Back to Armenia #12

Elder Thylin translating call letter

Pres Carter with Zara, opening mission call

Sometimes time seems to be moving so fast that I get to the next weekend and hardly can remember what I’ve done to make the time go zipping by.

One of our young single adults, Zara, received her mission call this week, and we’re so excited for her. She had really wanted to go to Temple Square in Salt Lake City…and someone must have heard her prayers because that is where she is going. She doesn’t know much English, so she’ll have to work hard to learn the language so she can be effective in her call.

This past Friday was a wonderful Zone Conference. It’s a way to be infused with new enthusiasm for the work we are doing here. There were some changes that will affect how we do things. Because the church is trying to do things correctly and not get into trouble with the government, we can no longer have housekeepers. President Carter indicated that about 40% of work wages are handled under the table and the church doesn’t want to get “sued” for being an employer and not paying taxes or having the necessary stamps to conduct business…so now we get to do our own house cleaning. I’m afraid I was getting a little spoiled from not having to clean bathrooms the past five months….back to reality. We also will no longer be able to have English classes, as that is not part of our Charter with the Government. We can still have interested people come to our Doctrine and Covenants classes and marriage class that are taught in English, but they have to understand they are religious courses for the main purpose of learning gospel principles and doctrines with the side benefit of learning some English.

We enjoyed a nice dinner with the senior missionary couples and some visitors from Russia and Ukraine. We again went to the Corner Café that has the best steaks in Yerevan and a place we have enjoyed a few other times.  We then went to the beautiful opera house and watched some wonderful Armenian folk dancers. One of the dances they did was just like the dance our youth had performed at the Kiev Temple Dedication.

Sunday, we had a wonderful Mission Council at the Mission Home and received more good news from visitors from Salt lake who are here doing a welfare audit. They are in the process of going through the government hoops to allow us to do the church’s ARP (addiction recovery program) here as well as additional programs sponsored by LDS Family Services. It’s pretty exciting what is in the works. There are also lots of Humanitarian projects that are ongoing. Our employment people also reported 72 job placements for the month which is more than they’ve had for the whole year thus far, so that is good news. We know that having jobs and especially good jobs is key to improving the economy and key in helping the church to grow.

Before I forget again, I wanted to let everyone know how excited we are to be having more grandchildren. Jana and Mike are expecting a girl in March and Sue and Zach are having twins in June. What wonderful welcome home gifts they will be.