| Making a peaceful place in the chaos of Bosnia  By Sandy Rowland Isnt it awesome, that God would send you to a place where you never thought you would go and love people you never thought you could love, but you did? Thats how it was with my trip to Bojelo Polje, Bosnia, sponsored by the United Methodist Committee on Relief. After three mission trips there, I relate Bosnia to a puzzle that has been dumped out of the box: The people are now trying to put all the pieces back together and many of them dont fit. Many people think the country is fixed, but it isnt. Jobs are scarce, people are hungry and the medical situation is not good. Many people are trying to deal with the stress and trauma that they suffered during the war and they dont know what to do with their emotions. My job was to help in some small way. The refugee camp in Northern Mostar that I visited had doubled in size since last year. The occupants had no place to go back to. Many were scared to return home because of their mixed marriages. I saw many desperate people with raw emotions who just didnt know what to do. The hardest part of my journey was trying to determine how to help. I soon came to realize that I couldnt help them all, just a few. My evenings were busy teaching English, doing handicrafts and meeting with the Widows Sharing Group. The mornings were filled with planning, sewing and doing errands with Saja, my host and founder of the organization Sumejja. Sajas story is a book in itself. She was in a concentration camp for three months and told me many heart breaking stories of pain, courage, struggle and death. I became her listening ear as I did for many people. We became very good friends. After school ended I worked with two groups of young girls. We did crafts and talked about life and how could they change their country for the better. The next couple of generations will be the ones to change the mindset of the people. I was privileged to attend many important governmental meetings, see much more of the beautiful country and learn about a culture that had been foreign to me. The young children tried very hard to teach me their language and I learned many new words. I was able to attend a memorial service for those who had died in the village during the war. A total of 249 people from Bojelo Polje died; 154 were children. It seemed that everyone came. There were stories, poems, singing by children and sharing by the Muslim priest. The president of Bosnia even attended. It really made you stop and think about all the people who lost their lives so terribly, and what for? I know we cant change the past. We can only try to make the future a better, more peaceful and brighter place. The last two weeks of my stay I spent with a VIM team from our conference, led by Aimee Stewart. Our project was to build two greenhouses, one for the orphanage for children whose parents died in the war, and one for the Lilly House, a home for elderly. One of the projects that came out of my trip is seeking funding for a young Bosnian to go with me next year on a VIM trip to Africa. Fritz became very close to me and amazed the team by his story of survival at the age of 16 during the war. He was one of the thousands to escape through an underground tunnel beneath the Sarajevo airport. His story is one of courage, strength and hope. I praise the Lord for this experience and leave you with this anonymous quote: The length and breadth of our influence upon others depends upon the depth of our concern for others. Sandy Rowland is conference VIM coordinator. She is currently a member of Mt. Zion UMC in Charles Town, W.Va. | 
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