17. Aug 2023

Čizma - Sarajevo

Photo 1: It was bound to be another hot day. I had one major uphill climb and there was no promise of finding shade on the road. Then this cloud came. I had shade from heaven almost the whole rest of the way. At the end of the stretch there was a light refreshing rain as I entered Sarajevo.

Photo 2: Just about the whole walk today was on the state road. The closer I got to Sarajevo, the more traffic there was on it.

Photo 3: There was one side road I could take coming down from the uphill climb. It was early afternoon. I said to God that it would really be nice if I could find a shady place to sit to have my lunch break before I would get back to the main road. About two minutes later this man comes up the hill in my direction with his two daughters. They are taking their garbage to the bins that I had just passed. I greeted him and he answered in English. His name is Jaber and he his from Kuwait. He and his daughters and sister are spending the month of August at their summer home there near Sarajevo. He asked me to come to his home and sit in the shade in his garden. I gladly accepted and had my lunch break in their picnic corner of the garden. Jaber then brought out tea and cake. We talked about the Koran and the Bible and I was able to explain to him the message of God's grace and life that he gives us in Jesus. In Islam people endeavor to earn "points" through good deed to pass the test of life on earth. I explained that the only way to pass the test is to get 100% points just as God is 100% holy and pure. No one can achieve this. Therefore God declares that we have all failed the test. But then God gives us Jesus who completed the test of life with 100% and Jesus gives us his points as a gift of life from God to us if he come to him and ask him. Jaber said that this is very good and that he had never heard this before like that. I told him that this the "iinjil", the word gospel in Arabic, which means "good news". Jaber's younger daughter understands English quite well and listened intently to our conversation. I then prayed for Jaber and his family before moving on. His older daughter came and took this picture.

Photo 4: An old Roman bridge near the entrance to Sarajevo

Photo 5: This welcoming sign to Sarajevo gives a constant rememberance of the siege that took place during the war. The pain of the past is still very present.

Milestone: 1000 Kilometers