Training in Montenegro

Montenegro This Week

We've been here for five weeks and one of our humanitarian couples has returned home and a new couple has arrived, so it's time to go train them. We are going to fly through Ljubljana, Slovenia and then on to Podgorica, Montenegro where we will meet the Cary couple from Colorado. We're a little nervous and a little excited about our trip, but it will be a great experience.

Our friends the Canfields took us to the Frankfurt airport early Tuesday morning. We couldn't find the drop off point for  terminal 1, so we went back to Terminal 2 to get dropped off and took the train that shuttles travelers between the terminals and in a few minutes we were at Terminal 1. We found the boarding pass machine and scanned our passports, punched in the right numbers for our reservation and out came our boarding passes. We didn't check any bags, but we each took a carry-on bag. We found out you don't carry it on the plane, but rather check it just before boarding the plane and then they have it ready for you to pickup at the bottom of the stairs when you arrive.

Waiting patiently for boarding time

On board and winging our way to Montenegro via Slovakia

Beautiful Ljubljana, Slovakia

The Carys greeted us at the airport and drove us back to our hotel.

 The M Nikic Hotel was very nice and included a breakfast buffet

Our room had two twin beds

We went to the Cary,s apartment and got to know them and scheduled our training plans for the week and also their appointments. We're all set for a busy week.

Training started Wednesday and went through Saturday. Everything went smoothly. The computers, printer, internet and phone all worked perfectly. We based our training on the Healy,s (we replaced them) training deck. It was a great outline and we covered a lot of material. I'm sure there are still a few questions, but we all feel comfortable with each other and can help work well together. 

Elder Cary is the branch president as well as a humanitarian missionary and also supports two young missionary teams in town. He is one busy man. A new elder was transferred to Podgorica and needed information and his signature to get his Montenegro visa. The Cary,s love and care for the young missionaries. One evening we went to English class with them and met members of the class from the community. We had our picture taken with David, who is a successful Roma (gypsy) orphan. He works tirelessly to help an orphanage in town.

Meeting with leaders of the organization that will help integrate the disabled into the community and schools.

Parents hide their disabled children at home because it is a family shame to have a disabled child. This organization has commitments from local colleges and doctors to work with the children to evaluate and train them and their parents. They have also lined up children that will befriend the children and help them through the integration process. We had a good dialog with them for a couple of hours and the Carys will get back to them on a project proposal.

Us on a windy fall afternoon in Montenegro 

My birthday fell on one of our training days, so we went out for dinner and celebrated. 

Outside the restaurant are sidewalk tables for diners in the warmer weather. It was in the 40's that night.

Beautiful shoreline, some of the beaches had more rocks than sand.

The gusty wind swirled spouts of water up into the air.

We bought some fruit and talked with the vendors. Elder Cary is a real missionary and is always ready to place a Book of Mormon. 

This is a beautiful Orthodox church in town.

There are steep cliffs along the coast. The wind was so strong it almost blew us off.

We found a cafe on the beach for lunch.

Little Niagra Falls. It's about 50 meters wide and lots of water flowing today. the river feeding the falls is invisible... there is a wide river bed that fills in the rainy season, but there is a deep trench (like a slot canyon) at the bottom of the river bed that was filled with fast moving river water. Some crazy people kayak through the narrow trench.

Love this lady so much! It is such a blessing to share this experience together.

Grandma had two trout for her dinner entree.

...and ate them both. Well she did have a little help.

Five days of training, English class, visits to see a potential humanitarian projects and meet with an organization with whom we can partner.  We met the young elders, toured the chapel, walked the streets, had dinner and enjoyed every moment of this assignment. The Cary couple is officially trained and now it's between them and the Lord.

We saw the sun set as we were flying home. There are some spectacular views here with mountains, lakes, Adriatic Sea and a wonderful new culture to enjoy. We know the Cary couple will do a great work as they serve the needs of the poor in Montenegro.