Mind is kind. . . . . . .

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.

Logic Puzzles

Logic puzzle #1 almost solved: Last week I watched this construction site for awhile as I waited for something or another. (That is our Relief Society room in the far left of the picture. They have been building this who-know-what-it-will be for a year.) There were four workmen, and two were working hard shoveling sand onto shallow pallets, while the others lounged about. Then they would all pick up an end and take it somewhere, and return, and repeat. I wondered why only two were actually working until I saw that there were only two shovels. This week I watched again, only this time there was one workman, with one shovel, and a real wheelbarrow. And he hauled off more sand in five minutes than the four of them had done in thirty. But does that mean there are three unemployed workers now? And where's that other shovel?

We've known this goat for almost five years . He's parked outside the one hour photo across the plaza from the church building. He's on wheels and every night they drag him by the horns back into the shop. He's stuffed with straw and his head has been in the process of falling off ever since we met. He represents a theory I've had lately that we all started out as good as can be back when we only had a spirit to worry about. But I won't be surprised to learn that when we inherited these bodies---and became strangers here in the world----we also had some screws that weren't quite tight, or some wires that got crossed, just to see how we would deal with driving such "wretched machines". (C.S. Lewis)

One of these days I'll get my own head sewn on straight. Sometimes when I'm trying hardest I end up doing my worst.

This is the statue in front of the entrance to our meetinghouse. You can see Elder Blunck at the door. Vanadzor has some wonderful sculptures.
* Logic puzzle #2: The storekeeper in Yerevan who had affordable and good peanut butter. She stopped carrying it because she said that the minute she put some out on the shelves it would all get bought. Apparently she's not into volume merchandising.

There's something about this mouse-in-a-jar with the same markings as his friend that always captures my attention.

Our mission goal from now until Christmas is to baptize twenty-five new souls (I mean in the entire mission.) Our sisters have already had 5, with a 6th tomorrow. Last week Elder Blunck, in perfect Armenian, baptized Alvart. This is not puzzling at all-----this is the result of some mighty good work by some very great sister missionaries.

STAYING ON THE PATH

We traveled on Saturday and again on Sunday to attend meetings in Yerevan with Sister Dibb of the YW and Sister Stevens of the Primary. These are some of our members, while we're waiting for gas. They are posing with a cute little thing we learned from our visitors. "I will stay on the path back to my Heavenly Father!" If you hold your hands just right it looks like you really are hanging on to an iron rod. We do have a Heavenly Father, and there is a path back to Him.

Ani had awakened the night before, got out her English dictionary, and wrote a letter to President Monson which she slipped to Sister Dibb to deliver, and I know Sister Dibb will graciously give it to her father, who will be touched. I'm sure our visitors learned from those they came to teach, and we all learned so much from them----what they said, and the kind of people they are. I know it was a time that Heavenly Father was smiling down on this little group of us who are helping one another along the path.

Masta Pasta Part 2

Rose hips growing wild under the beautiful Vanadzor sky

Armine with a small part of her harvest from which she makes her healthy juice

This video doesn't begin to show ALL of the pasta hanging outside, nor the very meticulous process of hanging one long strand at a time. But you do get to hear the rooster, and I think the image of all this pasta is almost like a ballet.

The Masta Pasta Maker from Vanadzor!

OK, so the video starts out sideways. And I know the Chinese are credited with inventing pasta, and the Italians have turned it into an art form.

But with borrowed videos, and figuring out ALL BY MYSELF how to load a video, and kicking myself for not bringing my own camera, I'm going to tell you something you probably didn't already know. My friend Armine, mother of Ani and Araks, lives on the outskirts of the city. She is a provident, and talented woman. God told her that Friday was the only day she would have left to make her years' supply of pasta (and He was right because it's been raining and windy ever since and you'll understand the significance of that in a minute.) Armine has great faith and great gratitude for every blessing she has. And she listens.

So she brought in 100 kilos of flour, and all the neighbors she could find, and all day and into the night and the next day they made pasta.

After they have made the dough they throw it onto the floor, (between sheets of plastic) and knead it by dancing on it for two hours! Then they roll it out, slice it, and stretch it out with the technique of wrapping it around their arms.

They hang it outside, one long strand at a time, on the clotheslines to dry. It's an amazing and beautiful sight. That afternoon we feasted on fresh pasta topped with yogurt, garlic and butter, and it was as delicious as anything I've ever eaten. From a kitchen with no running water and a woman with an endless supply of energy, who gives me the best haircuts, and, in fact, cut my hair after lunch that very day. I did catch her yawning during our Vanadzor Tabernacle Choir rehearsal this afternoon. She can yawn and sing at the same time.

That's Armine you're hearing, and here's a quick Armenian lesson: you hear her saying "jan, jan" over and over, which means "dear". For instance I am Quir Blunck-jan, and appropriately this segment ends with "shat lav" which means "very good".

IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT......

Primary is a pretty special time of the week for me. I feel a little more at home there than when I was teaching Gospel Doctrine in Armenian. Wouldn't you??? I bribed the branch president to let me be the Primary pianist by agreeing to direct the Vanadzor Tabernacle Choir and it's been a good thing. This particular Primary day was extra special--- six almost perfectly behaved children. They were good little lambs.

Last Sunday we had twelve, which, with our resources, was like having 150 at home. Terrifying. Nuneh, our friend who had been buried alive for two days after the earthquake, was teaching for the first time. She had prepared the lesson with Seda and me on Tuesday, and then went home and made a visual aid and had notes from the manual. I silently prayed for her the whole time and it all worked out fine. The way things do.

Seda wanted the children to learn "If You're Happy and You Know It" in English. So we sang the lesson version which is: "help your friends", "say your prayers", "tell the truth" and "share your toys" in English, and it held their attention for almost forty five minutes. They did so well that I told them I'm going to record it and give a DVD to our General Primary and YW visitors in November. I'm also going to record the VTab singing "I Know My Savior Loves Me". My inner stage mother is just popping.

ANOTHER ONE FOR THE GRANDCHILDREN

This is the Pooh-Pa standing on top of the highest mountain in Armenia called Mt. Aragats. From there he could see Mt. Ararat where Noah landed with the ark. He climbed up with three of his friends----a man in his 30's, a man in his 50's and a man in his 70's. He's hoping that they will be interested in learning about the Gospel. He has lots of friends, and all of the children in the neighborhood say "Hello!" to him in English and throw him their soccer balls when we walk by. He always makes them laugh.

It was a hard climb---but he made it to the top and had a great time. There's another hard path we're all trying to climb---the path that leads to Heavenly Father and Jesus. Here's a suggestion that can help us get to the top, from President Heber J. Grant who was the prophet when Pooh-Pa was one year old:

" Do not do something that you can not ask God to help you to do"

Maybe you could talk about this at Family Home Evening next week?