From Theresa...

Hi!!Last week in Croatia we enjoyed some nice hot sunny days. Us kids spent much of the time playing soccer on the local field and unfortunetly as a result lost our soccer ball on the roof of an old building. Everyone especially enjoyed swimming in the ocean. It was not as warm as in Greece but of course still so enjoyable...Who doesn't like to swim. We were in a small town called Makarska. Our hosts were very nice Croation people, It is always good to feel welcome as a big family. You never know! Makarska is just one of the beautiful towns and cities along the coast. Many of them have little marinas and it was interesting to watch some of the boats come and go. Sailig must be a very big sport here in the summer because there are over a thousand islands that dot the Croatian coast. Many even have their own beautiful towns and beaches. We were able to experience the Mediteranean atmosphere with the many water front cafes and restaurants where of course our mother would enjoy a nice cappuccino. On one day we went on a drive and hiked up the coastal mountains, the Biokovo Range, were we enjoyed a spectacular view over the Adriatic Islands.
Before we headed up north to Vienna via beautiful Slovenia, we picked Stefan up from the airport after him being in Canada for a week. The whole family is very happy to have him back on the journey again. So on the way to Vienna we stayed a night in Ptuj, Slovenia and then moved on the next morning. After Slovania there are no more border cosssings because now we were back in the European Union...too bad, its always fun getting a new stamp in our passport. We arrived in Vienna on Friday and were given some contacts of people that are from a church here. We are staying in a guesthouse primarily for missionaries. It has been very nice. The large kitchen facility and everyone having their own bed has been especially good, since the last place we stayed we shared with three in a double bed...kind of tight. We also have a very comfortable living area where we can spend the evenings reading or even watching a movie. This has only been the second time on the whole trip that we've been able to watch a movie. After a couple of weeks of travel and tight accomodations it feels good to get some important things reorganized,such as sorting through dirty laundry, suitcases and the car. On sunday we went to a German service in the morning and an Iranian service in the evening that we were invited to by an Iranian family that lives next door. Most of us didn't understand much and the Iranian music was different but it was still great to be a part of their worship. Everyone was so welcoming. There are many refugees in Vienna from Iran, Afghanistan, Africa etc. Some of them are a part of the Iranian church. Papa and the boys will be visiting the Oasis Refugee Centre today, where refugees can come for help, get information, encouragement, find housing,clothing etc.. We were also able to be tourists in this historical city of Vienna for a day so far with its incredibly beautiful architecture. Mozart and Beethoven both lived in Vienna for a time and the musical history is evident everywhere. We walked downtown through the busy streets, window shopping and visting an old cathedral called the Stephans Dome. On the walk through town we came upon a shop with tradtional Austrian clothing. Stefan tried on some good looking Lederhosen and I(Theresa) tried on a gorgeous Dirndl. We had lots of fun:) Towards the evening we went to visit the very famous palace called Schoenbrunn Palace. This is where the queen of Austria spent much of her time during the 1850s. We only had time to walk a part of the huge gardens outside, and still hope to visit the inside another day. Today the boys are off doing some electrical work at a church that is being renovated. Us girls will be going for an afternoon walk through the town where we are staying. The weather hasn't been as nice as we would like it to be but thankfully it is not raining today. We hope you are all doing well.

The pics...
Makarska, Croatia
Soccer in Makarska
Ptuj, Slovenia
Stefansdome Vienna, Austria
Pulling out the lederhosen...and dirndl

From Mama...a bit of an overview

Where to start? Every day brings so many different encounters and experiences with people in very different countries and cultures, from those we live with at home. Travelling through Germany, Italy and Greece, on the first half of our trip, allowed us to see some incredible, historical sites and enjoy the geographical diversity from mountains to rolling hills to oceans. The grape vineyards and apple, orange and lemon orchards in Italy, along with endless hillsides of olive trees in the whole region were a common site. The Mediterranean Sea in Greece was the most clear, turquoise colour I’ve ever seen. If you can imagine the beautiful landscape, very quaint old towns and beautiful old cities, and watch the people in their daily activities, from the simple farmer who still herds his sheep and goats by foot over the mountains where donkeys are still used regularly in the villages for transport, to the very elegant men and women walking the streets, then you’ll get a little feel for the diverse sites we’ve had so far. The next part of our journey has been more of our missions journey, meeting up with Christian groups, but still enjoying Europe’s countryside. Crossing the border into Albania made me a little more nervous due to other peoples’ unsubstantiated stories. The traffic was a little chaotic and the potholes, open manholes everywhere, and broken streets were out of this world. Thanks to a very good driver/navigator/husband we were able to inch our way along most of the time. All the people we met were very wonderful and generous. The visible difference between rich and poor in Albania was a stark reality. The skyscrapers are being built all over the place while the infrastructure of the towns and cities is quite bad. In Durres, Albania we stopped in to visit David and Valbona Pennoyer. (His parents Keith and Viola used to live on the ranch just before Rock Creek with all the blue roofs). It was great to see them and get a little glimpse into the work they do at their Christian centre; programs for children, food distribution, 2 Sunday services, midweek studies etc. They are a great asset for the community and the city of Durres. We found the best and cheapest place in Durres to eat gyros and Italian ice cream. They were about 1 dollar each. The portions were plenty and delicious. We crossed the border from Albania to Montenegro and the language switched from Albanian to Serbian. Again it was a quick language lesson in being able to say thank you, hello, and goodbye. That’s as far as we got. At least the letters were not like they were in Greece where you can’t even decipher anything by looking at the words. They still have a different alphabet for Serbian but most things are written with our common alphabet also. The border crossings have always been good so far. The border guards have always been a little curious about the stack of nine passports they receive each time. “All one family?” they usually ask or wonder. Germans and North Americans are well liked in these Balkan countries. We travelled to the city of Bar, Montenegro which is a city on the Adriatic Coast. We met another cool, very international, Christian group. There were Germans, Koreans, Americans and one Serbian. The group was nine in total. They have a little tiny cafe in town called “The Living Room” where they offer German and English language nights and host children’s groups etc. Franz and the boys were also able to finish the flooring for a family where the mother had recently passed away. The grandmother, father, and his four children lived in a very tiny house. Hopefully they were encouraged by the small improvement. It’s always hard to say goodbye. During the day the kids and I went for walks through town, went to the beach, bought groceries, and did schoolwork. You can find stores almost every 500 metres through the whole town. The basics, plus fruit and veggies can always be found. The local bakery is always a treat. The lady that we stayed with had some animals that the kids loved. They fed the chickens and played with the dog and cats. Our travels continued to the country of Kosovo. We had made contact with some Christian missionaries ahead of time, so our destination was the city of Peja. Wow! The first site of it was a little shocking. The broken roads, rubble, and remnants of bombed houses, were the evidence of the Kosovar crisis (war in 1999). The ugly Communist structures don’t make the city anymore beautiful. The streets were very busy though with much building and business. The friendliness of the people quickly softened the effect of new surroundings once again. One shop owner was so thrilled to have us in his store that he led me through his whole store asking me if I needed this or that. I’ve never experienced anything like it. He also helped the kids cross the street safely and treated everyone to an ice cream on another occasion. Our activity here in Kosovo was mostly doing some work at a Christian camp, started by a couple, Keith and Pam, from Iowa. The camp has been hosting kids and teens for about 8 years already. They started out in a couple of tents in a gorgeous, mountainous region. Now they are working on a building a little at a time as funds and help are available. Franz and the boys did some concrete work, framing, and pouring. The kids and I helped out with a couple of odd jobs, getting things ready for the busy summer camp season. We slept in a big refugee tent. It was quite cool the first few nights with some rain and frost. We used every blanket we could find. Some of the kids slept in their clothes but still liked it. Pam’s cooking was fabulous and that made the hard work and cold mornings with no showers more manageable. Every few days we headed down to town for other activities. The road up and down to the camp was something else. The few gravel roads I’ve travelled on in Canada, and even Mexico, were nothing in comparison. This road had boulders to dodge, streams to drive through, and a very rickety bridge that crossed over a fast flowing river. Besides one flat tire, and a few clunks on the bottom of our van, we were fine. The locals drive their cars up and down these roads every day. It’s quite amazing. Keith took Franz, the kids, and another family, on a very long hike that took them up to an ice cave and gave them some spectacular views. They got back about 8 hours later and were very wet and hungry, yet still satisfied. The funny thing here though is that you can still get cell phone reception on the highest, farthest peak. Canada’s a little different in that way. We’ve crossed back over to Montenegro and now Croatia. We’re in Makarska in Croatia. We are once again enjoying some beautiful coastlines; some of the nicest so far. We’ve got about a week to ourselves before we head north to Vienna. Hope all is well!

From Daniela...

Everything has been going great so far. We have finished our time in Montenegro. It was raining a bit so we were inside a lot but on the last few days the sun came out and it was nice and warm. Every morning the hostess Lubinjka would come and give us lemons, and talk to us in skip even though we had no clue what she was saying. On the sunny days we would go out into the town and check out a few new things. The OM team is nearby and have been very generous. They have washed loads of our dirty laundry, helped us find our way around town, and invited us over for a delicious meal. The next day our family brought some of them to the old town of bar for lunch. We ate at an old but restored restaurant. The waiters made us a variety of Montenegrin food. Everything tasted delicious except for the raw chicken, and corn bread with spinach. After we finished eating we went up to the castle of the city. It was very interesting! The second last day we went to a city about an hour away and went into the old town part of the city. There were people living there and they had restaurants for tourists. We were thinking of going to one but unfortunately had to go back to bar. The next day we said good bye to Lubinjka and made our way into Peje, Kosovo.