Visoko (6/21/2010)—Cindy (Whole Group)

When we pulled up to our first camp, the kids scrambled into formation to hold up the letters to form WELCOME. It really made us excited to start our first camp. With Larry's delay in flights, rock star Beth H. had to lead music without sound equipment, but improvisation is her middle name. She had everyone marching, singing and jumping in the light of love. Running short on time, the Servant Group was able to decorate only one parachute. We thought the children would want to keep it in Visoko, but they insisted it be sent to Haiti to help the children there. We're really pumped by a great first day for a wonderful 2010 servant trip.

Gradačac (6/22/2010)—Meg (Jagoda Group)

Hi there, from Meg! Right now we are on the bus to our next hotel. We just got done our second camp, and boy was today exhausting! We had a lot more kids than yesterday, and it was also our first full camp today. Before camp officially starts the kids get to play with the new sports equipment that we leave at the schools at the end of the day. Today I was playing basketball with two girls and one little girl named Jasmina kept missing the basket the whole time until the very end when she made three shots in a row. We all got so excited for her. It's amazing to see how kid can feel so accomplished from making a few shots in basketball and how universal it is to convey how proud you are of someone. Even though I couldn't speak her language she understood that I was proud of her accomplishment.

After camp started we broke into our color groups. We had so much fun with the kids doing our portable ropes course today. There are different challenges where you have to do things like go through it linking arms, or holding our friend Wally, or with two people in one shirt, or even blind folded. So far, the favorite is when one of the Americans is paired up with one of the children, blindfolded, and led through the ropes course. They find it very funny when we run into the ropes because we don't speak Bosnian very well. When the second group came in we had them teach us a few words in Bosnian such as left and right, over and under, so that we had a chance of making it through the course without falling. They of course laughed at our pronunciations. The group we had before lunch we had the most time with because lunch was a little late, so we played Simon Says. We let them take turns being Simon and without hesitation they started giving instructions in English, all of us Americans were very impressed. At lunch time we saw some flooding on the news in Bosnia, turns out it was a lot closer than we thought because we are driving through it as I speak. I really hope the luggage that's underneath the bus is still dry, otherwise we are going to be wearing the same clothes for quite some time. Overall the camp went very well today. It was pretty wet outside, but the school had plenty of room to keep us all warm and dry inside.

Brcko (6/22/10)—Alexa 

Brcko is very close to the Croatian border.  It was the first camp that the small group led after separating from the large group, and only the second camp!  Considering the first camp was a shortened schedule, it really seemed like the first true camp that I was participating in.  Not at all intimidating to lead the drama without veterans like Cliff and Jason to offer guidance!  Ha!  Fortunately I had a very capable team of Chris and our interpreter Jasna (who are each quite the actors in their own right) and even Lauren and all her enthusiasm was able to assist because she wasn't leading the Games at that time.

It was a little difficult because I had children ages 4 - 16(?).  But it was exciting to see how cooperative they were with each other.  There were a few moments where the teenagers were a little too cool to participate...  but we won them over!  We had a lot of great discussion stemming from our Billy Goats Gruff play -which the campers played roles in - about trying to find a new ending where everyone wins.  We played a few games which got a lot of laughs.  All in all had a great experience!  They were a very fun bunch to work with.

Then we drove back to rejoin the rest of the team in Gradacac, through what seemed like a monsoon.  All of the streams and rivers were overflowing.  We were a little worried that our luggage compartment on the bus would get water logged.  It was very sad to see so many homes and farms flooded.

Kosarac/Trnopolje (6/23/10)—Cliff (Jagoda)

The Jagoda team traveled down the street from our lodging in "srcem do mira" ("through hearts to peace"), which is the Kozarac peace center, to play, laugh, and sing with the children and teachers of Kozarac. Our seventh visit to this school (Kozarac) was made even more special by the inclusion of several students and teachers from the nearby school in Trnopolje.

Sarah got high marks for coaxing smiles from the minority of students (4) from Trnopolje with her gentle kindness and warm smile. Meanwhile, her brother Andrew brought down the house in his role as "The Troll" in Drama skit. Larry woke everyone up with "Matilda the Gorilla," and Samir, an interpreter, acted like a gorilla. Emily and Rene put that energy to good use in the school's new gymnasium, leading the kids through obstacle courses and parachute theatrics.

He directors of both schools greatly appreciated the team's work and are looking forward to our visits next year.

Prijedor (6/23/10)—Elizabeth 

Prijedor had an older crowd of people, so they were a little hesitant to take part in our fun, silly games. However, once they got involved, they were very enthusiastic. I was amazed at how quickly they understood things; they learned a song in Swahili. They were eager to hear what we had to offer and I'm sure they learned something valuable from our camp. 

Sanski Most (6/24/10)—Emily 

The camp at Sanski Most went pretty well. It was the largest camp we have had since the start of the trip.  The ages of the kids varied more than usual, which was a new test for our team.  In the games group, my group, we decided to try something new.  We split the color group inro two parts. One group stayed inside for the first half to try the ropes course, and the second group went outside to play with the parachute.  After the parachute, we allowed them to play soccer and volleyball, or just toss the beach balls around.  Half way through the rotation, the groups would switch, which was better for everyone.  It was easier for the activity leaders to handle and the kids were able to do everything they wanted.  Overall, camp was another success.  

After camp we all traveled to the identification center which was just down the street.  The emotions and the attitude of our group did a complete 180 change: from excitement and happiness, to astonishment and confusion.  The images we were seeing was something that none of us were used to, or even prepared for, at least I wasn't. It is easier to compartmentalize what happened to this beautiful country when you hear the stories, and it is something you can tuck away in the back of your mind to think on later. But it is almost impossible to comprehend the images and severity of the situation when you are staring them in the face.  Walking past 400 body bags with partial skeletons of adults and small children, unexplainable emotion over comes you.  Some have pieces of clothing still with them, which in some cases is the only way to make an identification.  There is one image that is now forever burned in my brain.  I was walking past a few of the skeletons that had been pulled off of their shelf and placed on the floor for a family to look at to make an identification, and I looked at the human skull.  You could see that right between the eyes there was a bullet hole from where this one individual had been executed.  Still today, there are around 250 skeletons in this one center that do not have  names.  

Travnik (6/24/10)—Lauren 

Travnik has been my favorite camp over the years, by far. The teachers and the students are so welcoming and prepare for our camp more than any other school we visit. The chalkboards in each classroom, the bulletin boards, the gym, and auditorium are all decorated with drawings and phrases such as "Welcome friends". The teachers and the director of the school do all they can to ensure that their students participate in our activities and learn all that we have to teach them. Although every student we work with on our trip has the potential to make a great difference in this world, this potential is most obvious in the children of Travnik. This year's camp went very well. We had two guest interpreters so we were able to do a full four session rotation. We had about 120 students ranging in age from 4 to 16. The older kids were extremely willing and able to help me brush up on my Bosnian as well as help with the younger children. This was my fourth time going to this camp and I was very glad to see that a lot of the kids that I have watched grow up over the years were there to greet us as we got off the bus. It was a pleasure doing the camp in Travnik and I was rejuvenated by their spirits. 

Šipovo(6/25/10)—Rene 

This is a country of incredible beauty.  There are amazing mountains all around and rivers at every turn.  Each house has an impressive garden and fruit trees.

Today we had beautiful weather and I was lucky enough to play outside with the kids and the giant parachute.  I have never played with a parachute and the pure joy on the kids' faces is amazing.  Each group that sees the parachute set up for them lets out "oohs and aahs" of delight.  They never tired of tossing the beach ball really high or making a tent with the parachute.  Running under the parachute was a blast. This big kid laughed a lot.

This was the largest camp...370 children, a new servant trip record.  Our group of New  Jersey Lutherans and Bosnian interpreters was a bit intimidated planning for this camp, but everything worked out great.  Flexibility is the key to making the unanticipated work.

After the camp and everything had been loaded onto the bus, we walked through the adjacent field to visit an orthodox church.  The priest was waiting for us and told us how his church was damaged during the war.  All of the damage is now repaired and the church is a small jewel with beautiful icon artwork inside. After visiting the church, the priest hosted us for drinks and cookies at a picnic table outside in the church yard. The bosnian people are very friendly and these friendship camps are highly anticipated by the entire local community.  On the way back to Sarajevo, we stopped in Jajce and saw an ancient fortress from the 1400's.  These are long days that are balanced with playing with the children and expanding our knowledge of the country and people of Bosnia.

Srebrenica (6/27/10)— Becky 

This was a very important camp because it was for children with special needs.  The kids were so nice and adorable.  There was this one kid Bojan who was very adorable.  I let him play with my camera for a while and I now have a good 50 pictures of the floor.  It was touching to see all of the children be able to participate in the activities.  I was so glad to see them smiling and having fun.  I am in the drama group and it was so great to be able to include the children in the skit.  I feel like they really enjoyed that.  This is something that everyone should experience at least once in their life and I hope to be back soon.

Mostar (6/29/10)—Rick

Mostar is a new camp this year. It was great.  

Today is our second to last camp day, and we are all exhausted. Today was the first day that was really hot. My group, Zeleni (that's green for those of you unfamiliar with Bosnian), was very energetic. Apparently the other groups weren't so excited, but it was fun. Mostly, it was a typical camp, that is, totally crazy and completely unpredictable. 

After the camp, we spoke with Vjeko's friend Ado about Mostar. The city is divided into a Croat section and a Muslim section. The two sections tend not to mix. Ever. People are afraid. This has been true since even before the war. In fact, after the war, there was a lot of hope that the city would start to mingle more, but that has proven not to be the case. 

We also got a chance to walk around the city, and see the bridge. "Most" in Bosnian means bride, as in "Mostar." It is a beautiful stone bridge over a clear river with gorgeous surroundings. 

Sarajevo (6/30/10)—Carrie

I'm glad this was the last school we went to.  Sarajevo is one of the first locations the Servant Team did camps for the kids in Bosnia years ago and they have been going ever since.  We were greeted out front by the director as we arrived. She remembered the team members who had been before and made sure to welcome and thank those of us "rookies".  While I left parts of my heart all over Bosnia, it is this school which will remain with me the most.  One of the teachers dragged me over to look at a string of cut out handprints hanging on the wall.  Through my trusty interpreter he told me that it was the handprints made and cut out by the IST team last year. The school leaves the string of dusty, well worn hands as a sign to the kids that they are loved and cared for by people who accept them just as they are.  What impressed me the most about the school in Sarajevo was the diversity of the kids.  We had Muslim and Christian kids interacting as though there were no differences. We were also blessed to work with kids of all ages who have special needs.  When they looked at me and smiled, it made my day. One cannot help but respond to them with smiles and hugs.  Working with all the kids in Sarajevo was a privilege.

I saw this school as a builder may see a finished house.  Although a solid foundation has been built, there is still a lot of work to be done, and the structure must be maintained through the years.  When I compare the campers from this location with campers we saw for the first time this year, it gives me great hope, not only for the future of this ministry, but for the future of the people of Bosnia. 

Vojkovici (6/dd/10)—Cliff, Andrew, Sarah 

The Blueberries along with several Strawberries ended their service with a wonderful camp at Vojkovici. This camp had many older kids who gladly joined in when Alexa drafted them to be goats and potential "Kozi-Hamburgers" in the drama with Andrew being his crazy self as the hungry Troll. 

Our dynamic musical duo of Beth and Rick  lead the kids in a heartfelt rendition of "We are Marching in the Light of Love"

With many of our supplies dwindling the team handed out blank tote bags and had the kids decorate them. They were happy signing each other’s tote bags and asked many team members for signatures too. The older kids gathered round conversing with team members. A brother and sister from Minnesota helped Sarah with her Bosnian.

No matter what the age, they all had a good time, both contributing and taking away something from this experience. Much fun, hope, and love was definitely in the air at this camp.  The camp ended with Ed and the Borovnica (blueberry team) leading the  the kids in their traditional "Cha-cha slide" Stay tuned for video!!!