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Dobar Dan (Good Day)!
We are doing well, but have not been able to communicate very much as we
still do not have internet access at home.
Things work differently here. We
were supposed to get internet today, but it was delayed for “another” day. We would love to tell you when we will have
internet and communicate a little more, but we don’t know ourselves.
Our time has been a rush of many different activities mostly
centered around getting set up in Croatia. Week one involved registering at the police
station, waiting for about 4 hours to get all our documents in order and
stamped. Then we went to order phone and
internet. The remainder of the week
involved getting our home set up. We are
mostly done, but need to run to Ikea in Austria to get a computer cabinet
that works well in a smaller space.
The Croatian people have been wonderful. Our landlords, Stjepan and Dubravka are a
true blessing to us. They are a warm and
welcoming couple who have in some ways taken us under their wing. When they found out we were looking for a
car, they offered to help. Stjepan found
out how much we had for a car and began looking at the dealerships nearby for
vehicles he knew were good. After
looking at several vehicles we went to the Ford dealership and found a Ford
Focus that was a leased vehicle before the owner could no longer pay. With Stjepan and Steve Meeker we managed to
get through the initial signing of the vehicle which allowed us to drive it for
5 days. Then we had to go through a 2 ½
day process of waiting in line at the police station, the vehicle inspection
place, the insurance place, and the fire extinguisher place. We now own a car and it is legal on the Croatia road. Although it seems strange to come all this
way and buy a Ford.
We have been sampling the many Croatian foods over the last
3 weeks and the bread is our clear favorite.
For lunch this afternoon I went across the street to a store in an
apartment building and bought half a loaf of bread for 3 Kuna – about 60
cents. Then I squeezed my mustard from a
toothpaste tube onto my ham and cheese sandwich.
We have started language classes and are moving forward
slowly. The good news is that our
landlords and a few neighbors are willing to let us practice our Croatian on
them. This is good news and we hope to
become good friends with them in the process.
Would you pray for these relationships and for our family as we need to
actively reach out to neighbors and speak to them? This is difficult at times when the
conversation is effectively Hi, How are you, my name is … But as Dwight Gradin at PILAT said, “You are
going to make a million mistakes, so get started”.
We plan to put updates out in a more timely manner once we
get internet. Until then, our
communication will be more sporadic. Thanks
so much for your prayers and patience.
So much fun to read about your adventures!! I'm as anxious for you to get internet as you are!
Dober Dan! So glad to get some news! Small group, and especially the Muehlhausers, miss you...and Lydia's bread. Oh it is good to hear that things are going well the Croatia way.... I thought it funny that you would be driving a Ford Focus too.. Makes me laugh..  See you are never too far from home. SO great to hear from you! So glad you have met some very helpful friends already! We miss you!  |
Croatia 
