It is with great joy that we are sending our first newsletter from Zagreb, Croatia. We’ve already been here a little over a month. We are happy to be able to tell you that we are adjusting well. We have been struck with how many people want to help us. Our church-planting teammates from Greater European Mission (GEM) and European Christian Mission (ECM) have been quick to embrace us. We have received assistance from Croats in the church we attend with searching for a vehicle.

Our residency permits are almost completed. We should only have one final meeting with the police. They may call us to schedule a meeting or just surprise us some day by knocking on our door to see if we really do live where we say we do. It’s all part of the adventure!

Of course, the language is difficult but we are learning. Brenda is enrolled in a four week program at the university where she is learning Croatian grammar. Michael and the kids have language helpers who come into our house to assist with language. We are so grateful for the course we took last year on how to learn another language.

Transportation is not quite what we as mid-westerners are used to but it is quite workable. For a family of six, a car is a necessity but that doesn’t mean that the tram and buses aren’t still of extreme value. Each morning Brenda walks to the bus, then rides it to a station where she boards a tram. She then rides it until she is within 4 or 5 blocks of the school. She walks the rest of the way. In the heat of the summer (100° F this week) she is always hopeful that she will get a tram with large windows. Croatian for window is prozor.

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