Snow in Serbia!

We woke up on Thursday morning in Belgrade, Serbia to snow falling!


Finally-snow!

We arrived in Belgrade on Wednesday evening only to find that the gas into the country that comes from Russia was cut off indefinitely, and the apartment of the family with whom we were staying was a bit "chilly", to say the least.


Finally get to use my snow boots!

I want to thank two people here. First, I want to thank my niece, Sarah Borders, for giving me her outgrown snow boots before we moved to Budapest! Secondly, I'd like to thank my husband, Glenn, who encouraged me to bring these boots with me on this trip!!!

Master griller on the balcony in freezing weather

We stayed with Lee and Beth in Belgrade for two nights and while there, Lee suffered through temperatures around 20 degrees to grill some delicious meats for us on their balcony!

Glenn, Beth and Lee infront of the Danube River

We braved the bitterly cold weather one afternoon for about an hour and took a quick tour of Belgrade. The last time we were in Serbia (last May), I wrote about how surprisingly beautiful the countryside of Serbia was. It is even more beautiful covered in snow!

Fortress around the old city

There is a huge stone wall that seems to go on forever at the top of a hill overlooking the Danube River. Today, inside, it is like a park with statues and memorials to an earlier time.

Scarey sight

All too recently bombed out buildings still stand as reminders

Julie and Carl

Friday morning we caught a bus that took us to Cacak (pronounced Chachak) where we have been staying with friends Julie and Carl and their 3 children. I enjoy it when this family comes to Budapest as Julie and I have become friends.

House church at the Bannerts'

While in Cacak, we have been able to visit with the other families that live in this same town and see how they are doing. (I'm sorry, I didn't take pictures of all the families.)

Kristin and Josh

On Sunday we drove the Bannert's car to a nearby town to visit with Josh and Kristin. This is an awesome couple who are involved in sports ministry. The best pizza I've had in Europe in the past 2 years was in their town of Kraljevo on our last trip through here and I was kind of hoping to have some on this trip, but alas! We ate somewhere else and it was as great as the pizza was!

Restaurant on the water

Ice fishing behind the restaurant

While we were watching the folks fishing, we watched someone catch a fish about 8-10 inches long!

We also had the opportunity to meet Steppie, one of our newest co-workers. She arrived just 3 days ago and is still trying to get over jet lag.

When we entered her apartment, I immediately thought of our son Chris who lives in Tennessee. I thought he would enjoy seeing the bright orange walls in her apartment! (In addition to being Tennessee colors, it reminds me of one of his previous cars.)

We head out in the morning for Bulgaria for a few days and then on to Macedonia. I know God called us to this ministry, but I can't figure out WHY He has blessed us with such an awesome job! We receive so many blessings by getting to know these folks and hearing their stories!! These are our heroes of faith!