October 13, 2025, 3:28 PM MDT
SARAJEVO, Bosnia — For the first time in southeastern Europe, humanitarian leaders, senior missionaries, and longtime allies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered in an international online Greenhouse Summit to celebrate one of the most successful self-reliance efforts in the region: helping families set up greenhouses to grow fruits and vegetables.
A virtual event on Thursday, September 25th highlighted the far-reaching impact of greenhouse projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This program is one that improves food security, strengthens families, and provides new hope to vulnerable communities.
Organizers and collaborators
The summit was proposed by Elder Reed Bates and Sister Kathryn Bates, a senior humanitarian missionary from Olympia, Washington, currently serving in both Croatia and Turkey. The event was moderated by Davide Lotito, Church Welfare and Self-Reliance Manager based in Milan, Italy, and co-organized by the Church’s trusted partners, the Muslim Aid Association BiH and the Anna and Vlade Divac Foundation. More than 50 participants participated.
Elder Bates explained that the Church’s humanitarian work in Croatia focuses on food insecurity. One of its collaborators, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, the humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, had seen the success of a greenhouse project in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina and had expressed interest in starting a similar project. This was the beginning of a summit to share best practices and practical guidance with other organizations.
Mr. Lotito opened the summit by encouraging participants to learn from proven successes, stating, “Our aim is that this initiative will further strengthen cooperation among participants. We hope this session will provide insight into the elements that establish greenhouse projects as best practice in our region, and perhaps inspire some of you to consider implementing similar initiatives within your own communities.”
That vision is already becoming a reality. “Some of the participating NGOs are now starting greenhouse projects in their countries,” Lotito pointed out.
Decade of greenhouse growth
For more than a decade, the Church has supported greenhouse projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina to address food insecurity, unemployment, climate change issues and the need for agricultural entrepreneurship. These initiatives empower women, youth, the unemployed and people with disabilities to build sustainable livelihoods.
Since 2014, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Muslim Advocates have worked together to build more than 3,000 greenhouses in 84 municipalities across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Starting with just 20 greenhouses, the facility has steadily expanded with proven success and proven needs.
“This remote greenhouse summit helped participants gain a broader and deeper understanding of the process and results of what is considered the most successful self-reliance project in the region,” said Elder Charles Lamb. He and his wife, Sister Beth Lamb, are hosting the event and are serving in Sarajevo as senior missionaries from Brea, California.
Admir Hodzic, head of Muslim Aid, emphasized the importance of the church’s role.
“These projects are only possible with the help and support of the Church of Jesus Christ,” he said.
Muslim Aid is a non-governmental organization focused on socio-economic empowerment and working to improve the quality of life of people in need. The Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation is a non-profit organization primarily dedicated to supporting Serbian nationals, refugees and internally displaced persons. Both purposes are consistent with the Church’s humanitarian purpose of alleviating suffering, promoting self-reliance, and providing opportunities for service.
Missionary legacy and independent activities
The Lambs believe that gatherings like this summit foster stronger cooperation and innovation. “I hope this summit will motivate participants to try new ways to bring economic security to families in rural areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Elder Lam.
The Rams have deep ties to the region. Elder Lamb first served as a young missionary in the Austria-Vienna Mission (Croatian-speaking region) from 1979 to 1981, including 14 months in the former Yugoslavia. He and Sister Lamb then returned to serve missions in Macedonia and Kosovo. Currently on her third mission, she will remain in Sarajevo until August 2026.
“We call it a family business,” Elder Lamb said. “This is my third mission here and my wife’s second, and our son also served on this mission from 2013 to 2015.”
Wider humanitarian impact
Bosnia and Herzegovina is part of the Northern Adriatic Mission, which also includes Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. Currently, four welfare and self-reliance missionary couples are engaged in missionary work with an emphasis on humanitarian aid. They operate under the church’s Europe Central region in Germany, assessing needs and coordinating projects with local leaders and government agencies.
Mission President Brian Cordray described their service, saying, “Our faithful missionaries heeded Elder (Ronald A.) Rasband’s call to save and minister to those in need in these countries, using the sacred funds of the Church. Their work is miraculous. They use it to assemble and donate hygiene kits, provide beekeeping supplies to create economic security, provide pregnant cows to help with nutritional and economic needs, and support greenhouses and other agricultural projects. Their work is miraculous.”
Looking to the future
Even before the summit, a pilot program was launched with the support of the church and ADRA to help three villages in Croatia build 15 greenhouses by spring 2026.
The first-ever South East Europe Greenhouse Summit highlighted how long-term cooperation and consistent humanitarian action can bring about lasting change. With thousands of families already benefiting and new organizations looking to launch similar initiatives, the summit was an important step in increasing self-reliance across the region.
— Sister Laurie Snow Turner is a senior missionary and assistant communications director in the Northern Adriatic Mission.
