Novice iz Slovenije (news from Slovenija)

I served an 18 month LDS mission in Slovenija. It used to be part of Yugoslavia, it's the size of Rhode Island, and it's the best kept secret in Europe. They have everything from castles to caves to coast lines to mountains, and all just a 2 hour drive away. The most well-known tourist attraction there is Lake Bled (pictured below). It's a church built on an island in the middle of the lake with a castle overlooking it on a cliff. It is absolutely GORGEOUS. Anyways, I just got a couple of emails from a church member there about some neat things that are happening.

The first is about 88 year old Veronika Versic. She is the CUTEST old lady EVER, and I think she's the oldest member of the church in Slovenija! Even though most of you won't understand Slovene, you need to click here to see the video (move the cursor at the bottom forward to 33:10 minutes), b/c it will just melt your heart. She had a grandson in Australia that she has never met, and they finally meet after 40 years of searching for each other! It sends chills through my body at what a miracle it is that they found each other after all these years. What a sweet and touching story, and it couldn't happen to a sweeter woman.

The second exciting thing is that 17 years after the first member of the church in Slovenija (Albin Lotric) was baptized, we are finally getting our first church building there. While I was on my mission (2002-2003), we had a milestone in that we finally got the Book of Mormon in Slovene. That was an amazing experience to witness. Anyways, the building of the first LDS church in Slovenija was on the news there. You can see it by clicking here and then moving the cursor at the bottom forward to 21:10 minutes. Can I just say that I am SO out of practice with my Sloveve? I didn't even understand half of what they were saying!

Serving a mission was one of the best things I've ever done in my life. I miss it so much and would love to go back to visit sometime soon. I made lasting friendships there and know that my life has been changed for the better by having served a mission. What a special and choice experience that was.