Return to Armenia #1
Well, we’re back. It’s been interesting and hard to believe that we finally made it back. Getting over jet lag continues to be a challenge, but we’re working on that. We left Provo at 5:00 a.m. on June 21st. We took a shuttle with a bunch of very enthusiastic missionaries headed around the world. I think we need some of their energy infused into us.
Our flight went from Salt Lake to New York to Vienna and on to Armenia. We had a 14 hour layover in Vienna which was a new experience. We had a “day room” which is a hotel room you can use between 9 and 5. We slept for a few hours then walked a mile to the train stop and took a “schnell bahnen” into downtown Vienna. We strolled around a bit, visited the Stephens church, and then enjoyed some wonderfully marvelous wienerschnitzel at a restaurant called Figlmuller. We decided we’d share the meal and were glad we did. The schnitzel filled the whole plate and then some. I think it was about 12” across. The potato salad that we ordered was delicious, too and we were stuffed by the time we finished. I was so impressed with how clean the city seemed…I didn’t notice trash anywhere. We flew next to Yerevan and arrived a little after 5 a.m. on the 23rd, about 36 hours from the time we left Provo.
We were met by the Mission President, President Dunn (who completes his mission assignment on July 1st) and Ruben Gasparyan, the mission driver. We stopped by the mission office to drop off a couple of suitcases and our heavy winter coats and then dropped President Dunn off at his hotel where he is staying while the mission home is undergoing some remodeling. Ruben then drove us another hour up into the mountains to the town of Tsakhador where we attended a Young Single Adult Conference for the next couple of days. I think we were more “zombie like” than we would have liked, but we did enjoy being with the wonderful young people in this mission. We did a workshop on finding your celestial partner. We ate a lot of interesting food (most of which wasn’t very good) and were offered very few fruits and vegetables. If our new goal was to eat more healthfully, I don’t think we did.
The end of the conference found us driving again…and finally… returning once again to Ararat, about six months after we left. Other than some dust, things looked much as we had left them. Not quite…We discovered after Ruben left that the toilet wasn’t working and the pump wasn’t working so we didn’t have access to water to wash our pile of dirty clothes, shower or fill our water jugs….welcome to Armenia! But, there is also a lot of green that we missed when we were last here…grape vines, apricots and all sorts of greenery from blooming things. There were also a lot of swallows flying about our place in Ararat. Sort of reminds me of the swallows returning to Capistrano, California every year. I wonder how long they’ll be here?
June 26th, we have some water, but the pump isn’t working. We were able to very slowly fill a couple of jugs, but no showers or laundry this morning. Ruben and Ara arrived mid morning, fixed the pump and toilet, so we ought to be cleaner for church tomorrow. We’re off for some orientation with the Shulz’s, the CES couple we’re replacing next week.
June 27th, there is nothing like a warm shower to make you feel like a new (albeit cleaner) person. The water is still working and we were able to go back to the Ararat Branch for a hello and goodbye. It was great to give hugs and kisses to the members we’d grown attached to while we were serving here. We missed seeing some and wished we had the opportunity to visit and encourage them to keep coming. Some things never change. Our first week back has been good!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
California #5 Last
California Musings #5
The missionaries here provide us with numerous opportunities…sometimes teaching, sometimes just experiences. We had our last District meeting today, May 20th and we invited the elders to go to lunch afterwards. We have been going to a little Mexican place, Baja Fresh, but today we tried something different. Alisa had recommended that we go to a Japanese restaurant in the Americana Mall, Katsuya. Elder White, particularly, really likes Japanese food, so it was a go. It was a first for me because I generally don’t eat raw fish, unless I didn’t happen to know what I was eating, which is unlikely. Well, I survived and it was very good. This mall has a wonderful fountain which was apparently designed by the same person who did the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas. It was fun to hear the music and see the water “dance” in rhythm. My sisters may recall the fun trip we had to Las Vegas. The elders called the place the “temple of mammon”. There is another mall across the street called Galleria, but it’s not quite as upscale as the Americana.
Sunday, May 23rd, we were finally able to catch up to a man we’ve been trying to see for weeks. He has a crazy work schedule, and doesn’t return phone calls. We went with the missionaries and had to wait at the gate until someone was leaving and then were able to drive in right after the other car had come out, then up to the top of the parking area, climb 4 flights of stairs up to his apartment…sort of reminded me of Armenia, but it was an outside stairwell; the building did have a bit of a tilt to it (shades of Pisa) and the missionaries were discussing what they would do if the building came down, how they would escape…funny. We had a great visit. All the men talked together and I talked with his wife, Susie, who is a member of another faith and appears to be a very religious person. She married Krikor about 7 or so years ago. She had been a widow for over 17 years. She was in the process of making dolma (I’m going to have to get her recipe). She was cooking cabbage and was stuffing peppers and Roma tomatoes, as well, to make the dolma. She was really glad that we had come but apologetic for the messy state of things. She thinks Krikor needs his religion in his life…and so do we. We talked a bit about the Savior and how He left the 90 and 9 and went after the one lost sheep, which she said was what we were doing for Krikor. The missionaries said they try to visit him every Sunday and this is what he needs…to know someone cares about him and misses his association. Sometimes, when things are not right in your life (you may not be living as you should or are doing things your church teaches you not to do) you may feel you would be a hypocrite if you came. But the church isn’t made up of perfect people, rather imperfect people who come because they want to learn how they can improve and do better, how they can become more like the Savior.
May 24th, as I was walking I remembered one observation I had made but hadn’t noted. There are trees that line several of the streets that are covered with blossoms of purple…so you have streets that are very colorful. Then, the purple fades and everything becomes just green…lovely, though.
This was P-day for the missionaries and we took them to the Huntington Library. It is a beautiful place to visit and there are wonderful things to see and enjoy. Chris Cutri from our home ward in Provo said that if we could only do one thing in California we should go to the Huntington…we did it Chris! I especially liked the huge Desert garden…the cacti were amazing. Before we went on our sightseeing trip, we had a visit with Kris Aristakissian at his home. He’s another one we’ve been trying to catch up to and finally did. He has been a member for almost 40 years. He was baptized in the sea in Lebanon and has been in the United States for about 34 years. He has one son who is a member, but his three other children are not and his wife isn’t really very supportive either. We’re hopeful that he’ll come back to church and get involved with the Armenian group.
We made another visit to the Nagaryan family to drop off a letter and we took the young missionaries with us. The Nagaryan’s were very accepting and friendly towards them and when the elders asked if they could visit them after we leave, they said, “yes”. So, we’re excited that the friendship will continue to grow. The Nagaryan’s were very impressed with the elder’s Armenian and said it was excellent. The Nagaryan’s also expressed some interest in coming to church and we hope they do that, too. Grandma Nagaryan gave me a kiss on each cheek as we were leaving and asked me to pass it along to Ando…so here’s hoping we get to go back to Armenia to deliver it.
The last event we were able to do was sort of like reaching the peak of climbing a tall mountain. This had been our goal and we did it. We went with a bunch of Armenians and their friends to the Los Angeles Temple. I was even able to take a few of my family names and had such calm, peaceful feeling while in the temple. We had one car and a big 15 passenger van that took us there. It was a great time for strengthening our relationships and these types of experiences will do much to build the Armenian group. For some of these friends, it may be the last time we have this association, but as Debra Manoogian said, we never say goodbye because we know that we’ll see each other again.
This has been a wonderful chapter in our lives and we will miss you all. Until we meet again. Now off to Arizona and a grandson’s baptism, then on to Provo for our next journey. Until then….
The missionaries here provide us with numerous opportunities…sometimes teaching, sometimes just experiences. We had our last District meeting today, May 20th and we invited the elders to go to lunch afterwards. We have been going to a little Mexican place, Baja Fresh, but today we tried something different. Alisa had recommended that we go to a Japanese restaurant in the Americana Mall, Katsuya. Elder White, particularly, really likes Japanese food, so it was a go. It was a first for me because I generally don’t eat raw fish, unless I didn’t happen to know what I was eating, which is unlikely. Well, I survived and it was very good. This mall has a wonderful fountain which was apparently designed by the same person who did the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas. It was fun to hear the music and see the water “dance” in rhythm. My sisters may recall the fun trip we had to Las Vegas. The elders called the place the “temple of mammon”. There is another mall across the street called Galleria, but it’s not quite as upscale as the Americana.
Sunday, May 23rd, we were finally able to catch up to a man we’ve been trying to see for weeks. He has a crazy work schedule, and doesn’t return phone calls. We went with the missionaries and had to wait at the gate until someone was leaving and then were able to drive in right after the other car had come out, then up to the top of the parking area, climb 4 flights of stairs up to his apartment…sort of reminded me of Armenia, but it was an outside stairwell; the building did have a bit of a tilt to it (shades of Pisa) and the missionaries were discussing what they would do if the building came down, how they would escape…funny. We had a great visit. All the men talked together and I talked with his wife, Susie, who is a member of another faith and appears to be a very religious person. She married Krikor about 7 or so years ago. She had been a widow for over 17 years. She was in the process of making dolma (I’m going to have to get her recipe). She was cooking cabbage and was stuffing peppers and Roma tomatoes, as well, to make the dolma. She was really glad that we had come but apologetic for the messy state of things. She thinks Krikor needs his religion in his life…and so do we. We talked a bit about the Savior and how He left the 90 and 9 and went after the one lost sheep, which she said was what we were doing for Krikor. The missionaries said they try to visit him every Sunday and this is what he needs…to know someone cares about him and misses his association. Sometimes, when things are not right in your life (you may not be living as you should or are doing things your church teaches you not to do) you may feel you would be a hypocrite if you came. But the church isn’t made up of perfect people, rather imperfect people who come because they want to learn how they can improve and do better, how they can become more like the Savior.
May 24th, as I was walking I remembered one observation I had made but hadn’t noted. There are trees that line several of the streets that are covered with blossoms of purple…so you have streets that are very colorful. Then, the purple fades and everything becomes just green…lovely, though.
This was P-day for the missionaries and we took them to the Huntington Library. It is a beautiful place to visit and there are wonderful things to see and enjoy. Chris Cutri from our home ward in Provo said that if we could only do one thing in California we should go to the Huntington…we did it Chris! I especially liked the huge Desert garden…the cacti were amazing. Before we went on our sightseeing trip, we had a visit with Kris Aristakissian at his home. He’s another one we’ve been trying to catch up to and finally did. He has been a member for almost 40 years. He was baptized in the sea in Lebanon and has been in the United States for about 34 years. He has one son who is a member, but his three other children are not and his wife isn’t really very supportive either. We’re hopeful that he’ll come back to church and get involved with the Armenian group.
We made another visit to the Nagaryan family to drop off a letter and we took the young missionaries with us. The Nagaryan’s were very accepting and friendly towards them and when the elders asked if they could visit them after we leave, they said, “yes”. So, we’re excited that the friendship will continue to grow. The Nagaryan’s were very impressed with the elder’s Armenian and said it was excellent. The Nagaryan’s also expressed some interest in coming to church and we hope they do that, too. Grandma Nagaryan gave me a kiss on each cheek as we were leaving and asked me to pass it along to Ando…so here’s hoping we get to go back to Armenia to deliver it.
The last event we were able to do was sort of like reaching the peak of climbing a tall mountain. This had been our goal and we did it. We went with a bunch of Armenians and their friends to the Los Angeles Temple. I was even able to take a few of my family names and had such calm, peaceful feeling while in the temple. We had one car and a big 15 passenger van that took us there. It was a great time for strengthening our relationships and these types of experiences will do much to build the Armenian group. For some of these friends, it may be the last time we have this association, but as Debra Manoogian said, we never say goodbye because we know that we’ll see each other again.
This has been a wonderful chapter in our lives and we will miss you all. Until we meet again. Now off to Arizona and a grandson’s baptism, then on to Provo for our next journey. Until then….
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
California Musings #4
We had our first Zone Conference, and the approach of President Pike, while different from President’s Dunn, was good and we learned more about teaching by the spirit and doing less “rote” teaching. Because of the number of missionaries, they do five zone conferences. That’s a lot of work! It was a day-long meeting from 9:00 a.m. to almost 4 p.m. with about a 30 minute break for lunch. One of the best parts was the testimony meeting at the end when all the departing and all new missionaries shared their feelings. Elder White (one of the Armenian elders) bore a heartfelt testimony and as I followed him, so did “the sign of the waterfall”. Oh well, maybe one of these days, I’ll eliminate the tears, but after 60 years, I’m not banking on it.
Missionary work continues to be interesting and rewarding. Friday (the 7th), we decided just to drop in on Ando Najaryan’s (from Ararat) family, as they hadn’t returned our call. Elder Chaney had sent the contact information to us to check out. We were expecting to find Ando’s brother, but instead found his niece, Tamara, her husband Andy and their little boy, Shant, who is almost 4. They were so friendly and we were able to share some pictures of Ando and Hasmik (had on our computer) with them and visited for over an hour. Apparently, we had Voskan’s (Ando’s brother) telephone number, but Tamara and Andy’s address. We exchanged more information and they volunteered to go with us to Voskan’s place as they said their English wasn’t that good and they could help translate. It was interesting as Tamara talked about the brothers, her father and Ando. She commented that Ando was so positive and always upbeat in spite of his trials and challenges, while her father was a bit of a pessimist and negative. I was thinking to myself, but didn’t say, that I think having a gospel-centered life and always helping and serving others is a key to a happier existence. We also had been given the name of Tamara’s brother, Vegan, but he is in Arizona, currently facing some immigration issues. The judge on his case is apparently a member of our church…Hope the results are fair and good.
May 8, 2010 was a Stake Helping Hands day at the Muir Elementary School. We all donned the yellow shirts and helped paint and landscape the school in preparation for Teacher Appreciation Day on Monday. All of the teachers will have their own garden spots planted with flowers and shrubs that their students and their families paid for (for the most part). Considering that about 45% of the students are below the poverty level, it’s pretty amazing. The principal of the school, Linda Junge, is a member of the church and her husband, Jason, is a returned missionary from Norway (just a little aside). We enjoyed dinner with the mission president and his wife and once again discovered a small world in the church. Stephanie Pike is a cousin to Vickie Taylor, and I could see some family resemblance. They also were well acquainted with Jennifer Hyde Young, daughter of Hope and Os, as the Pike’s children attended Provo High where Jennifer worked. The Pikes were also acquainted with Chipmans and Robisons (founder and partner of Caldera Engineering where Rog worked).
Mother’s Day was a wonderful day to connect with family (enjoyed Skyping and seeing most of the grandchildren and children). We also had another baptism within the Armenian group, so the numbers are growing…but not without challenges unfortunately. With the newness of the church to most Armenians, there is quite a lot of “hand holding, listening, encouraging”…not always bad, however.
I had another first. In conversation with a member who had been baptized about six years ago, she said she had been disappointed (haven’t heard since Armenia). She said she had been promised some help several years ago and nothing had come of it. I’m not sure exactly the problem (sometimes something is lost in the translation) but she considers herself no longer a member.
We were able to get together with more of the Najaryan family. We met Voskan (Ando’s brother) and his wife, Noura, daughter Anna, granddaughter Catherine, and mother. Tamara and Shant also were there. It was fun to get acquainted and share the photos of Ararat inasmuch as they had all lived there for a long time. In typical Armenian style, the coffee table was loaded with all kinds of fruit, cookies, etc. They would like us to help with a reference letter for the son to help with the judge’s decision regarding Vigen and also wondered if we could find out about the possibility of Ando being able to come over here to visit family, especially his mother who is 90.
We're continuing to work with the Armenians and are excited that next week we're going with a group of Armenians to the Los Angeles Temple and shortly after that we will be returning to Provo and then hopefully, Armenia. We'll keep you posted.
Missionary work continues to be interesting and rewarding. Friday (the 7th), we decided just to drop in on Ando Najaryan’s (from Ararat) family, as they hadn’t returned our call. Elder Chaney had sent the contact information to us to check out. We were expecting to find Ando’s brother, but instead found his niece, Tamara, her husband Andy and their little boy, Shant, who is almost 4. They were so friendly and we were able to share some pictures of Ando and Hasmik (had on our computer) with them and visited for over an hour. Apparently, we had Voskan’s (Ando’s brother) telephone number, but Tamara and Andy’s address. We exchanged more information and they volunteered to go with us to Voskan’s place as they said their English wasn’t that good and they could help translate. It was interesting as Tamara talked about the brothers, her father and Ando. She commented that Ando was so positive and always upbeat in spite of his trials and challenges, while her father was a bit of a pessimist and negative. I was thinking to myself, but didn’t say, that I think having a gospel-centered life and always helping and serving others is a key to a happier existence. We also had been given the name of Tamara’s brother, Vegan, but he is in Arizona, currently facing some immigration issues. The judge on his case is apparently a member of our church…Hope the results are fair and good.
May 8, 2010 was a Stake Helping Hands day at the Muir Elementary School. We all donned the yellow shirts and helped paint and landscape the school in preparation for Teacher Appreciation Day on Monday. All of the teachers will have their own garden spots planted with flowers and shrubs that their students and their families paid for (for the most part). Considering that about 45% of the students are below the poverty level, it’s pretty amazing. The principal of the school, Linda Junge, is a member of the church and her husband, Jason, is a returned missionary from Norway (just a little aside). We enjoyed dinner with the mission president and his wife and once again discovered a small world in the church. Stephanie Pike is a cousin to Vickie Taylor, and I could see some family resemblance. They also were well acquainted with Jennifer Hyde Young, daughter of Hope and Os, as the Pike’s children attended Provo High where Jennifer worked. The Pikes were also acquainted with Chipmans and Robisons (founder and partner of Caldera Engineering where Rog worked).
Mother’s Day was a wonderful day to connect with family (enjoyed Skyping and seeing most of the grandchildren and children). We also had another baptism within the Armenian group, so the numbers are growing…but not without challenges unfortunately. With the newness of the church to most Armenians, there is quite a lot of “hand holding, listening, encouraging”…not always bad, however.
I had another first. In conversation with a member who had been baptized about six years ago, she said she had been disappointed (haven’t heard since Armenia). She said she had been promised some help several years ago and nothing had come of it. I’m not sure exactly the problem (sometimes something is lost in the translation) but she considers herself no longer a member.
We were able to get together with more of the Najaryan family. We met Voskan (Ando’s brother) and his wife, Noura, daughter Anna, granddaughter Catherine, and mother. Tamara and Shant also were there. It was fun to get acquainted and share the photos of Ararat inasmuch as they had all lived there for a long time. In typical Armenian style, the coffee table was loaded with all kinds of fruit, cookies, etc. They would like us to help with a reference letter for the son to help with the judge’s decision regarding Vigen and also wondered if we could find out about the possibility of Ando being able to come over here to visit family, especially his mother who is 90.
We're continuing to work with the Armenians and are excited that next week we're going with a group of Armenians to the Los Angeles Temple and shortly after that we will be returning to Provo and then hopefully, Armenia. We'll keep you posted.
Monday, May 3, 2010
California Musings #3
We continue to enjoy the beautiful weather here. We manage to get out most mornings, walking the streets in our neighborhood. Sunday, May 2nd, we experienced our first baptism with the Armenian group. His name is Ashot and he was so excited and happy. He’s hoping his wife and children will soon be baptized, too.
We had another small world experience today, as well. After the baptism, we were talking with one of the speakers…sort of where are you from, what are you doing, etc. and we discovered we both had ties to Provo. He asked us where and we told him, Apache Lane. He said, are you in 5th Ward, and we said, “Yes.” Then he said, that’s the ward where I lived and my parents still live. Do you know Norm and Kay White? What fun it was to meet Paul White. He’s on the La Cresenta Stake High Council with the assignment for missionary work/training and he couldn’t have had a better example than Norm and Kay.
Sunday, was also the first time the Armenian group have had all three meetings (Sacrament, Sunday School, and Relief Society/Priesthood) mostly done in Armenian, since they had been a branch 8-9 years ago. Elder Peterson taught in Priesthood and I was the teacher and leader in Relief Society. It was interesting that our subjects for discussion were similar, but we had not consulted with one another. He talked about priesthood responsibilities in the home and I talked about the three lifelong responsibilities of every Relief Society Sister (Increasing in faith and personal righteousness, strengthening families and homes, and seeking out and helping those in need). It would be a modern-day miracle if just like poof!!, we could speak Armenian, but didn’t happen today. So, he had Artur Yeritsyan and I had Alina Harutyuni, Artur’s wife, doing the translating. (As an aside Artur and Alina met at Institute in Yerevan and Artur also served in a branch presidency in Armenia) Relief Society was a very small group, four sisters including me and one investigator. Elder Peterson had a much larger group, both from the Armenian group and several Stake visitors. But that is fairly typical here…there are many more active men in the group than women…just the opposite from what we experienced in Armenia where the women attending church far outnumber the men.
This weekend was fun, too, as we were able to experience some Armenian food when we were invited to the Yeritsyan’s for dinner. Alina had spent a lot of time in Germany so she also included one German dish (sort of like stroganoff), only the rice she served had been baked inside some lavash. They are a wonderful, young, couple and just what the branch needs, but he’s interested in making a career change and moving, so we’ll have to see what happens.
We always try to do salmon for one of the weekend meals, and this time Rog used some cedar planks on the barbecue and it was delicious. We’re trying to get our fill of fish because when we go back to Armenia, we won’t have that luxury. We also invited some long-time friends, Rich and Linda Allen to join us along with our wonderful hosts, Kent and Kathy Lee. Rich and I grew up together in Parleys 1st Ward in Salt Lake City, and his mother, Rhea, was the organizer and accompanist for a trio I sang with for many years. His mother’s sister, Afton, and my mother’s brother, Howard Bradshaw were married to one another, so we are sort of like, cousins by marriage.
This past week, we also had another Family Home Evening with the Armenians. We’re always excited when people we’ve invited to come actually do come. Varter Danalian and her non-member husband, Vartan Rostami came, as well as Iskhanik (Susan) Vartanian and her daughter, Anahid (Annie). I think we had about 25-30 in attendance and the numbers seem to increase each time which is good. Susan called me the next day to share her vision/experience which led to her baptism. She wants me to share her story with those back in Armenia. Hopefully, she’ll write it up in English and Armenian. I wasn’t sure I understood all of what she told me, so it would be good to see it in “black and white”.
We just received an e-mail from Elder Chaney in Armenia with the names and address of some Armenians here who have relatives in Ararat. We’re anxious to see if we can meet them this week. This will be a new, but hopefully fun and interesting challenge. I wonder if they speak English?
We had another small world experience today, as well. After the baptism, we were talking with one of the speakers…sort of where are you from, what are you doing, etc. and we discovered we both had ties to Provo. He asked us where and we told him, Apache Lane. He said, are you in 5th Ward, and we said, “Yes.” Then he said, that’s the ward where I lived and my parents still live. Do you know Norm and Kay White? What fun it was to meet Paul White. He’s on the La Cresenta Stake High Council with the assignment for missionary work/training and he couldn’t have had a better example than Norm and Kay.
Sunday, was also the first time the Armenian group have had all three meetings (Sacrament, Sunday School, and Relief Society/Priesthood) mostly done in Armenian, since they had been a branch 8-9 years ago. Elder Peterson taught in Priesthood and I was the teacher and leader in Relief Society. It was interesting that our subjects for discussion were similar, but we had not consulted with one another. He talked about priesthood responsibilities in the home and I talked about the three lifelong responsibilities of every Relief Society Sister (Increasing in faith and personal righteousness, strengthening families and homes, and seeking out and helping those in need). It would be a modern-day miracle if just like poof!!, we could speak Armenian, but didn’t happen today. So, he had Artur Yeritsyan and I had Alina Harutyuni, Artur’s wife, doing the translating. (As an aside Artur and Alina met at Institute in Yerevan and Artur also served in a branch presidency in Armenia) Relief Society was a very small group, four sisters including me and one investigator. Elder Peterson had a much larger group, both from the Armenian group and several Stake visitors. But that is fairly typical here…there are many more active men in the group than women…just the opposite from what we experienced in Armenia where the women attending church far outnumber the men.
This weekend was fun, too, as we were able to experience some Armenian food when we were invited to the Yeritsyan’s for dinner. Alina had spent a lot of time in Germany so she also included one German dish (sort of like stroganoff), only the rice she served had been baked inside some lavash. They are a wonderful, young, couple and just what the branch needs, but he’s interested in making a career change and moving, so we’ll have to see what happens.
We always try to do salmon for one of the weekend meals, and this time Rog used some cedar planks on the barbecue and it was delicious. We’re trying to get our fill of fish because when we go back to Armenia, we won’t have that luxury. We also invited some long-time friends, Rich and Linda Allen to join us along with our wonderful hosts, Kent and Kathy Lee. Rich and I grew up together in Parleys 1st Ward in Salt Lake City, and his mother, Rhea, was the organizer and accompanist for a trio I sang with for many years. His mother’s sister, Afton, and my mother’s brother, Howard Bradshaw were married to one another, so we are sort of like, cousins by marriage.
This past week, we also had another Family Home Evening with the Armenians. We’re always excited when people we’ve invited to come actually do come. Varter Danalian and her non-member husband, Vartan Rostami came, as well as Iskhanik (Susan) Vartanian and her daughter, Anahid (Annie). I think we had about 25-30 in attendance and the numbers seem to increase each time which is good. Susan called me the next day to share her vision/experience which led to her baptism. She wants me to share her story with those back in Armenia. Hopefully, she’ll write it up in English and Armenian. I wasn’t sure I understood all of what she told me, so it would be good to see it in “black and white”.
We just received an e-mail from Elder Chaney in Armenia with the names and address of some Armenians here who have relatives in Ararat. We’re anxious to see if we can meet them this week. This will be a new, but hopefully fun and interesting challenge. I wonder if they speak English?
Friday, April 23, 2010
Another week in California #2
CALIFORNIA MUSINGS #2
The surroundings in which we find ourselves are truly beautiful, colorful and interesting. It’s no wonder so many people find themselves living here, including a lot of Armenians. I can do without all the cars (in Ararat there were hardly any), but if you time your comings and goings and don’t take the freeways, it isn’t too bad.
I like the streets that are lined with huge palms, sort of like 50-80 ft tall or more with a pineapple on top. Other streets have different trees lining them and they’ve grown so big that the trees from the opposite side of the street form a canopy that shades the entire block. We’ve walked in all directions from where we are living and managed to find a French bakery (darn, but really not) along the way. Sort of defeats the purpose of healthy walking, but a nice way to reward oneself for having done it.
We enjoyed Family Home Evening on Monday with some of the Armenians. There were a few investigators along with some member families…about 30 in all. Pizza and other foods were served after a lesson was given about what should happen in a family home evening as a spiritual start to the evening. The children were entertained by Lacey Ammar (who I’ve heard is an excellent violinist) and Wendy Santiano (mother of three of the children in attendance) before starting the evening, and Artur Yeritsyan led everyone in a game to finish up. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Henry Ammar is the group leader for the Armenians, but neither he nor Rod Santiano are Armenians, but have a desire to help and want to learn Armenian and be part of the group. Henry is Lebanese and Rod is Filipino/Hispanic (I think) and speaks Portuguese as he was a missionary to Brazil. He also knows a lot of Armenian.
We were able to get better acquainted with Hratch Baghdoyan, 80, and his son Armen. Hratch is an Armenians from Syria. Helga Gharibians is from Iran and her daughter Christine Andreasian, was born and raised in California and says she’s an anomaly because she is LDS and never been to Utah. Armen Gevorgyan, whose wife was part of the translation team for the Book of Mormon translation into Armenian was also there. His family is in Armenia currently while he is here working.
We also had our first missionary meetings this week with the full-time elders and Henry to do some planning and reporting. In the evening, we were able to go with the full-time elders to visit Susannah, one of their investigators. This woman is the one that Elder Craft met while street contacting in Gyumri (she was visiting in Armenia a while ago) and then as she was walking down the street in Glendale, she noticed the church and someone who happened to be outside at the time, invited and insisted that she come into the Armenian FHE which was in progress. She and Elder Craft didn’t at first put it all together, just thought that there was something familiar about each other. It’s exciting that she is taking the lessons and preparing for baptism on May 9th. It’s sort of funny, too, that when Elder Craft asked her if she knew what May 9th was, she said, “the day the Russians took over?”, and he said how about “Mother’s Day”. That’s a better day to remember your baptism, I’d think.
We also started to make contact with some of the less actives or those in other wards with Armenian names. We met with a couple, Gloria and Henry Vartanian, in their lovely home. He is an architect by trade. Gloria is the member, but not Armenian and Henry is the Armenian (through Iran), not interested in joining the church, but I think supportive of his wife going. They have a couple of older daughters, and an older son (he appears to be handicapped in some way) living with them as well a granddaughter. When Gloria attends church she goes to the LaCanada Ward and because she’s not Armenian she prefers to keep attending her current ward. She and her husband did say that they might want to attend an FHE.
It’s interesting that the one other family we’ve contacted is also named Vartanian. No one answered the phone, so we just decided to drive over and see if they were still there. A daughter, Annie, answered the door, but her mother was working. We later talked with the mother, Iskhanik (Susan) who came to the States when she was 16, but has moved all around. I asked her about family history and genealogy but she is really uncertain about it at all. We are looking at having families do genealogy as a way to get them back active and wanting to go to the temple to do work for their ancestors. There is a dad, Karnik, a non-member and a son Ara who moved to Pomona, and is going to school. There is also a daughter Mary who is 21 and then Anahid (Annie), 17. The children are all members and Annie sometimes goes with her mother who attends the Sunland Ward. She prefers to go to her own ward as it is only a few minutes away and not the 25 minute drive to be with the Armenian group. She might be interested in FHE.
We did splits with the missionaries, except we added Christine to Elder Peterson and I. We visited 4 places and didn’t find anyone home, or if they were home, not willing to visit with us. I guess rejection is pretty standard with missionary work. It appears one of our contacts may have moved and another had moved or the name on our list was spelled wrong. It’s nice to be able to clear up records as we go.
April 23rd:
We are continuing to make attempts to find people on the ward lists, and last night as we were going out with Elder White and Christine, we finally found someone at home who actually invited us in. It was nice to visit (mostly in Armenian) and be able to invite them to Family Home Evening coming up next Monday. They said they would come, but then, Armenians generally tell you what they think you want to hear and you can be disappointed if you count on it too much. So, we’ll see.
It’s really interesting here how every morning, other than birds, the first sounds we hear are of weed eaters, hedge trimmers and lawn mowers. Someone is always having their yards manicured; it makes for a very nice living area, however. Today, we went for a very long walk that included some trail hiking. If you know Elder Peterson, he loves to go exploring and when he noticed, the trail behind the Brand Library, up the hill we trudged. It was pleasant and, with good scouting skills, he maneuvered us past the French bakery and we just had to go in.
Tomorrow is the commemoration of the Genocide of the Armenians in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). We have noticed lots of signs on businesses that they will be closed and there are lots of protests (gatherings) all around the area…and considering this is referred to as Little Armenia, it isn’t surprising. We continue to do well and appreciate all your love, prayers, and support.
The surroundings in which we find ourselves are truly beautiful, colorful and interesting. It’s no wonder so many people find themselves living here, including a lot of Armenians. I can do without all the cars (in Ararat there were hardly any), but if you time your comings and goings and don’t take the freeways, it isn’t too bad.
I like the streets that are lined with huge palms, sort of like 50-80 ft tall or more with a pineapple on top. Other streets have different trees lining them and they’ve grown so big that the trees from the opposite side of the street form a canopy that shades the entire block. We’ve walked in all directions from where we are living and managed to find a French bakery (darn, but really not) along the way. Sort of defeats the purpose of healthy walking, but a nice way to reward oneself for having done it.
We enjoyed Family Home Evening on Monday with some of the Armenians. There were a few investigators along with some member families…about 30 in all. Pizza and other foods were served after a lesson was given about what should happen in a family home evening as a spiritual start to the evening. The children were entertained by Lacey Ammar (who I’ve heard is an excellent violinist) and Wendy Santiano (mother of three of the children in attendance) before starting the evening, and Artur Yeritsyan led everyone in a game to finish up. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Henry Ammar is the group leader for the Armenians, but neither he nor Rod Santiano are Armenians, but have a desire to help and want to learn Armenian and be part of the group. Henry is Lebanese and Rod is Filipino/Hispanic (I think) and speaks Portuguese as he was a missionary to Brazil. He also knows a lot of Armenian.
We were able to get better acquainted with Hratch Baghdoyan, 80, and his son Armen. Hratch is an Armenians from Syria. Helga Gharibians is from Iran and her daughter Christine Andreasian, was born and raised in California and says she’s an anomaly because she is LDS and never been to Utah. Armen Gevorgyan, whose wife was part of the translation team for the Book of Mormon translation into Armenian was also there. His family is in Armenia currently while he is here working.
We also had our first missionary meetings this week with the full-time elders and Henry to do some planning and reporting. In the evening, we were able to go with the full-time elders to visit Susannah, one of their investigators. This woman is the one that Elder Craft met while street contacting in Gyumri (she was visiting in Armenia a while ago) and then as she was walking down the street in Glendale, she noticed the church and someone who happened to be outside at the time, invited and insisted that she come into the Armenian FHE which was in progress. She and Elder Craft didn’t at first put it all together, just thought that there was something familiar about each other. It’s exciting that she is taking the lessons and preparing for baptism on May 9th. It’s sort of funny, too, that when Elder Craft asked her if she knew what May 9th was, she said, “the day the Russians took over?”, and he said how about “Mother’s Day”. That’s a better day to remember your baptism, I’d think.
We also started to make contact with some of the less actives or those in other wards with Armenian names. We met with a couple, Gloria and Henry Vartanian, in their lovely home. He is an architect by trade. Gloria is the member, but not Armenian and Henry is the Armenian (through Iran), not interested in joining the church, but I think supportive of his wife going. They have a couple of older daughters, and an older son (he appears to be handicapped in some way) living with them as well a granddaughter. When Gloria attends church she goes to the LaCanada Ward and because she’s not Armenian she prefers to keep attending her current ward. She and her husband did say that they might want to attend an FHE.
It’s interesting that the one other family we’ve contacted is also named Vartanian. No one answered the phone, so we just decided to drive over and see if they were still there. A daughter, Annie, answered the door, but her mother was working. We later talked with the mother, Iskhanik (Susan) who came to the States when she was 16, but has moved all around. I asked her about family history and genealogy but she is really uncertain about it at all. We are looking at having families do genealogy as a way to get them back active and wanting to go to the temple to do work for their ancestors. There is a dad, Karnik, a non-member and a son Ara who moved to Pomona, and is going to school. There is also a daughter Mary who is 21 and then Anahid (Annie), 17. The children are all members and Annie sometimes goes with her mother who attends the Sunland Ward. She prefers to go to her own ward as it is only a few minutes away and not the 25 minute drive to be with the Armenian group. She might be interested in FHE.
We did splits with the missionaries, except we added Christine to Elder Peterson and I. We visited 4 places and didn’t find anyone home, or if they were home, not willing to visit with us. I guess rejection is pretty standard with missionary work. It appears one of our contacts may have moved and another had moved or the name on our list was spelled wrong. It’s nice to be able to clear up records as we go.
April 23rd:
We are continuing to make attempts to find people on the ward lists, and last night as we were going out with Elder White and Christine, we finally found someone at home who actually invited us in. It was nice to visit (mostly in Armenian) and be able to invite them to Family Home Evening coming up next Monday. They said they would come, but then, Armenians generally tell you what they think you want to hear and you can be disappointed if you count on it too much. So, we’ll see.
It’s really interesting here how every morning, other than birds, the first sounds we hear are of weed eaters, hedge trimmers and lawn mowers. Someone is always having their yards manicured; it makes for a very nice living area, however. Today, we went for a very long walk that included some trail hiking. If you know Elder Peterson, he loves to go exploring and when he noticed, the trail behind the Brand Library, up the hill we trudged. It was pleasant and, with good scouting skills, he maneuvered us past the French bakery and we just had to go in.
Tomorrow is the commemoration of the Genocide of the Armenians in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). We have noticed lots of signs on businesses that they will be closed and there are lots of protests (gatherings) all around the area…and considering this is referred to as Little Armenia, it isn’t surprising. We continue to do well and appreciate all your love, prayers, and support.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
California Arcadia Mission Musings #1
Well, we made it to California. We have been set apart as missionaries in the Arcadia California Mission and we’re excited to get back to business. We’re meeting on Sunday with the Stake President and Mission President and should have a better idea of responsibilities and what they’d like us to focus on.
I want to tell you a little about where we are staying. The Lee’s (Kathy and Kent) have been gracious enough to take us in for the couple of months we have still to be in the US before returning to Armenia. We did learn from the missionary department that our time home for medical did not count towards time served, so the 3 months we were home for medical treatment will be added on to time we will be in Armenia. This means that we will be home around July of 2011 and not April.
At any rate, the Lee’s are a wonderful couple. We learned one interesting thing. They were in attendance at Mike and Doris’ Andelin’s wedding so knew Zach’s parents. Kathy works as a third grade teacher and her husband has his own business doing drive shafts. We also met the office couple (Snow’s) at the mission office and they also knew Andelins as they are also from St. George. Sister Snow said she had been involved in music some with Doris and also Brother Snow had taught some of the Andelins at Dixie as that was his profession before missions. It seems a small world when you get out in it.
The weather here is beautiful and I must say it was quite a study in color as we drove down the freeway. The desert had flowers of myriad colors. First was a beautiful apricot color (in Nevada) and then the yellows, both bright and lemon colored, and then we got to California: bright pink and fuchsia, then purple and then all sorts of different plants. I love the way the freeways are now being artistically designed with various ground covers, rocks, flowers, etc. When we arrived at the Lees, there were the azaleas all in bloom (reminded me of Oregon). Their home was built in 1929 and on about ½ acre (large for a property in the LA area…I guess unless you are of the Hollywood set). They have a pool and large lawn area and even a garden area. We may be able to help with gardening and maybe even take a dip, if time allows. Kathy and Kent both work full-time and he is the bishop of their ward and she is in the Relief Society Presidency, so they are busy people. She loves to cook and we enjoyed a lovely meal this evening.
The Lee’s will take us on a drive tomorrow morning to get better acquainted with the area and help us locate the churches and institute we will be working with. We are so grateful to have our GPS as we would really get lost without it. Traffic here is busy, busy, and depending on the time of day, it can often be more like a parking lot.
Obviously, I didn’t get this posted and now it is Sunday, April 11th. We had a great day here. We were able to attend a Sacrament and Sunday School meeting with the Armenian Saints here in Glendale and some interlopers. They scheduled it as a testimony meeting and it was wonderful to hear prayers and testimonies in Armenian. It was also great to get acquainted with the elders who had served in Armenia prior to coming here; Elder Craft, Judd (who goes home on Tuesday) and Elder White. All seem to be doing well and the missionary work is progressing. We also had an opportunity to visit with the Stake President, President Morgan and with the mission president, President Pike, to map out some plans and ideas for what we can do while we serve here. We now have a list of all members in the Stake with Armenian names and we will get to work to meet them, bring them back to church if they are inactive, participate with them however we can. We are going to try and help them do some family history so they can have their own names to take to the temple the end of May. We’re also hoping to make connections with those who have family members still in Armenia…to sort of synergize our efforts. Maybe it will work that those in Armenia who have family names and can’t readily get to the temple, will be able to work with California Armenians to get the work done for their families. They would also like us to help find and activate members who could serve in leadership positions in Relief Society and Priesthood. They may be able to meet again as a branch if there is enough leadership and attendance. They are also going to be starting ESL classes the first week of May and we can help identify Armenians that would benefit by participation in these classes. At any rate, it’s exciting to think about what we can do. We will work with the full-time elders, too, to coordinate our efforts.
As the mission president said today, quoting from one of the prophets, “it’s great to be back in the harness.”
We send our love to all of you and hope you are having a wonderful week of Spring.
I want to tell you a little about where we are staying. The Lee’s (Kathy and Kent) have been gracious enough to take us in for the couple of months we have still to be in the US before returning to Armenia. We did learn from the missionary department that our time home for medical did not count towards time served, so the 3 months we were home for medical treatment will be added on to time we will be in Armenia. This means that we will be home around July of 2011 and not April.
At any rate, the Lee’s are a wonderful couple. We learned one interesting thing. They were in attendance at Mike and Doris’ Andelin’s wedding so knew Zach’s parents. Kathy works as a third grade teacher and her husband has his own business doing drive shafts. We also met the office couple (Snow’s) at the mission office and they also knew Andelins as they are also from St. George. Sister Snow said she had been involved in music some with Doris and also Brother Snow had taught some of the Andelins at Dixie as that was his profession before missions. It seems a small world when you get out in it.
The weather here is beautiful and I must say it was quite a study in color as we drove down the freeway. The desert had flowers of myriad colors. First was a beautiful apricot color (in Nevada) and then the yellows, both bright and lemon colored, and then we got to California: bright pink and fuchsia, then purple and then all sorts of different plants. I love the way the freeways are now being artistically designed with various ground covers, rocks, flowers, etc. When we arrived at the Lees, there were the azaleas all in bloom (reminded me of Oregon). Their home was built in 1929 and on about ½ acre (large for a property in the LA area…I guess unless you are of the Hollywood set). They have a pool and large lawn area and even a garden area. We may be able to help with gardening and maybe even take a dip, if time allows. Kathy and Kent both work full-time and he is the bishop of their ward and she is in the Relief Society Presidency, so they are busy people. She loves to cook and we enjoyed a lovely meal this evening.
The Lee’s will take us on a drive tomorrow morning to get better acquainted with the area and help us locate the churches and institute we will be working with. We are so grateful to have our GPS as we would really get lost without it. Traffic here is busy, busy, and depending on the time of day, it can often be more like a parking lot.
Obviously, I didn’t get this posted and now it is Sunday, April 11th. We had a great day here. We were able to attend a Sacrament and Sunday School meeting with the Armenian Saints here in Glendale and some interlopers. They scheduled it as a testimony meeting and it was wonderful to hear prayers and testimonies in Armenian. It was also great to get acquainted with the elders who had served in Armenia prior to coming here; Elder Craft, Judd (who goes home on Tuesday) and Elder White. All seem to be doing well and the missionary work is progressing. We also had an opportunity to visit with the Stake President, President Morgan and with the mission president, President Pike, to map out some plans and ideas for what we can do while we serve here. We now have a list of all members in the Stake with Armenian names and we will get to work to meet them, bring them back to church if they are inactive, participate with them however we can. We are going to try and help them do some family history so they can have their own names to take to the temple the end of May. We’re also hoping to make connections with those who have family members still in Armenia…to sort of synergize our efforts. Maybe it will work that those in Armenia who have family names and can’t readily get to the temple, will be able to work with California Armenians to get the work done for their families. They would also like us to help find and activate members who could serve in leadership positions in Relief Society and Priesthood. They may be able to meet again as a branch if there is enough leadership and attendance. They are also going to be starting ESL classes the first week of May and we can help identify Armenians that would benefit by participation in these classes. At any rate, it’s exciting to think about what we can do. We will work with the full-time elders, too, to coordinate our efforts.
As the mission president said today, quoting from one of the prophets, “it’s great to be back in the harness.”
We send our love to all of you and hope you are having a wonderful week of Spring.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
California, Here We Come
Well, it's official. We're headed to California (Glendale) this coming week. We will be staying with Kent and Kathy Lee of the Glendale 2nd Ward.
We will be doing a temporary assignment with the Armenians there, working with young adults and less active. We're excited about the possibilities. Hopefully, it won't be too long and we'll be able to return to Ararat and resume our responsibilities there. We appreciate all your prayers in our behalf!
We will be doing a temporary assignment with the Armenians there, working with young adults and less active. We're excited about the possibilities. Hopefully, it won't be too long and we'll be able to return to Ararat and resume our responsibilities there. We appreciate all your prayers in our behalf!
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