Here are some highlights from the last month or two:
Trip to Jajce: A few weeks ago we had a team from England visiting BiH. Their church has been long-term supporters of Novimost and it was great to have the opportunity to show them around and introduce them to the young people we work with. They joined in with klub activities, prayer, church youth groups and some practical work around the Novimost premises in Mostar. We also arranged for them to visit Novimost's other two locations i.e. Čapljina and Jajce and they did a daytrip to Sarajevo. I was so excited to find out that there would be space in the kombi to go along to Jajce. Jajce is a town in the Northern parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina...the area which is known as "Bosnia". This town has so much history attached to it...about kings and other famous leaders like Tito and it is one of the most beautiful towns in BiH that I have visited so far. There's an old fort/castle overlooking the city and a beautiful waterfall. The town are surrounded by mountains and nearby are big lakes. Here are a few pictures of the city and surrounding areas:
Easter: Easter in BiH was quite an interesting experience. European countries are definitely more traditional than SA! In Mostar it was mainly celebrated on the West side of the city which is a predominantly "Roman Catholic Croat" area. Most Muslims stay on the East, and therefore it wasn't really celebrated there. Our church (which is located on the East side) had an Easter service after which most of the congregation spend time together having lunch in various locations. For the Evangelical Christians here (and Catholics too!) it is a big family day (similar to that of Christmas) and having a meal together with the family is very important. They don't like chocolate bunnies or Easter eggs...but want to remember the true meaning behind Easter - about Jesus Christ dying on the cross to take away the sins of the world and His resurrection!
For the Roman Catholic believers, Easter eggs and lent services and fasting are all important. I stay very close to a big Roman Catholic Church and for me it was so interesting to see how they celebrated it. On the Friday ("day of crucifixion") the church bells stopped ringing. Over the whole weekend it was quiet (the bells usually ring daily around the hour...actually every 15 minutes indicating the time). But Easter weekend it was quiet. Sunday morning though...the bells went crazy...to show the resurrection. So interesting! A few of my friends from home group are from a Croat background and their parents and grandparents do egg painting and dying. (This custom is usually passed on from generation to generation and my friends also know how to do it). They brought me a few patterned eggs which were so beautiful - almost too beautiful to eat!!! :) Here are some pictures of that:
Upcoming: This coming weekend is Novimost retreat and we'll be going to "Gradac" which is a town on the coast of Croatia. I am so excited about that and will definitely be taking lots of photos!!! I'm hoping the weather will be good so that I can take a swim in the Adriatic Sea. It's been years since I've been on the Croatian Coast and I'm REALLY looking forward to it! It will be a good time of rest and also exciting to see the other Novimost teams (Jajce and Čapljina) again.
Well, that's all from me now. Take care and have a super week!
All my love,
L xx
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