SEDA'S BIRTHDAY

Seda does so much for everyone in her world that I wanted her to be pampered for her birthday. I bought her a cute picnic basket and dishes, and since the weather was so beautiful, planned a relaxing picnic, American style. She thought the best place to have it would be her brother-in-law's very nice summer cottage.

I roasted chicken, made salads, & chocolate birthday cake, and had what I thought was an abundant feast, ready to eat. But Armenians just can't not do what they always do, which in the summer time is khorovatz----barbecue on a wood fire. Karin, Seda's husband, got the fire going and cooked pork, eggplant and potatoes.

So my offering was rounded out with Armenian food. I think they were just concerned about confronting American food and needed a back up. "One man's ways may be as good as another's, but we all like our own best." (Jane Austin ) Nowhere is that quite as true as it is in Armenia. We all liked each other's food and Seda didn't have to work as much as she usually does.

I have tried no less than five times to post more pictures and can't get it to work, but we had a jolly old time eating and then dancing the night away. Seda can't not dance---and she's very good at it. Her best birthday present, though, is that her family is planning to be sealed in the new Ukraine temple in March. (They were actually sealed early in July, and her husband is the new branch president. Seda is one happy woman!)

MENK UNENK UHNTANIK

The majority of the Vanadzor Branch is single women of all ages. And we love them. I would like to introduce you to a not so typical family, but one for whom we have great hope of becoming an eternal family.

Samvel is the father of Lena, Rima and Kamo, and the husband of Nuneh. He has hearing and speaking disabilities, but he is a hard working, cheerful man and a great father and husband. I can say that because he has a happy wife and wonderful children. He seems to be able to fix anything. He has a baptismal date of October 9th. The family all said he didn't even need to be taught because he knows everything about the church already, but he's being taught just in case.

Next to him is Elder Cheney and darling Rima, who is nicknamed "Butterfly" by Elder Blunck. Her sister Lena is our branch chorister and the most dependable and faithful 12 year old I've ever known. Her hair comes to her knees and she is unfailingly cheerful, beautiful and bright.

Then we have cousin Laura, who is a college student, and was recently baptized. She is very faithful and and everything a young adult member should be including beautiful and intelligent.

Nuneh is the lucky mother of the three children. She was buried under a wall for two days after the earthquake 20 years ago, and is grateful to be alive. She was a young girl then and suffered some effects from that trauma, but hasn't let that get in the way of being a good wife and mother and a happy member of the church.

Elder Larson is holding Kamo who is a typical 9 year old who loves to play with his friends. Kamo's Papik is a dignified and good man who loves his family and is not quite ready for baptism, but committed to overcoming some minor things that are in the way at the moment.

Grandma Laura is in the Relief Society presidency and is hoping to go to the temple soon. (In fact, she was able to receive her endowment in July 2011.) She was very apologetic last time we visited because it was Sunday and she had just learned that day in temple preparation class that we shouldn't go shopping for food on Sunday even if we have guests coming. Being a good hostess is just what every woman does, but we praised her endlessly for making the right decision, and she served us tea and bread at the end. Actually not having the full spread, from our point of view, allowed lessons to be taught without all the distractions. We were right in the middle of our no water at all week, but that didn't stop her from using her nice cups and saucers and plates. She is very genteel. I think it is thanks to her that the girls all play the piano and that they are all busy doing their homework every time we stop by. They pray daily as a family and I know that heaven will be populated with families just like the Matevosyans.

GOOD SABBATH!

This is Navere and all of his family, except his brother Sogomon, who was there, but not in the picture. Sogomon is 14 and a teacher, and a very handsome young man who passes the sacrament each week in his priesthood uniform and a very sweet smile. Elder Thylin, who's from Sweden, came from Gyumri to baptize Navere because he had been such a good friend to the family before he was transferred. We had visited them with the Elders many times. They live in a big dorm for the homeless, and I have to confess that every time we visited it was so dark that I really didn't know what the boys actually looked like. It was very early in our mission and I tried hard to learn their names, and even wrote them down, and studied them. Now these strange names roll from my tongue, but back then, 1/2 a mission ago, it was a struggle.

We went several times, with an appointment, to find the mother not home, and I had planned lessons, wanting so much to help her become a better mother to these sweet boys because, in spite of my own failings, I'm Marjorie P. Hinckley in comparison. But they kind of disappeared on us, or maybe we on them.

The sisters found them, and the boys started coming alone. I didn't know they were the grandsons of Siranuge, who is a faithful member who lives on a hill so steep that taxis can't make it up, and who walks with one cane, and sometimes two. Families don't sit together in church, so it's hard to match people up sometimes.

It was a wonderful baptism, and the mom came, and has been coming cheerfully ever since. Grandma had a bad hair day, meaning that's not a pink hat she has on her head, and little sister Sirangue toddled around, and it was a very happy day.

The boys and Grandma came to the Kiev temple cultural event (which really was astonishingly good),and the temple dedication which was such a moving experience.( A dear Santa Clara sister had given me 12 beautiful temple handkerchiefs and neither of us could have known back then that all 12 would be used on that day by worthy members shouting praises at the dedication of the first temple in Eastern Europe.) The brothers politely shake hands with everyone coming and going, and how we hope they can stay strong through adolescence and the mandatory two years in the army, which undoes a lot of good boys.

They were back again today, and so was the whole family, including Grandma Siranuge happily sporting beautiful chestnut colored hair. We have had unfailingly great fast and testimony meetings. All of our pouters are cheerfully back in the fold, which proves once again that love, and fasting and prayers, are the best people skills. A convert of three months bore her testimony for the first time, and said how much the gospel has helped her, and how much she learns each time she comes, (which is every time). She said how thankful she was to learn from the testimony just preceding hers, that she should carry her scriptures everywhere she goes, just as she does her passport. (And a happy p.s.: just before we came home her husband was baptized and her dream of going to the temple could very well become a reality.)

Good testimonies, good hymn singing, great post meeting class on preparing for the temple. Good to hear that one member paid his tithing for the first time today, and bore a strong testimony. Good to hear a testimony from a member who learned from the temple dedication that President Monson is a real person who is alive at this moment and leading the church. Some concepts we take for granted aren't that easy for people on the other side of the world to grasp.

Hadjika Vadjika

This is sweet and eccentric Jemma. She dresses like a very elegant gypsy and only took her hat off just long enough to be baptized—-then donned it immediately. Now that it’s summer she’s changed her look from long fur coat, boots and this hat, to flowery bandannas and swirly skirts. She always the first one there, and always has a serene, and very stylish smile.

I’ve been keeping a list of some random stuff to try and capture the flavor of life in Vanadzor. Partly because my kitchen has no less than five layers of linoleum at the doorway (just stacked, not installed) I’ve tripped more than once, but I’m trying to keep my balance spiritually, and missionarily, by doing what’s right every day, so that these odd little things don’t completely throw me off.

We were at a birthday party. I was wearing a silk blouse and spilled a little something. My neighbor took a big pinch of salt and rubbed it into the stains, which immediately disappeared. Completely.

We were showing all of our English classes “Up” as a treat. The power went off—you never know for how long. So a cute little 7-year old marched to the front and recited poetry complete with theatrical gestures worthy of the very best Hamlet. Then others recited spontaneously, and Ani sang a beautiful Armenian folk song, and the power came back and we finished the film. Elder Blunck tried to lead us in a chorus of “She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain” and that’s when the movie came back on. Thank goodness.

We were at another party. During the mandatory dancing afterwards (that’s what “Hadjika Vadjika” is by the way—a dance/song. Hadjik and Vadjik are men's names. The "a" is the definite article they put at the end of a name or noun.I’m going to bring a DVD home and we are going to do it together. A new family tradition. You’ll love it.) —–anyway, during the dancing a music video came on of an old man singing a sweet song about carrots. Very weird, but very cute. We danced to that, too. It doesn’t matter—-you just keep dancing.

I had my hair cut. But then I found myself suddenly having my eyebrows dyed. Until it wore off I looked like I had caterpillars on my forehead. I wish I had beautiful Armenian eyes, but I had to refuse the next time she wanted to, and she could not understand why. But now she has moved to Ukraine, so I don’t know what to do about hair or eyebrows.

I actually know a darling young woman who not only minces, but titters.

We have an English student who, on the first day, announced that he had escaped from themental hospital and at one time survived by drinking his own blood. I personally don’t hold that against him, but it made our class of all woman a little uncomfortable so we moved him to the Elders’ class. He is now a progressing investigator and attends church faithfully and reads the Book of Mormon in two languages. We have an endowed member who sent a new pair of garments to her teen-aged granddaughter thinking she’d like to wear them, too. Elder Blunck might very well make me erase some of this, but I just wanted you to know about things that throw me off at times. It’s good and true that missionaries are the most prayed for people in the world. Maybe no one is specifically asking that Sister Blunck will be able to keep her balance, but I know for sure that God knows what is best for each of us.

Then Do What is Right

You can’t force spiritual things, as we know, and I’ll tell you the honest truth—every time Elder Scott came into the room (a meeting with just missionaries, the kitchen where I was helping to get his dinner on, and where he was so gracious and gave me a hug, and the big meeting with all the members from here and Georgia) I just felt encircled in pure sweet unforgettable love. I’ve talked to many members who were able to shake his hand and have a personal moment with him—-I think time may have stood still for him to have contact with every one there. I wouldn’t be surprised.

Soon after that we went to Tsakadzor for the best Young Single Adult Conference I’ve ever participated in. We were the parents for the week of the Georgian group—mostly new members, and serious investigators who we hadn’t known before. If you remember my pictures from our first two, you’ll appreciate that we not only had hot water and a clean bathroom, but clean sheets and wonderful accomodations in an old Soviet resort which must have been decorated by an old Soviet hippie. Art everywhere, green plants everywhere—-and maids and food servers with frilly white aprons and caps. We didn’t come on a mission to take a shower. But it was a nice surprise to have a charming place to stay while we tried to keep up with all the workshops, dancing, and very well-planned activities.

The thing that’s on my mind is that there’s always the rest of the story. (I hope not with Elder Scott’s visit—that was perfect). I’ll tell you, Armenians, much as I love them, know how to pout. Literally. We have a man & his wife who have turned in all their church materials, & are not coming to church anymore, and are pouting hard because they weren’t invited to Tsakadzor. We have a grandma and a YW President who are pouting because our darling 12-year old branch chorister couldn’t go to the District Youth Conference with the 14-18 year olds. The young woman is fine—she seems to be resisting the pouting lessons she’s getting from her elders.

We all could learn from Seda. When things don’t go her way, she fasts and prays and looks for the good in every one. Her reaction to our sulking couple was great sorrow and a day of fasting for them, before Fast Sunday, even. Her reaction to her husband’s six years of inactivity (honoring his mother’s demands that he not have anything to do with the Church) was to tell her children that they were going to love their grandma and their dad and treat them with the greatest respect, and then she went to work fasting and praying and serving with all her might. And now when she sits in the congregation, and when she looks at the men sitting on the stand, she sees her husband sitting to the right of the Branch President and serving as his first counselor. Elder Scott’s main lesson to us was to do what is right. It works far better than pouting.

Hope ya' know...

I love this line from Elder Cook’s Conference talk. I think it’s the reason we have blogs, and journals, and friends—because somebody needs ta’ know. Sometimes we just have times that are so intense that while we’re going through them we just keep thinking “I’ve got to write this down, I’ve got to remember it, and somebody else needs to know all about it too.” Then when we start talking about it, or writing it , it somehow doesn’t really seem all that interesting anymore, and we just get on with our lives (another great line from Conference—Elder Snow). We had a week like that a week ago, but now this past week has obliterated everything I wanted to write about the week before.

#1 memory this week: We are surrounded by green hills. In those hills you will find a man, his bones held together by his earthy, leathery skin, who chops downs big bagfuls of edible green things—nothing you would ever find anywhere but in these green hills. We visited his family this week. They live in a very humble, very rustic home. It’s hard to tell what the walls are covered with—-mostly layers and layers of wood smoke. (I would say his smoke, too, but he just smokes one after another and never exhales.) There is a TV and the requisite china cabinet with fancy dishes, and a very nice replica of the Salt Lake Temple which the former Branch President made for them. The little bit of everything else is threadbare. The whole family was sitting in the living room bundling the greens to sell in the marketplace. To my great and happy surprise one of the daughters is Marineh, who I thought lived in the city. She has the sweetest radiant smile, and crippled legs, and somehow has to go up and down the rickety wooden stairs how many times a day to milk the cows, and do her other chores. While we were there she made the trip and poured us out two pop bottles full of warm milk to take home. Her mother makes cheese to sell, so this was a hugely generous gift. I had given her a CTR ring weeks ago, which she had given to her mother. Luckily I had a purse full and gave another to her, and to the little children in the family.

Captions for the photos: Top left and bottom right: our bath buckets, and our flames in your face water heater—just so ya’ know. The elders today said “You know, usually senior couples live in much nicer apartments than the elders.”

Then: Standing on the beautiful new bridge in Tbilisi which isn’t open yet to ordinary tourists. The guards who let us up only knew that we were Americans. If they had known our apartment wasn’t as nice as the elders, they would would have snubbed us.

Nine year-old Martune, who was baptized just today. He is the happiest person I have ever met. His smile will take him far in this life. Keep smiling, Martune.

Seda is the most faithful person in the world. I could talk about her for hours. She has had amazing spiritual experiences, and is second only to Martune in the happiness department. Or maybe, considering that she’s older and has had many challenges, she would really be first.

This house is being built next to us. They have spent weeks on the grand stone entry. I wanted you to see how buildings are constructed here. They do amazing things with blocks and cement. (As of the day we left to come home it still looked exactly like this, except, strange to relate there is a garden behind the wall.)

We are standing in front of the Armenian letter “B”. I was told my smile wasn’t sincere. And it wasn’t. I was tired and sick and I hope ya’ know I had had a very exhausting week.

Sanam—our Relief Society President. A very intelligent and faithful sister—a mathematics teacher, who also teaches Seminary and is my piano student. I’m a little in awe of her, but she calls me Sister Blunck-jan, which is high praise.

P.S. The Monday after: Marineh and much of her family were at Church sporting their rings. But the huge blessing is that Seda’s husband was sitting by her side at Sacrament meeting, and stayed for all the meetings. This is the answer to 6 years of fasting and prayer, and an amazing story I’ll tell you soon.

Something for the Grandchildren

If we had a bumper I might be tempted to get a bumper sticker proclaiming my grandkids to be better than everyone’s. We really do miss Rani, D, Tali, Marcus, Tiari, Rachel, Joel, Jake, Heather, Wesley, Abby, Whitney, Justin, Troy, Audrey, Dallin, Chad, Kyle, Alison, Griffin, Truman, Eva and Mae, and your parents, too. We’re trying to be good so we can all be together for a very long time—as in forever. We appreciate your prayers—-they really help—and we pray for you, too. We thought you would like to hear about what the children here did for a Primary activity this last Tuesday. This can help you understand a little about what it’s like to be in another country on a mission.

Try to imagine what this was like: We met at the Church and walked across town to a park. There was a playground but you had to pay 100 dram to go in and play so we didn’t. There were funny little rides that pretty much just went around and around, and didn’t look very safe or pretty. There were weeds, and trash, and lots of children and their moms and women selling sunflower seeds wrapped in pages of old books. When we got there we had a prayer, right out on the sidewalk, and the Primary president gave a little talk about how God created such a beautiful world. Then everyone waited in line and got to go on one ride. After that we walked to the other side of the town and went to a restaurant. We each had one piece of pizza. It had no tomato sauce (which would make some of you happy) and it had corn, mushrooms and red peppers and Armenian cheese. We all had a cup of red flower tea (Word of Wisdom approved.) No one complained, no one asked for something else, no one yelled, or misbehaved, or ran around. Everyone ate all of their food happily and used very good table manners, (except for one boy who licked the sugar shaker, which is not good manners). They were all very happy and thankful for the good time they had. In other words they all were very good children—just like our perfect grandchildren. And I think they had just as good a time as if they had gone to Disneyland. (And by the way, they all loved Pooh-pa’s bird calls and Piccolo Petes.)

One of the boys who came is named Martune. He is 9 years old and he is going to be baptized this Saturday. We hope he will keep coming to Church and be a good missionary some day. We think you would like these children if you were here with us. There are good people everywhere in the world, and Heavenly Father loves us all.