The Joy of Service

Like the warm summer days and lingering scent of Sarajevo roses, September will soon be but a mere memory, wonderful memories, but memories nonetheless. I'm not sure how to slow the ticking of the clock. So much to do and so little time! Life has been a flurry of activities this month as we approach the final months of our humanitarian work. Since my last post we have traveled over 4,000 kilometers, made stops in ten different cities, slept in a hotel bed for nine nights and met over 50 new people that we can now call our friends! I'll go into details about all those visits on my next blog post because we still have another week full of visits coming up. This week I want to share one of my favorite projects we've done on the mission. The first all Bosnia Zone service project.

Several months ago we had a project approved to do some roof repair and renovations at one of our favorite centers for children with disabilities, Mala Sirena. This was not our typical project. This was truly a project of service, not material goods. The gathering of all 10 young missionaries, plus several church members and friends in Zavidovici entailed a bit of coordination, but it was so worth the effort! The project provided funding to do some much needed roof  and entry repairs and the paint for interior renovations, but the greatest contribution was the labor provided by our eager group.

This is the roof of the center before repairs were made...
(note, professionals did the roof repairs, not us!)

As you can see this entry way was in desperate need of repair as well.

This is the hallway before our little beautification project... it
had been damaged by the leaking roof and was well...
just a little drab and boring.

 Adisa, the center director, wanted one hallway for the children that was fun and colorful. For the other hallway, she wanted something peaceful and relaxing for the parents while they wait for their children. I chose bright primary colors for the children's hall and a soft sky blue color for the parent's hall. While I was the mastermind behind the idea for the children's hall, Sisters Orchard and Russell executed the design. I showed them my idea (stolen from Pinterest of course!) and handed them the tape. Their design was beyond amazing! Once the taping was done, everyone grabbed paint and brushes and began the arduous process of bringing the masterpiece to life!

Sister Orchard strategically planning the wall design and
consulting with her design partner, Sister Russell who
was standing on the stairs out of the camera range. 

Each person worked on their own little geometric shape with
with a different color, which was carefully orchestrated so no
touching shapes were the same color. It was quite a task!

Jasmin, a member from Tuzla, was a great help! Elder Hole
was very precise in his painting techniques around the corner. 

Dubravko, a member from Banja Luka, was enthusiastic as he
and the missionaries mastered the art of painting in the lines. 

Sretan, a member from Tuzla, was the project supervisor.
Here he's making sure Elder Shaw stays in the lines!

Let's just say it was all hands on deck for this project!

I like the way she works... 

Not quite finished, but the results of their fabulous design and
taping skills is quite evident on this colorful wall!

In the meantime, Sisters Marinkovic and Zemenchik were in charge of the design of the exterior entryway. Once again, I was impressed by the creative talent and execution as they created a mural of circles and rings that fulfilled the dreams of Adisa, the center director. Drawing and painting circles above your head while standing on a ladder requires a particular talent! Fortunately, we have very talented missionaries in Bosnia. We also have some steady hands that deftly transformed every spherical shape into a work of art.

First they had to draw out their circle design with fancy
tools...like the inside of a spring form pan! Sister Zemenchik
mastered the tracing above her head technique quickly. 

Faketa, a member of the church from Tuzla, put the fine details
on the circles, making sure all the edges were sharp. 

Sister Zemenchik and Faketa in deep discussion about color choices. 

Sister Marinkovic is quite skilled at painting circles above
her head while standing on a ladder... 

Faketa's husband, Zoran, came along and proved to be quite adept
at creating the perfect circle! His attention to detail was impeccable!

Look at that technique!

Elder Hole taking a turn at painting circles....with supervision from
Sister Marinkovic of course! 

It's a party...

Everyone buzzed from place to place adding their personal touches to each and every wall. With the help of a broom, a couple of elders mastered the art of painting up high while keeping their feet on the floor as they worked on the parent's hallway. The walls were extremely textured and the paint was pretty thick so the painting was very slow. After we were almost finished, we learned that in Bosnia you're supposed to add water to the paint...if only we had known when we started we could have saved a few hours!

Sister Russell and Sister Orchard worked on the parent's wall
too while Denny went to get more tape for the other hallway. 

This is how it's done in Bosnia!

Elders Leach, Snell and Roberts (supervised by Sretan, a member from Tuzla) were delegated to putting shingles on the roof of a picnic shelter. They were handed a pile of shingles, one hammer, one Exacto knife and a box of nails and turned loose to conquer the task. Apparently Elder Leach has some experience roofing, or else he's just a natural at it, because he managed to shingle the roof like a pro with help from his work crew.

Measure twice, cut once! Elders Leach and Snell preparing the shingles.

Elder Roberts making sure the first shingles are nice and straight.

Good thing Elder Leach is flexible! Looks like rooftop yoga to me!

Team work makes everything better!

Sretan making sure everything is done correctly. 

The finished project! Nicely done, elders!

As the scent of fresh paint mingled with the peal of laughter, I found myself marveling at the abundance of love and joy that were present. This project was a huge success, bringing together church members and non-members in the service of others. We brightened the center's entry and hallways but more importantly, we brightened lives. Ours included.

Adisa, on the far left was so thankful for the
service to help fulfill her vision!

Our awesome work crew! I'm not sure how I managed to
be the one covered in the most paint....

Although most of it was complete, there were a few things that needed to be finished up so Denny and I went back two days later to make sure everything was done. Mostly what was left was the high spots over the stairs that we couldn't reach with the ladder. It took a bit of creativity, but Denny figured out a way to set up a "platform" to paint from so he could reach the top. Not sure it would pass any safety inspections, but he got the job done unharmed! I worked on the low spots in a short hallway that we didn't get to previously and did a bit of "decorative" stenciling. While we were finishing up our work they had a volunteer come to help us. Little did we know, she's an actual artist! She created the mural that Adisa had shown me pictures of using spray paint and smudging! Much better than anything I could have done.

Denny found a "sturdy" beam outside and created this super
safe platform to paint up high over the stairs. 

So... the project wasn't without incident. Denny was trying to paint
behind this big cabinet and somehow managed to tip it over. We were really
glad it was just us there that day. Pretty sure it would have
sent someone to the hospital if it happened a few days before!

The lazy way to paint down low... my knees just don't bend like they used to!

Adding a little decorative stencil to the parent's hallway. 

Now this is a true artist at work!

This picture doesn't really do this beautiful mural justice. It truly
was amazing to watch her work and see the finished project. 

Even more so than our project, Mala Sirena is truly a labor of love. Those who are part of this special program, both on the giving and the receiving end, bless each other in unimaginable ways. The unconditional love for all who enter through the doors creates a bond that is evident the moment you enter the center. After our work was complete, volunteers from Mala Sirena caught the vision and added the final touches to create a warm and welcoming space for all who enter. This is one memory that will always hold a special place in my heart.

Before.....

and after!