The life dream of the 86-year-old nun Hristina from the village of Korita in Bosnia’s southeastern town of Bilec became a reality when a monastery was built in her native village on her initiative. Believers from all parts of Herzegovina region participated in the construction, thanks to whose donations the monastery saw the light of day 15 years ago. But the greatest credit for bringing life back to the forgotten village, and bringing together the believers from different regions, goes to the nun Hristina, who dedicated her whole life to faith and God, they say.

With quick steps and a walking stick in her hand, nun Hristina starts the morning by going to church and saying a morning prayer. As she unlocks the door of the small wooden church, she tells us how much this place of worship means to her. For years, she says, she spent her time praying to God that her village would get a church. The request was answered, and she herself played a big role. She launched the initiative, which received a good response from the faithful who turned her long-time dream into reality.

“I begged people who would do it, and then they asked for help and did everything. As I prayed to God, God gave us everything. We first built a church and then a house, so now we want to build a new one in front of the house because this church is small and people can't fit in it,” she said.

The church is dedicated to St. John of Kronstadt, it contains a cross from Jerusalem, consecrated on Golgotha, and it is a gift of the Orthodox Association “Pilgrim” from Serbia. It is the place where Hristina found the peace she needed, and where she spends her time in silence and solitude in prayer.

Near the monastery, she lives with a few other nuns who are far from the public eye, in the fresh air, with a couple of goats and producing organic food completely devoted to faith and God.

She recalled that she left her native village as a Milojka, and returned as a nun Hristina. She was in the monasteries of Manasija, Ostrog, Duza and Dobricevo, but she always dreamt of only one thing, to return to her village, and encourage others to return by building a monastery.

“My family is all in Belgrade, and I came back here, they told me ‘Why did you come back’ but here I love these people and that's it. I had a good time there, but I love my people,” she admitted.

Although she was exposed to various temptations, kindness, sincerity and charity throughout her life were her main guiding principles.

The church bell in this Bileca village gathers believers from different parts of the Herzegovina region and beyond. Happy to have succeeded in her life's mission, the 86-year-old nun still hopes for a return and greater revival of her birthplace.