Claire's Mission in Armenia: 9/16/13

My dearest ones, 

Well, I am coming to you from our very kind and accommodating CES senior couple's office today. It is a holiday incidentally and our very trusty internet cafe was closed, so this worked in a pinch and we are just so grateful for our dear senior missionaries for being so kind to us.

This week I passed my 11 month mark and I can hardly believe it. Where has the time gone? For a moment it seems like forever, like I have always been and will always be a missionary, but at other times it seems like it was just yesterday that I was working at Nelson Orthodontics. time is a funny thing. 

I finished the Old Testament and I have to say that I hope it was not a once in a lifetime accomplishment, but getting through Numbers and Leviticus was a little tough I must admit. I loved it though. The Old Testament is really such a clear message of the importance of obedience. Obedience is the first law of heaven and without it there is no Celestial Glory, no being with our families forever, no forgiveness for sin. Obedience is really the key to all things. Sophie wrote me this week and said that there is really an epidemic of inactivity hitting Provo right now. I think that could be said about just about any place in the world right now and I just have to tell you that it makes me sick to think about it. How could someone have a testimony, serve a mission, or have other faith-promoting experiences and then fall away? I think that must be just about the saddest thing to our Heavenly Father, to see a child so beloved, given every opportunity and every blessing available and they just throw it all away. WHAT?? What are they thinking?? Don't they realize that one day they are going to stand in front of our Heavenly Father and have a perfect recollection of all of their guilt and (in my mind this is how the conversation will pan out) Heavenly Father is going to ask them, "So why didn't you stay active?" and they will simply reply, "It was just too hard. Well I liked coffee too much, or I was too intellectual for all of those commandments, or those R-rated movies really weren't that bad. I mean I know you gave your only Son for me, but I just couldn't be obedient." Sorry if I am sounding preachy, but I just can't be apathetic about all of this. This is the work of Salvation! This is eternal happiness or eternal misery! There are only two choices! We cannot let our own desires, our own petty, pseudo-intellectual meanderings keep us from being perfectly obedient and thus putting ourselves in the position to be blessed with, "All that the Father hath." No earthly thing is worth putting your immortal soul at risk. No philosophy, no movie, no person, no drink is worth it. phew. well that took a lot of my energy.

Back to Armenia. We had a lot of good lessons this week. We are helping one old tatik kick coffee and it is amazing to see how her faith in Jesus Christ is working miracles in her life. There is no way that we can do this without Him. He is the key, and when we rely on Him, He makes all things possible. When Christ is our foundation there is no storm, no winds, no influence that can possibly shake us. That is the promise of the Lord. 

Well there was a lot of talking with tatiks this week. My favorite time was when we were walking home and one little tatik called us over and started talking to us, then her friend came and then another, before we knew it we have about 6 of them around us and about 5 listening out of an upstairs window in the apartment building next to us. They are curious creatures, tatiks, and love to know everything about us and most importantly if we will marry their grandsons, who they always assure us are "handsome and tall." Looking at the majority of Armenian men, it is likely that at least one part of that statement is false about just about any given man here. haha. 

A sample of one of our lessons this week. I was testifying of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and Sister Baird was getting ready to come in as the second witness and all of a sudden our investigator says, "So how did Whitney Houston really die?" No idea where that came from. So we answered her question and then the parents began a long diatribe on the horrors of narcotics. The story has a good ending though, we got control of the lesson back and all three members of the family committed to read the Book of Mormon. phew. 

Well my loved ones, life is great here in Armenia. Missions aren't easy but they are amazing. An amazing chance to see outside oneself and see the beauty of the world and of the plan that God has for every one of His children. Just remember, it isn't hard to be obedient because we have the Most powerful, loving Heavenly Father who is just waiting to help us and bless us. I love Him. Never forget "we are obedient not because we are blind, but because we can see." it's as simple as that. 

Love you all

Sister Claire Margaret Haynie