later). After cleaning up lunch, we received a very brief orientation. The main idea was to not be product oriented, that our time in Bosnia was about demonstrating the love of Christ, not seeing results. We were also warned that if we admire something of a Bosnian's, they will probably give it to us, despite their financial circumstances. We then went home for dinner with Amila, Figrette, and Almin. For dinner we had a potatoe patty, soup, bread, and some kind of meat - resembling a pork chop. After dinner, myself and a couple other girls went to the weekly girls night held at the center. It is an outreach for middle school and high school girls in the town. A couple of the young women at the hope center set it up, and Bosnian girls come each week, along with the missionary's teenage daughter. To our relief, many of the girls were practically fluent in english and bosnian. We ate pizza, played games, and just hung out talking.. it was a really enjoyable experience but at the same time sad that these girls don't have Christ, and yet it is illegal to simply shair the gospel with them. Spending time with them really confirmed in my spirit that God is opening doors for me to minister to girls and young women, He truly breaks my heart for their lives.
My prayer is that He will always burn my heart for missions.
Love, amber
Here are some pictures!
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| Women's Day |
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| Girl's night |
