10-1-2014

September is now over and it has been perhaps our busiest month!  During the first week of September we had a news crew come to the church and interview our 4 young missionaries and us.  They had provided us a copy of the questions so we all took turns answering them.  They stayed about an hour and filmed for almost the whole time.  We do not yet know when it will be on TV but we hope to see it.  Here is a picture of some of the taping.

 Later that same week we had a closing ceremony with the MS Association of Bijelo Polje.  They also had a TV crew there and so again we were on TV.  This is not something we ask for but the association wanted to tell the community about the donation.

We donated 2 computers, a lap top, a printer, projector, etc. and this made it possible for 2 of the MS sufferers in this city to be employed.

A few days later we finished a project with the  Children’s Center in Podgorica.  This is a center for Children in trouble with the law.  The center helps runaways, children whose parents have come into the country without passports, children whose parents are incarcerated, and many other reasons.  They go to a town school but are back at the center after school and all night.  They had a big recreation room but nothing there but a ping pong table that had no balls and paddles that had seen better days.  The donation included several items of exercise equipment and new paddles and balls for the ping pong table.   Also we furnished the library with 4 computers.

 

Exercise Equipment for Children's Center, Podgorica

 4 Computers for library

This same day we had a service project with the young Elders as we assembled the tool kits for the Wheelchair Training project which was coming up soon.

 

 A few days later we closed on a project to help the Paraplegic Association in Bijelo Polje.  This was a great project to employ the paraplegics there as they make items to sell and are thus able to employ the handicapped.  Below is a picture of some of the items they make.  Our donation was a software program that will allow them to receive an electronic logo and then put the exact logo on shirts, aprons, pillows, well, you can see the pictures.

 Pillows of various sizes

 Different Logos on items they even put our LDS Charities on a few items!

 Also donated

                                    Press Conference

 waiting to begin the taping...sheesh!

 The last week of the month was spent working on 1 of our 2 major projects this year it was held down on the coast of the Adriatic in a Red Cross facility.  The Red Cross provided lodging and food for all of us for 5 days.  They had chosen participants from villages and cities all around Montenegro to attend our Wheelchair training course.  By the time we leave, LDS Charities will have donated 900 wheelchairs to the people here.  The Red Cross is our partner and does the distribution to anyone who needs a wheelchair.

 Learning new skills

Participants now sitting in the chairs they assembled

 Learning how to negotiate stairs and ramps

Interviewing recipients so they get the correct size/type of chair

Our mission president from  Croatia and his wife came! (President and Sister Grant)

From Left to Right...Ron Honey, Alisa Canova (Occupational and Physical Therapists form Utah, Natasa from the Red Cross, us, The Cullimores, Sister Grant and standing behind President Grant and the President of the Red Cross of Montenegro.

We had these benches made just for the training and after the local Red Cross offices will use them to measure people for wheelchairs.

And last but not least, here is a picture for all of my Mesquite Toes dancing friends!  Don't we wish we each had one of these in the dressing rooms?  Ha ha!  Bye for now.....