Assignment #3

In the summer of 2018 I had the opportunity to travel to Croatia on a mission trip with my church. I worked at a camp for children. Before this trip, I received the task of researching the country’s history. From this I was able to learn about the internal wars of Yugoslavia in the late 1900s which eventually lead to the division of Yugoslavia into separate areas such as Croatia. Additionally we were debriefed about how tensions in these countries are still relatively high even after the end of the war. However, when I was there the local people I encountered were filled with a sense of joy and a welcoming disposition that made it hard to believe the holes I saw scattered across the sides of buildings were truly from bullets fired just a few decades ago. I got to build friendships with several Croat teens, who I found out weren’t all that different from myself. We bonded over things such as our love for music, specifically Shawn Mendes, as well as life experiences we had in common.This showed me the strength and importance of community on a global and national scale, as well as an individual’s impact on those outside of their usual conscious viewpoint.