It's a Small World (After All)

It seems to us and to our friends and family that we are going very far away.  Far from them, far from everything familiar.  The language(s) is a bear for us to learn, Slovenia is very European - but  Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro less so, and everything from communication, to what we'll need, to how we'll be received is a puzzle.  Sometimes a bit of a scary puzzle!  We are so happy and excited about going but reality does occasionally settle in and we know there will be lots of adjustments for these senior-ish missionaries.  On Jayne's first mission she learned about the gospel, herself, the church, other cultures and people - but there were nights when a view from the cold dark street in Belgium of families at dinner in a warm lighted home made her feel very homesick.

An obvious plus for us is that we each have a fabulous companion! We have some things to miss, 17 very dear children and 10 little ones, but decades after the France and Belgium experience we have technology that will let us see and talk to them all.  And as our mission process has unfolded we've made some sweet connections with the Adriatic North Mission that make us feel we are going someplace we belong.  It began when we got a call from the missionary medical department.  A nice RN in the office called about Jayne's blood pressure.  White coat syndrome often means her pressure is high at the start of a visit, then calms.  The doctor had inadvertently written the higher one.

In the conversation it came up that the missionary/nurse was a former Relief Society president of Jayne's and a friend.  Joan Turner was so helpful and kind and the kicker was - she noticed that we had asked for the Slovenia assignment and she had been in the same mission just 2
years before!  As the mission nurse she was based in Croatia, but travelled thoroughout the mission and was a delightful guide and cheerleader.  Jayne later met her for lunch and learned a great deal about people and the countries.  Her love was contagious.


Our friend Lois told us of new friends from her ward who are natives of Croatia and who hoped to meet us to talk about what we might expect.  We met for lunch and found Ankica and Misho Ostarcevic aren't just from Croatia, they are the first two baptized there (by Kresimir Cosic of BYU basketball fame, in the middle of the Yugoslavian night to avoid arrest).  Misho is also a well known basketball player and the two of them have continued to carry Kresimir's legacy for decades in both the country and the church.  They live in Utah now, but spend months each year in their home in Croatia. They were delightful and interesting and we will certainly see them in this beautiful country they described to us. 

Months after our call we attended the big Family History event called RootsCon (actually Rootstech, but it's like a big Comicon event for family research nerds like us).  Outside one presentation Jayne struck up a conversation with a young woman and when our impending mission came up and she became incredibly animated. 

She - Tiffany Mix Smith - had been a missionary in Slovenia 20 years ago when it was part of the Austria South mission and she thought that it, well, she thought it was the land of unicorns and rainbows. She was delightful and talked about that very tumultuous time as a missionary after the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1990 as well as her love for the Slovene people and their country.  

Slovenia was already advocating a democratic form of government so when she arrived in the 90s missionaries were allowed.  Her mission ended there and she couldn't have been more enthusiastic.
These are three highlights for us, of the connectedness there can be in the world.  There have been more - Greg is counselor to a man who was a business partner with our mission president, President David Grant. A former co-worker is Sister Grant's cousin.

Most of the people we meet don't quite know where Slovenia is (although most know the larger countries), yet we have met several who know and love this little place we will call home for a time.  For us it also feels like little messages from God, letting us know that we will be ok and there will be wonderful blessings - and maybe a few trials - for us there.