We left
Zenica by early morning bus for the one hour ride to
Sarajevo. The weather has been exceptionally warm for this time
of year in Bosnia, and there has been no complaining from us
about that pleasant fact.
Upon arrival in
Sarajevo, we were greeted by Enisa Dedic, General Secretary of
EUS (Evangelical Union of Students), which is a Bosnian organization which
gathers college students to help them encounter God personally, and which serves
the student population through a variety of activities. Enisa and her staff
serve university students in Sarajevo, Zenica
and Banja Luka. Our connection with Enisa began when as a
teenager before the war, she received the Lord in our fellowship; over the last
two decades she has been a spiritual pillar for the Body of Christ in
Sarajevo and Bosnia.
Enisa brought us
to the place where we would lodge at for the week. Once we were settled in and
rested, Sandrina and I hit the streets for an hour walk toward the oldest part
of Sarajevo: Baščaršija, the bazaar of the Old City.
It was a great joy
to meet up with pastors Sicko and Marija Alic, from Zagreb, for
a special lunch and coffee together. They were visiting
Sarajevo for two days to minister at their new Rijec Zivota
(Word of Life) Church, which started about eight months ago. It was actually
back in the late 1980′s at Baščaršija that we first introduced them, and … well
… the rest is history.
Baščaršija
(Turkish for “main market”) allows the visitor to step back into history as one
strolls pass its shops and cafes. Built in the 1400′s by Turkish conquerors,
Baščaršija is presently only one-third the size it once was, having been reduced
through the centuries by earthquakes, fires, wars and modernization. We are
especially fond of the Old City area, as we lived there between 1988 to 1990 in
an apartment, and also our church was located there from 1990 to 1992.
Baščaršija is considered the historical, cultural and religious heart of
Sarajevo.
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