When we go to yoga classes, 4.5 hours a week, and relax between tortures, Gagik will say soothingly "Feel the change in your body; mind is kind." My mind gets kinder all the time. It has to, or I'd never learn the lessons that I was sent here to learn. Here to earth, & here to Armenia. Even though Vanadzor has pictures of Santa all over the place, and little tables along the sidewalks everywhere with zillions of ornaments you can buy one at a time, they don't really celebrate the Santa part of Christmas. They are decorating for New Year's Day, which is their huge holiday. I don't think they really BELIEVE in Santa, like I do. When I tried to buy the Santa garland the lady didn't want to sell it to me----I think she just didn't want to have to take it down. She tried selling me ten other things, but I stood my ground. The little nativity scene I had bought in the big city at the Marriott Hotel. You don't see anything about the birth of Jesus, and you don't hear Christmas carols. We only have two in our Armenian hymn book--Silent Night and Far Far Away on Judea's Plains. We did go to a presentation about The Virgin Mary at the Armenian Apostolic Church. And I think our branch party has been cancelled for about the 4th time.
On Wednesday our wonderful mission president and his wife, the Carters, came for a Christmas activity with the missionaries here. I was in charge of dinner, and we all decided that taco salad would taste good. The sisters made tortilla chips out of lavosh, and I made a huge pot of chili, and roasted a frozen Brazilian turkey, since I couldn't find any other meat that was good. We began with a program of reading scriptures about Jesus' life, and I was so touched by it that the chili burned while I stayed to listen. Christmas miracle#1---it gave it kind of a smokey khorovatz taste, and everyone claimed they loved it, and they ate it all, except what couldn't be scraped off the bottom of the pan. I had decorated the table quite beautifully. That made me happy. I am learning that things don't have to be my way, but when no one else really cares one way or the other, then I do it my way. We had a talent show and played the white elephant game and had a great time. After choosing someone's bag of leftover brown sugar, & getting it stolen I ended up with an x-ray of Sister Cornwell's lungs, & Elder Blunck got some Christmas lights from Target that were just as frustrating to get working as anything Armenian. But they do work. Some of the grandchildren were concerned about whether or not we had lights & we do.
Christmas miracle #2---We (the YSA girls & I) had made hundreds of snowflakes (3-D and Martha Stewart-style) over course of the last few weeks for our assignment to decorate the YSA party in Yerevan with snowflakes. I had engineered plans for the placement, & tied the correct lengths of sparkly yarn onto each one. We were prepared. For some of them it was their first encounter with a stapler or paper clips or tape dispenser. And certainly with doing something other than taping random pieces of tinsel garland around and calling it good. Sorry. We were asked to do snowflakes.
We got up early the next day to decorate before the 12:00-7:00 party. Riding a marshutny always involves:
--everyone arriving late
--stops along the way for a drink of water and another to get gas. It's a 2-hour drive, people, but this is a tradition. This time someone wanted to stop for tissues. I said "Mama-jan, please no!" and gave him a package from my purse. We really needed to get there on time. Really.
--more people than the capacity of the marshutny
--loud music
--smoking driver
--bumpy roads, hair-raising encounters with flocks of sheep and herds of cows and drivers passing no matter that it's a two lane road and you really can't see around that curve
--etc.
But back to the miracle: we finished hanging the last snowflake at 11:55. It looked so good that they kept them up for two subsequent Christmas parties and are going to glue hearts on them for Valentine's Day.
Christmas miracle #3---the next day. Gagik had done his homework and came back for another lesson, and committed to praying to know if Joseph Smith indeed was a prophet.
Next day---Christmas Day. The young missionaries came early for breakfast and had such a good time that they've invited themselves back for New Year's breakfast. We got hungry later and ordered pizza. We asked them to please make it with the actual oregano-laced sauce they used to use. They sent, instead, two containers of oil and vinegar salad dressing.
Still Christmas Day, but the picture of miracle #4 decided to go to the top of the page. It's Elder Blunck baptizing little Diana, on her 8th birthday. She is the granddaughter of Alvart who was baptized recently, by Elder Blunck, in Armenian both times. She sang at her baptism, and bore her testimony after receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Apres!
Then got a phone call and met Maria to run a mile to show her where to buy 6 foot long icicles. There was only one package left. That really could be considered a miracle. And I bought the last Shrilling Chicken which you'll have to just wait patiently to see because there's no way to describe it. Christmas Day--stores are open. A good thing when you just have to have a Shrilling Chicken.
We also went to someone's home, had a very nice dinner, with chilled plates, chilled forks, chilled noses--it's just the way it is here. But kind minds, and warm hearts.
SUNDAY:
Before & After
The Vanadzor Tabernacle Choir had sung for Sacrament Meeting & then we had our Primary Christmas lesson:
We had a glorious time making decorations for the branch Christmas Tree. The District Primary President visited and I think she was impressed with our good branch. She was a little alarmed that I was using such pretty yarn (leftover from snowflakes) to hang decorations, so I gave her the rest of the skein to make something useful. I have a feeling that it will return to me in the form of a scarf or cap. They have very kind minds.