We have a missionary from Armenia, Elder Artak Avanesyan who arrived last October, and this is his story. Two young men of 18 years, members of the Church in Armenia, had decided to go on missions. They talked and laughed about serving together, but then got serious and made it a matter of fasting and prayer. Elder Avanesyan was called to serve in the England London Mission and Elder Zorabyan was called "next door" to the England Manchester Mission.
Elder Avanesyan went to the Preston MTC because he knew some English, but it turned out his knowledge of English was so very limited that after three days the MTC called our President Patch and discussed what to do as he could not understand what was being taught. In the England London Mission we just happened to have a sister missionary from Georgia in the Ukraine, actually the first native missionary from that nation to serve as a missionary, who spoke both Russian and Armenian as well as English. It was decided to send Elder Avanesyan on to London to be taught English by Sister Umurshadyan. [Photo above: Left, Elder Avanesyan, Center, Sister Umurshadyan, Right, Elder Zorabyan.]
They and their companions met every morning in the mission office for two hours of English training before going on with other missionary tasks. He made good progress and within two months was transferred on to Cambridge with his companion. Sister Umurshadyan was transferred to Gillingham in Kent.
Elder Zorabyan was sent to the Provo MTC for English language training about the same time as Elder Avanesyan, but the Provo MTC did not have any Armenian or Russian teachers, and his two months there were largely wasted. When he arrived in Manchester, he could not proceed as a missionary without English. There were no resources in Manchester to help him, so the mission president, hearing what had happened in London, spoke to President Patch and they arranged a short term transfer to the England London Mission. Elder Zorobyan was put into a companionship in Gillingham and every morning he was taught English by Sister Umurshadyan for two hours. Within two months he was doing quite well and progressing both with English and as a missionary.
President Patch, knowing of their history and their desire to serve together arranged a transfer for Elder Zorabyan to serve with Elder Avanesyan for his final three weeks in this mission before returning to Manchester. President Patch said he saw no problem with helping the Lord answer the prayers of these two faithful young elders from Armenia. The Lord finds a way to make everything work out, if we are patient and allow Him to lead us and not be afraid to follow His ways and are faithful.
Queen Elizabeth's birthday is 21 April, but the military has a way of celebrating her birthday called "Trooping the Colour." It is held in June with many horses and troops in military red and black with the high fur hats, all in the very large court yard of Buckingham Palace. There is a practice a week before that can be viewed and a few of the missionaries attended the pagentry See the pictures. The event lasts some two hours and is pagentry as only the British know it.
There is a lot of construction work all around London. It has continued to expand since we arrived last July. We are told that it is in preparation for the 2012 Olymptics, but when we ask a local, such as a taxi driver, he/she will say that this is just how it is, and when one job is finished another place to dig a hole will be found! It makes it hard to travel around by bus, car, or on foot, because there are always construction barriers and diversions [detours]. There are a lot of buildings with scaffolding up the sides too -- getting refaced, which is a good thing because the weather really dirties the exteriors of buildings. On "our" side of Exhibition Road we have the Victoria and Albert Museum, and it is located directly opposite the beautiful Natural History Museum. Both museums are long and multi-sectioned, with additions being added on over the years. The V and A just had its front "sanded and refaced" and it looks quite nice and clean now. However, evidence of shrapnel bombing has been left in place, as a reminder of WWII, and other buildings around London of a like age show similar markings. Our U.S. Memorial Day here is a Bank Holiday. Why the banks need a holiday is unclear. We walk by the V and A each day on our way to the mission office in the Hyde Park building. These shrapnel marks were purposely left as reminders of the the "Battle of Britian" in 1941 when 80 percent of London was destroyed by German bombs. The older Brits especially are very aware of the effects of war and the hardships. People of all ages wear a red poppy on their lapels in November, which is when the British have their "memorial day" set aside to remember their war dead.
This past week we attended a ballet in the Royal Albert Music Hall opposite Hyde Park, and about 4 blocks from the mission office. Across from the Hall is one of the many monuments and/or memorials commissioned by Queen Victoria to her Prince Albert, who died quite young and unexpectedly at age 42.
We saw "Swan Lake" which is one of Sister Hawley's favorites. Such talented dancers and the music was wonderful. There were over 60 ballerinas in white attire on their toes on the floor at once.
This was a special version which as done in the "round" in the Music Hall. This is a magnificent building and done just for the arts and cultural events. Three hours of ballet is a bit too much for Elder Hawley, but the evening was fun and entertaining.
Most of the dancers were from the Eastern European countries and were so very talented and precise. Oh, to be young and energetic again!
This week is transfer week again and we have been busy getting everything ready. The new AP was called last night. The MP will give Sister Hawley the MOVES information, which she will input into iMOS as a New Transfer. As soon as this is done, Elder Hawley begins the work on Pre-Imbursements. We will miss our Elder Cusick, who has been a happy, helpful, energetic and efficiient AP. He flies home to his eager family on Thursday morning. He is from Riverton, Utah. We will greet an Elder Hinckley on Tuesday -- yes, he's a relative -- when he arrives from the Provo MTC. The remainder of his group -- all additional 12 of them -- will come by bus from the Preston MTC on Wednesday mid-day. Elder Cusick's group of seven missionaries leave for their homes on Thursday, with an additional departing mission leaving on Sunday, the 20th. It will be a mad house, but fun and exciting. Sister Hawley carries the brunt of the business and preparation, but she does a great job and the President knows everything will be ready and in order.
One more transfer and another AP will be called to replace Elder Jentzsch, who is from Germany and who will be released then. We will miss Elder Jentzsch also, as he has been a great asset in the office and to the mission and the president as he is mature, focused and responsible.
The mission president has had quite the challenge to replace these two find young men who have served honorably and well, and we're excited to see the new choices and changes they bring to our mission.
Love to all. We remember you in our prayers and hope all is well with you at home. We are particulatly grateful for the security and the peace and the safety and balance and guidance that the Lord provides for each of us through His love and His plan. We see His hand in our lives continually. We are grateful for His love and patience and consideration for us, and know that we can always turn to Him and that He will always be near. We hope each of you receive a "multiplicity of blessings" in the areas you would like these blessings to be yours. We are also grateful we made the decision to serve a couples mission. I know we have said these things before, but our gratitude grows stronger each day for this wonderful blessing, and for the experiences and ways we can share this experience with each other and with the Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment