"How can I help?" you asked...

Click on this link to see how you can Give the Gift of Hope!

(but you can still read the blog post and click on the link at the end too!) 

This is not going to be my typical post were I share what we have done over the past few weeks. As our mission is nearing the end, my heart is already beginning to feel the weight of leaving. We truly love the humanitarian work and the people we have crossed paths with. We have been blessed beyond measure during our time here and one of those special blessings, as most of you already know, has nothing to do with LDS Charities. It is Riders of Hope. The moment I met Senada, who owns the barn and runs the program with her husband, I knew God had answered my personal plea as I put my faith in Him when we submitted our application to serve a mission. We were immediately welcomed with open arms and Denny and I have grown to love everyone at the barn. The staff, the riders with disabilities and the Pegasos Riding Club families will always hold a special place in our hearts. Not only have we been able to serve, it has also created an amazing opportunity for the young missionaries to volunteer on a weekly basis as well. We have now had over 20 different missionaries at the barn supporting children and adults with disabilities as they ride, grooming and leading horses, painting, cleaning horse pastures, trimming bushes, fixing water pumps and interacting with the community of people who call the barn their "second home." We have all been able to share of our time and talents in a very meaningful way. 

I am now removing my missionary hat. Several months ago I was asked to serve on the Riders of Hope Board of Directors. That is the hat I am now wearing for this post. This is a personal passion. While I know that our time spent volunteering has been invaluable to them, as a Riders of Hope board member I also know the financial struggles they face to keep the program running. There are very few grants available in this country as it still struggles to recuperate from the war. Few here have the financial resources to give to even the worthiest of causes. And that's why I'm reaching out to you, my family and friends, to tell you how you can be part of this great program. 

Our youngest rider used to just throw the rings, now he follows
directions and enjoys playing games that improve his balance and
and coordination. Elders Leach and Shaw were great with him!

Elders Echols and Smith assist a young rider during a group visit.

Elders Isom and Rasmussen doing a special hold to assist Esma
for trotting about a year ago. Now Esma no longer needs any support
while riding and her walking has improved just as much!

What a difference a year makes! What an incredible journey
for both Esma and Aren. Esma's smile is a true reflection of
her excitement in reaching her goal to ride in a show.

Senada couldn't be prouder of Andjela's accomplishments!

Sisters Higley and Locey helped paint doors in
the barn.. and if I remember correctly, they both ended
up with blue hands for a few days after!

Who wouldn't smile with Sister Turner as
your volunteer during your riding session! 

Tarik enjoys his lesson with a little help from his friends!
Even Sister Ezard jumped in to help while she was visiting!

We were all invited to join Esma for her birthday celebration!
Riders of Hope truly is one big family!

Sisters Rougeau  and Martineau had to think fast to keep
up with all of Aren's thought provoking questions!

Elders Echols and Perry working with Aren, who is now riding
independently and participated in his first horse show last spring.

Experiencing smiles like this are part of the joy we feel at
the barn. Elders King and Echols were a great support as this
rider experienced freedom from his wheelchair.

This program is so vital to the community. Throughout our mission we have shared with you the reality of the situation for people with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are so many limitations for them here, just going to school is monumental for many. Knowing the constant battle for even basic rights here, you can imagine the lack of any "extra" activities, including therapy of any kind, for people with disabilities. The options are very few. Riders of Hope is one of those very few options. Esma participated in her first dressage horse show last spring, achieving a personal goal she set nearly five years ago, shortly after she started riding as part of her rehabilitation following a stroke at the age of sixteen. Tarik's smile tells it all as he trots around the arena now that his legs are strong enough to support him and his balance has improved. As an independent rider, Andjela's abilities are what is visible, not her disabilities. 

Sister Locey may be short, but she was great at encouraging
riders as they gained independence. And Sister Rougeau offered
the high fives because she was tall enough to reach his hand!
They were even happy to slosh through the mud and muck!

This happened more than once with Sisters Beus
and Turner after service at the barn. They always
worked very hard, even when it was really hot.

Sisters Russell and Orchard just walk with her so
Esma has someone to talk to. Now that she has
overcome significant  physical challenges after her stroke
several years ago, she is able to ride independently. 

Elder Rasmussen and Parkinson were among the first missionaries
to volunteer at Riders of Hope. They set the bar pretty high for the
missionaries that followed them and for the riders they worked with. 

After the war, Senada and her husband, along with several friends, felt a strong pull to offer a therapeutic riding program here in Sarajevo. Their first rider was a woman who suffered debilitating shrapnel wounds during the war. As they experienced the aftermath of the war first hand, their desire to bring joy and happiness back to the shattered city grew. Just this week, Senada was telling us about loading up her vehicle every day with all the equipment, including saddles, bridles, horse brushes and whatever she needed. She then would drive to the place where they had a couple of horses they used and sneak around the back of the main building to avoid the "mafia men" who owned the property. She would haul everything from the car, over the fence and to the back pasture where they would then set everything up, lunge the "crazy horses" for hours so they would be tired enough to behave during lessons, teach lessons all evening, then pack it all up and start over the next day. It wasn't ideal, but it was worth it. From that small beginning, she and her husband and a few faithful friends have grown the program into what it is today. A beautiful facility where hope and inspiration are abundant. Where a community of people can gather together, laugh and love each other unconditionally. 

Between weekly lessons and activities for schools and organizations that serve children and adults with disabilities, they now offer program services to over 100 riders each year, but that still doesn't meet the need or demand. There are so many more that want to, need to, participate. No one is ever turned away due to lack of financial resources. The gate is always open to anyone they can safely serve. If they can't safely put them on a horse, they allow them to brush and feed the horses. They know the value of just being in close proximity to these special creatures. 

One of their greatest obstacles is the weather. They have a limited window of good weather when they can offer lessons. April is too rainy, so they usually start lessons in May. August is too hot for riders to be in the direct sun in the current arena. And November is, let's just say, the beginning of the end of riding season. Knowing that Sarajevo was host to the 1984 Olympics, I'm sure you can imagine what the winters are like here. Winters here are snowy, which I have loved, but not conducive to therapeutic riding lessons.  And the long break in therapeutic riding due to weather restraints also causes regression of all that is gained with consistent riding. 

This is what the arena looks like in the midst of
a mild snowfall. These Pegasos Riding Club girls
are tough... they will ride in any weather!
But that is not the case for Riders of Hope riders.
They need a covered arena for winter riding. 

The Board of Directors secured funding to build a small 60'x60' covered arena. Or so they thought... until the reality of building on the side of a mountain came into play. Construction started last spring and progressed nicely until it was time to put up the roof beams. The pre-made beams were too long to make it up the winding road on the back of the truck. On to Plan B. The only option is to have the beams made on site at the barn property. This means that they have to bring all the equipment and materials up the mountain, create the beams and then install them. This also means that the cost to finish the covered arena has skyrocketed. No one expected this to be a problem, including the company building the arena. It wasn't lack of planning or lack of knowledge, it is just simply the way it is. So now the covered arena stands with its walls up ready and waiting to be completed. But there is not enough money left for Plan B. So this capital campaign is Plan B+! And you can help make this plan work.

This is the current state of the covered arena. All structures in Bosnia
are required to be built of cement or brick. Bosnian's think it's odd that we
build houses out of wood in a country that is frequently plagued by
tornadoes and hurricanes. I think they might have a point...
The fourth side and windows can not be installed until the roof
is in place. Take a minute and just imagine watching Tarik smile as
you peek through the windows! 

Winter is quickly approaching and we have already had to cancel lessons several times due to rain. But you can change that! You can make sure riders are in the saddle year round, lessons are happening, and more people with disabilities are able to ride. You can make a difference. If you've asked how you can help... please take a minute and click on the "Gift of Hope" link. If your heart is touched, if you feel inspired to make a difference, if you want to bring hope to Riders of Hope, please make a donation. Please consider giving now so the arena can be completed soon and allow these special children the chance to be filled with hope on their journey through life. Help Esma reach her next goal to ride in a horse show independently. Keep Tarik smiling and give Andjela the opportunity to build her confidence and her abilities. If you can't donate, please share this with others you feel might want to support this amazing organization. The mission of Riders of Hope is "Inspiring children and adults with disabilities through equine assisted activities and therapies." Help them inspire!

 Click here to give the Gift of Hope

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your love and support over the past 15 months and for allowing me to share my passion with you. Any contribution you can make, any sharing you can do, will help make this dream a reality!  

Ten Useful Things to Know if You are Considering a Senior Mission

Rewarding, Yes. Blessings, Yes. But It Does Not Feel That Way Every Day.

There are many blessings that Dionne and I have received as we have served here in the Adriatic North Mission. And both of us are open to serving another senior mission in the future...the very distant future.

This experience has taught us some of the "ins and outs" of serving a mission as a senior. I wish to share 10 of them with those of you who may be considering joining us in the mission field. We have loved our mission so far. Just not every moment of every day.

Nothing on this list is "official" in any way, mind you. And hopefully nothing is too heretical.

The Senior Missionaries in the Adriatic North Mission. We had a seniors conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia this month.

1. It is Cheaper to Serve a Mission Than to Stay at Home

Let me repeat myself. It is cheaper to serve a mission than to stay at home. At least if you are an American. The cost of a senior mission is surprisingly low. And if you go to a cheap destination, it can be remarkably low.

The Crnich's shopping at Bašćarsja. A good lunch costs about $4 and ice cream about 50 cents.

The average monthly cost of the Adriatic North Mission is about $2,500. This includes housing, health insurance, transportation, food expense, internet, etc. Dionne and I spend a little more but we eat out almost every day (food is so cheap here) and we have visited quite a few nice locations (we were on the island of Hvar this past weekend).

I shared some of the findings from my papers at Senior Conference this past week. 

So social security will cover most missions...easily. And if you rent your home, you might be able to cut your expenses by coming on a mission! We have friends that did just that. They rented their house in California, went on a mission to Central America, and came out ahead.

2. You Will Not Get Along With Everyone All the Time (Especially Your Spouse)

Your mission will be so much easier if you acknowledge this ahead of time. Not all personalities mesh well together. You will have bad days and say stupid things at times.

It is the same for the younger missionaries. In the MTC, two of these missionaries did not like each other. And then they were called to serve in Sarajevo together and did great!

But the worst part will be trying to live 24x7 with your "eternal spouse." I have already written a post about this experience (entitled "Be Ye Equally Yoked") so I do not wish to dwell upon it now. But the old phrase "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger" makes sense to me now. Let's just say that my marriage is more eternity-ready now than it was a year ago.

We were getting along pretty well this day. We love Slovenia and Lake Bled.

3. You Can Remain in Day-to-Day Contact With the REAL World

Senior missionaries have few communication restrictions. Really all you have to do is figure out the technology. Apps like VIBER and What's App allow us to use our U.S. phones whenever we are on Wifi. We purchased a tablet with a data card which means we are accessible to our kids practically 24x7. Unfortunately, sometimes our kids forget about the 6-hour time difference...many a time we have gotten calls at 3:00 a.m. because our daughter needs a recipe or our son wants to talk about a TV show. My parents mentioned that they talk to me more now that I am on a mission than before.

Platvice with Brennen, Amy, Britni, Richie, Mitch, and Briel.

Another advantage to a senior mission is that you host visitors from home. Four of our five children and a sister and her husband have visited us here. We were able to arrange our schedule so that we could show them around Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia...several stayed for an entire week. While neither of our parents were able to come visit, both sets were seriously considering joining us.

Walking around Zagreb Croatia with Erica and Brayden.

4. Missions Recruit Senior Missionaries

For many missions, senior missionaries are their lifeblood. But the supply of seniors is woefully inadequate. So mission presidents are told that the best way to get more senior missionaries is to recruit them.

Kenneth Bradford shares some thoughts next to President and Sister Grant.

Because there are so few members in the Adriatic North Mission, senior missionaries are critical to the church's survival here. Each little branch is starving for leadership. Our little country of Bosnia only has about 60 members across three locations. You can imagine how valuable leadership is for us.

When we first arrived in the ANM, we were really surprised to learn that nearly all of the senior missionaries were from Cedar City Utah. But it all came into focus once were learned that our Mission President, President Grant, had served as a stake president in Cedar City. He was a masterful recruiter. He even convinced his sister and her husband, the Hallings, the come and run the office for them.

Our first senior conference at Lake Bohinj, Slovenia. Most of these missionaries have now gone home. And many were from Cedar City, Utah.

Although Dionne and I put our papers in with the only request being "foreign," you have a lot of leeway in selecting your mission (if you want it). Mission Presidents want to recruit you. So you can easily do the same thing. Select a mission or two that you might be interested in and then recruit the mission. Why? Because of #5.

5. Your Mission President Matters

We have now had two mission presidents. We have loved them both. But their styles are almost 180 degrees apart. Just as a CEO sets the tone and culture for a business, the mission president and his wife determine how fun, stressful, driven, controlling, loving, and successful the culture of the mission is going to be.

Dionne and Sister Grant. These two developed a special bond, at least we think it was special. But Sister Grant was able to develop special bonds with almost every missionary and member in the ANM.

We have talked to other senior missionaries who have told us, in strict confidence, horror stories about their mission presidents. If you are not going to "roll the dice" like we did, I strongly recommend interviewing several mission presidents to see which you feel most comfortable working under. You have much more control over this process than you did when you were 19.

Dionne and Sister Melonakos. This is how the two chose to celebrate their respective birthdays.

6. There Are Many, Many Different Types of Senior Missions

This is another important thing to consider. There is a tremendous amount of flexibility. Before we left for Bosnia, we had a senior couple (the Browns) who served in the Kaw River Ward. While their home base is Arizona, they chose a Kansas City mission because that is where one of their kids (plus grandchildren) live. So instead of leaving their grandchildren behind, they were coming to spend a mission with them.

Elders Smith and Echols help a young rider...who would not get onto the horse without his security blanket.

If you have any sort of medical training, the mission world is your oyster. My brother-in-law, Boyce, is currently serving as the Boise mission doctor; something that happened because we started asking the mission office about possibilities for him to serve even before formally going on a mission (they still have one daughter home in high school).

In the MTC we met senior missionaries that were going to foreign lands and those going to Boise Idaho to serve in the "ROCK," a center that pulls and maintains genealogical records. There are many single senior sisters who serve missions. Your mission can be as short as 6 months or as long as you want it to be.

If you have a particular skill, you can find ways to put that skill set to use on a mission. Many a construction worker or contractor can be found building houses, water systems, and schools all over the world.

President Melonakos dresses to be lowered down a 25-foot water well to help clean it.

7. Find Opportunities to Volunteer While on Your Mission

This may seem redundant. Isn't a mission all about volunteering? But what I mean is volunteering within the community that you find yourself. As much as I would like this to not be true, Mormons can be a little cliquish. We tend to socialize too often with other Mormons. And you will find that is your natural tendency on a mission as well. You will want to spend time with the young missionaries, with members, with other senior missionaries, and with investigator (members in embryo).

Dionne helped judged a horse jumping show today.

That is wonderful and important. But it is also important to broaden your reach. To get outside of the Mormon culture vacuum. A good example is in Serbia where a senior missionary who used to coach high school football, Elder Decker, has become involved with 3 local American football teams. Teaching football in the land of true football (aka soccer). And, of course, Dionne's ability to stay sane while living with me 24x7 is directly correlated with the time she spends working at Riders of Hope.

Coach Wayne Decker (bald guy) wandering around an ethno village near Zlatibor, Serbia.

8. Mission Rules Apply to You "If You Want Them To"

While many former missionaries have fond memories of the "white handbook," most have no desire to return to living life under those restrictions. It almost makes living the Law of Moses seem lax in comparison. As we were given our own copy of the white handbook at the MTC, we asked, hesitantly, which of these seniors were expected to follow. We were told they apply "if you want them to." Basically, this means that none of them really apply to seniors. And then they showed us where the secret senior missionary Diet Coke stash was located.

Let me give a few examples. The young missionaries are excluded from swimming. According to President Grant, the senior's swimming rule is slightly different...our rule, he told us, is "DO NOT DROWN." Missionaries are not to watch TV. Our apartment has a TV and cable is paid for...and we found that we need to regularly keep track of the news (both local and national).

Sampling the "therapeutic" mud near Nim, Croatia. When we finally washed it off, it definitely softened and cleansed our skin. We strongly recommend this beach!

While on the mission Dionne and I have regularly gone to movies, white water rafted, rented 4-wheelers, watched our beloved KC Chiefs, kept up with new U.S. TV series' like "This is Us," gone to amusement parks, tried to find the best spa in the Balkans, driven high-speed go-karts, taken long hikes in the mountains and along the coastline (where we accidentally discovered a "clothing optional beach"...but that is a story for another time), and hosted trick-or-treaters. Professionally, I published one article while on the mission and was asked to do a peer review of another important paper this summer. Dionne is currently writing an article on Riders of Hope for STRIDE magazine, her industry's tech magazine.

At the Sarajevo film festival with Shay and Alexis Wood. 

Bottom line: You are old enough to know better and so they don't worry too much about your behavior. The only rules that they tend to worry about for seniors regards dress. Missionaries, young and old, are representatives of the church BRAND. As such, they would like us to maintain certain grooming standards. This means that we sacrifice a little of our individuality to serve the global BRAND.

ANM Senior Missionaries representing the BRAND in Dubrovnik.

9. You Are Not Going to Be Able to Learn the Language and It Is Okay

If you go foreign and do not know the language, it is not likely that you will become fluent. Young missionaries receive intense language training in the MTC. Then they spend time each day learning the language. And then they teach lessons in the language all day long. And their companion helps tutor them. They have to learn the language to be effective.

Kenneth Bradford studying language during a Bosnia zone conference. Ken works harder at the language than any other senior that I know.

You might get 1-2 days of language instruction. Your companion will be as clueless as you are. You will not be speaking the language all day. Your best practice will come off of menus and reading street signs. But you will be surprised how effective you can be even though you will not be able to master the language. Try. And if a miracle happens, great. But don't stress over it. I have yet to meet a senior missionary who was able to become fluent in Hrvatski/Bosonski/Srbski. But I have met many that were wonderfully effective senior missionaries.

Dionne and I do a lot of work with children with disabilities. We figure that we can learn as much vocabulary as a 3-year old. So we know our colors, our shapes, our barn animals, our basic body parts, fruits and vegetables, and our numbers. Our language skills could probably get us into kindergarten.

10. You are Needed

Why do seniors serve missions? In our little U.S.-based bubble, it is hard to feel a compelling need to get out and serve. Sure, your Bishop or Stake President might mention it to you when you retire. Or you may attend a 5th Sunday lesson and listen to a senior couple talk about the great time they are having in Peru. But unless your heart is open to the promptings of the spirit, there are a lot of reasons to stay home and play with your grandchildren.

President Melonakos and I play football with a young refugee. He smoked us. It must of been the shoes.

Let me give you a simple but compelling reason to serve. You are needed. The people need you. They need your talents, your energy, your insights, and especially they need your love.

President and Sister Grant with members from Tuzla.

Nobody from Bosnia was calling Dionne and I and asking us to spend 1 1/2 years in this country. But some would have if they had had our number. (Senada would have pestered Dionne daily to get her to come to Sarajevo). We realize that we were needed in Bosnia. And that is going to be very, very difficult to leave.

I just ordained Mrko to the Aaronic Priesthood this morning. Although he does not speak English (and I do not speak Bosonski), he wanted me to ordain him. 

There are so many places that you can serve a mission. But Adriatic North Mission would love to have. If you have an interest in serving in former Yugoslavia, let me know and I can put you in contact with President Melonakos.

Education is the Key

After finishing our egg covered pizza topped with ketchup in a smoke filled restaurant and walking to our car parked on the sidewalk, we headed to the grocery store, carefully avoiding the stray dogs on the way. Upon arriving at Konzum, we inserted a coin to get a cart and proceeded to fill it with lamb heads and fry sauce. But before we left the store I had to use the squatty potty. Once we arrived home we removed our shoes, put on our papuće and drank a glass of yogurt. Well, that's not exactly how the day went, but it certainly could have been! We love Bosnia and apparently many of you love hearing about our adventures. Denny's blog post last week hit an all time high 1400 views!

While my post this week may not be quite as entertaining, I hope you will enjoy a glimpse into one of our most significant projects. I've written a bit previously about our project to "teach the teachers", so I'm just going to do a quick overview if you missed what it's all about. We have partnered with an organization called EDUS - Education for All and have sponsored the first of two three day workshops filled with training on how to assess current skills, establish individual learning goals and implement a systematic program to achieve maximum success for children with disabilities. The workshops were a huge success and educators and therapist left the workshop full of new ideas, motivated and hopeful. Hopeful of offering higher quality education and therapy to those they work with. Hopeful to make a difference in the lives of the children they love.

She's very focused on getting that star in just
the right place as part of her assessment.

The next phase of this project was to do initial assessments of all the children who will take part in this project. These initial assessments will help us measure the outcomes of this project in the future. All children were given one of two assessments, depending on their cognitive age. Some of the educators/therapists had attended the training and knew how to perform the assessments, while we assisted others who had not attended the training in the execution. It was both a rewarding and an exhausting two weeks as we traveled to 8 different cities, met with 30+ educators and evaluated nearly 80 children. We will then do final assessments on the same children again at the end of the year and compare the skill acquisition of the children who worked with an EDUS trained educator and those whose teachers had not attended the training. Then in January, the second EDUS training workshop will be offered to those who did not attend in August so we will have offered training to all ten centers who are participating in this project.

We were thrilled to see the enthusiasm of the staff of Los Rosales
who attended the EDUS training as they gave an overview
of what they had learned to other staff members.

Every center we visited greeted us with open arms and open hearts. We truly felt welcome everywhere we went. That's not always the case when you walk in and start telling people how to do their jobs. Our first stop was in Mostar at Los Rosales. This is the second project we have done with them and we now consider them family! We love the staff and students alike at this wonderful school. As we walked in we were greeted by Mirna, the director, and Lejla, who we have worked closely with for the past year. They said they wanted to talk to us before we got started. They were very serious and we were concerned that they had decided they did not want to participate in the project. Boy were we wrong! They had been so inspired by the training that they had decided their new goal for next year is to implement it throughout the school with all their educators, not just the four that attended the training. We spent the next two hours watching in amazement as two of the staff that had attended the EDUS training presented the new ideas to a room full of eager educators. Of course, they will need further training for everyone but it was so wonderful to see them so excited and enthusiastic about implementing this new training. They truly feel this will improve the quality of education for their students and make an incredible difference in the long term outcomes and overall quality of life for those they work with.

She was very focused on her Lego tower as her teacher watched.
It was very hard for parents and teachers to just allow the child
to do whatever they could and not jump in and help them!

Our journey continued from Mostar to the rural town of Sanski Most in western Bosnia. Here we worked with a smaller center, not a large school like Los Rosales. These educators had not attended the training and it was our first time doing the assessments. Everyone was very patient as we worked
through the many tasks and finding the right materials for each skill. While I was doing the actual assessment with the teachers and children, Denny was organizing the materials and had them ready as we began each new task. It was definitely a team effort! The hardest part for both the educators and the parents was to remember this was an initial assessment and they could not assist the child or prompt them beyond what was dictated in the assessment guidelines. I even had to gently remind our eager translators not to help a time or two. Everyone wants to see the children succeed, including me, but that was not the goal of the assessments. We just needed to find the children's starting point. But we finished all the assessments, made some new friends and figured out how to be better organized for the next day!

It was so fun to watch the staff at Mala Sirena work with
their students. This little guy thought everything was great fun!

As we visited centers who had completed the training, we were so impressed by how well they had embraced the training. How it all seemed so natural. They really had a good grasp on how to work with the children in their programs using the new techniques they had learned. I also have to offer kudos to EDUS for presenting such an excellent, effective workshop. After several long days of doing the assessments and coaching educators who had not attended the training, it was such a joy to sit back and watch as the  young ladies from Mala Sirena competently and confidently worked through the assessment with each child. They were organized and professional, but the most important thing I observed was their genuine love for the children. Their desire to do more and help these children become more was obvious. This isn't a just a job for them, this is a true act of love. It isn't easy to spend hours upon hours working with children, let alone children with such unique challenges. They have such a great desire to improve their techniques and offer higher quality education and therapy because they know they will change lives for the better.

Picture cards are used for many of the assessment objectives.
In addition to the training project, we also were approved to supply
centers with a variety of materials to use in implementation
of the program, including 1300 picture cards like the ones
he's using in the picture to identify body parts.

The assessments also measured some gross motor skills like
catching, throwing and kicking a ball. It was a nice break from sitting
at the table doing cognitive assessment skills.

Throughout the next two weeks as we visited various centers we found children with a wide range of abilities. We worked with children that thought it was more fun to run around the room screaming and hitting people than to play with toys or do puzzles, children that were excited to meet new people and engage in the activities, others wary of new faces, children that suddenly lost their voices, and those who couldn't stop laughing as we worked our way through each skill on the list.

He was a little worried by strange faces in the room...
can't blame him knowing whose faces they were!

We did assessments on children of various ages between 3-10.
He's verbally identifying pictures here. 

This was one of my favorite parts of the assessments. They were
asked to sing and do movements at the same time.. such as
"If you're happy and you  know it clap your hands" I loved
hearing her voice as she sang several verses with great exuberance. 

 Identifying matching pictures was one of the skills measured.

Here he is doing verbal letter identification. In addition to the
Latin alphabet, we will also be supplying some centers in certain
areas of Bosnia with Cyrillic alphabet cards as well. 

It was very interesting listening to the children identify objects.
Many of them knew their colors, shapes and animals in English
better than they did in Bosnian from watching television!
Instead of "krava" they would just say "cow"! 

And the parents. Parents who want so much for their children to learn and grow, to feel and experience, to dream and reach their greatest potential. Parents who cry at night over their inability to change the way their children are treated in a country that does not always embrace those who are unique. Parents who fight with everything they have to give their children what they need, what they deserve. Parents, like all parents, who love their children unconditionally. I so admire these parents, these caregivers, these educators who never give up hope and continue to build bridges and reach for the stars.

Mom (with red hair) smiling as she watches her son.Her love
for him was so evident as she applauded each accomplished task.

Their is no greater joy than the love of a parent.

As we wrapped up the two week whirlwind tour we felt deep satisfaction in our hearts. We know that God has guided us to projects to help people with disabilities. We know beyond a doubt that this particular project will have an impact long after we have finished our service here.

As a side note, below is a link to an article discussing the ongoing issues of special education in Bosnia. EDUS has done so much for promoting special education and early intervention in Bosnia, yet both EDUS and parents fight a continual battle. It seems that it is a constant game of one step forward, two steps back. This year, the city withdrew some of the support that they had been giving in the past. This is a great tragedy for these children. This article explains what is happening currently in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and the most advanced educational system in the country. It truly is a sad situation and one that is very difficult to understand coming from a country that upholds laws regarding educational rights for all children.  EDUS - Where's my School?