Life on Urantia is indeed short when compared to the life duration of our ascending career in the cosmos, as we strive step by step towards paradise and our merciful Father. Within this short life on Urantia we get few opportunities to embark on adventures that carry the brevity of a soulful, life changing, cosmic insight enhancing and personality unifying progression, all at once. This trip to Croatia with my spiritual brothers and sisters was exactly just that. On October 12th, 2014, I loaded my camping backpack, my camera, packed 50 lbs of Urantia books into a duffle bag, said goodbye to my lovely sister, and headed off to unknown adventures.
The real beauty of traveling is that it allows your divine guardians to go to work. This is the time when so many interactions and chance occurrences are possible. When we travel we have little control over most of the outcomes on the road. We are forced to rely on our wisdom and faith. This is a fertile environment for countless new experiences that can help us gain valuable growth in the practicing of living faithfully and going in accordance with the Father’s will. We are thrown out of our comfort zone and thrust into the now, and in the now the opportunities for creativity are limitless.
The first night we ate together in a local restaurant. We were all brimming with optimism and excitement for what experiences lay ahead of us. We talked for a few hours about many topics; the current state of the many Urantia groups and fellowships, and the future of Urantia book outreach efforts, as well as sharing our personal stories so as to get more acquainted with each other.
The following morning, we went to the Expo center in Zagreb to set up our booth for the Mystic Organica Expo. It was an alternative healing, organic produce and materials, and “new age spirituality” methodologies expo. Upon arriving to the expo center I got to meet our local contact and fellow reader Hrvoje Pajk. Hrvoje is an intelligent, loving father and friend. He soon turned out to be an amazing ambassador of the book and made connections with hundreds of people at the expo. He was the only one in our group who spoke Croatian and was equally as valuable sharing the book as he was in desperate demand from us for his translation abilities. A glimpse into a normal interaction in front of the booth would be something similar to this:
Person walks by booth.
Me: “Hi would you like a spiritual vitamin? It’s just for you, very special” [Spiritual vitamins are quotes from the UB that are valuable little excerpts from the book they are potent yet simple.]
Person would take one and read it. They would then agree with the quote and walk off, or they would want to know more about where this quote came from.
And that’s where Hrvoje really came through for us. He had a very kind and simple approach to sharing some of the messages in the book to people at the expo. He was so confident in the gospel that he was very relaxed in his approach to communicating his knowledge of these complex topics found in the UB. This does not mean that the rest of us were just trade-show models for hire while Hrvoje was the smooth closer that sealed the deal for the company. We all had countless personally unique interactions with hundreds of great people. Many people in Croatia speak English or at least a broken form of it so communication was rather achievable, we were however, the only American representatives at the expo.
Every morning before the fair would begin, our group would gather around our booth and read a passage from the UB, followed by a prayer. It was a nice way to peacefully center ourselves for the day ahead as well as strengthen our group bond. Our outreach group had a unique dynamic because we had members of multiple generations. We represented a broad spectrum of life experience and backgrounds. Yet there was always a level of respect and sincere sentiment shared between all members. We truly valued each other’s opinion and presence. It was an inspiring group.
I could sense the unity of spirit in us all like a low lion’s roar steadily growing stronger and stronger. I knew deep in my soul that the time has come for us all to rise and take recognition of our cooperative responsibilities regarding; ourselves, our planet, and our divine helpers, in order to progress towards light and life – now.
On the final day Hrvoje drove us out into the country where we visited this amazing national park called Plitvice Lakes. The drive was about 2hrs and along the way we took in the sights of country cottages, old Croatian women working in the fields and leftover remnants of the civil war from the 90s. The long ride allowed for great conversations between our group. While touring around this beautiful place we exchanged ideas and our newly inspired plans of action upon our individual returning to America.
Saying goodbye was of course hard due to such strong bonds that were so gracefully forged between us fellow truth sharers. I look forward to being part of this mission as we progress together towards a brighter future. Thank you to all those who supported this adventure: the 2×2=MORE Project, the Urantia Book Fellowship, and all the silent servants of the Revelation that make experiences like this possible.
Be in Michael’s peace.