Thank God for Rain

Thoughts from Ray:

It may be a little untimely for Manhattan and a lot of the midwest right now, but rain was a blessing in Croatia today and many of us are thanking God tonight.


The original plan was to visit a national forrest today with Mladen's family. Late yesterday these plans began to unravel. Renata did not want to take Maja and Rahela to the mountains because there was a strong forecast for rain. Mladen assured us we could take his van and go ourselves, but that would not have been safe for Americans or Croats. The better plan appeared to be to stay in Varazdin, work on the "little cabin", and do some local shopping and sight seeing.


Not only was this the right decision on account that has rained nonstop all day, but it allowed for a fantastic evening. Our first two hour stop for the "young team" (not the "old team" - Rod and Morris) was Josip's house. He and Ana met us with with open arms and clepici filled with ham and cheese. Josip gave us a tour of his tailoring shop and he and Jonathan took a tour of the chicken coupe. I got the privilege of visiting with Sasha, Josip's grandson. I was increadible to see the future through the eyes of a 26 year-old Coatian wanting to start a family and planning for a career. I hope God is gracious to Sasha and Danjela. The laughter was great and the good-byes slow to come. Josip thanked God for rain.

Our next two hour stop was Darko's place (Josip and Ana's son). I would try to spell his wife's name but I would not spell it correctly, so we will affectionately call her "white chocolate". Yes there is an inside joke there. Once again we were met with fresh clepici bread only this time filled with chocolate and peach marmalade. Darko and his wife speak very little English and we speak even less Hrvatski, yet the hours disappeared quickly. As we left Darko prayed, "Thank you God for the rain, because if it had not rained, our brothers and sisters in Christ would not be at our house today."


I too now thank God for the rain that fell in Croatia on June 21, 2010. God's plans are better than ours. I would not trade all the trees and waterfalls in Croatia for what I experienced this evening. It is sad to leave tomorrow, but God knows how to send us off right!


To those of you who know me well - yes I cry when I type.

-Ray