“My mother and my brethren are those which hear the word of God, and do it.” Luke 8: 21

May 12, 2024

It has been a while. . . and we want to begin by wishing all the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day! Not one of us would be here, without the gift of life our mothers provided to us, and we are always indebted to them for that gift. Today, I, Armenay would like to begin with a tribute to my mother, Meada Ouzounian, who passed away April 7.

Her legacy is one for which I am thankful, mostly because, as the scripture that titles this post says, she was a woman who not only heard the word of God but attempted to both do it and live it. Born to ranchers, the eighth of nine children and raised between Utah and Wyoming she was a woman grounded in the gospel. She was fortunate to attend college and also afforded the opportunity to complete a Masters of Nursing. For a period of time, due to an injury my father sustained, she was the primary breadwinner for the family, a family that, over time grew to include 10 children. While my mother was highly educated for her time and place, one would never have known, for she exhibited and maintained a sense of humility throughout her life. She was a woman of steadfast faith who persisted and taught her children the precepts of the gospel often through trying circumstances. She was not perfect, but she was striving and that is what matters to the Lord. At the end of her life, she was eager for what lay ahead, to be reunited with loved ones, to kneel at the feet of her Savior and proclaim, "My God, How Great Thou Art." And so today, on Mother's Day, I publicly thank Meada Ouzounian for giving me life, for the example she provided me and for the love she showed to all.

On to mission news. Since our last post we have had two transfers with missionaries coming in and going out. A constant here on the mission is change. We were fortunate to host a Why I Believe Devotional with the Honorable Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as the keynote speaker. Ninety-six year old Judge Wallace is a convert to the church and shared a beautiful testimony of the powerful effect the gospel of Jesus Christ has had in his life. If you are interested click on the link. His talk, near the end of the program, is particularly riveting.

Since our last entry we have focused mission studies on the topics of faith and repentance. We were fortunate to have Brad Wilcox, Second Counselor in the Young Men's General Presidency visit and speak to our missionaries in April. Some of the memorable teachings Brother Wilcox left us include:

While the world cares about superficial change - God cares about REAL change.
In the Bible, baptism is referred to as a cleansing process and indeed it is. But, it is more than that. In the Book of Mormon we are taught that baptism is a covenant we enter with God - a witness that we will follow His teachings.
Grace is like a scholarship, it provides an opportunity and is donated to help us become better - but becoming better requires our effort. A scholarship does not grant us a degree but is the means whereby, with some effort, we can achieve that degree.
A God that does not expect anything out of us, is not trying to make anything of us.

We cannot close without sharing a few of the miracles we have experienced since our last post.

One elder was disheartened to see his bike lock had been cut and his bicycle had been stolen. As a result of the theft, they took a different route as they walked to their next appointment. On the way they shared some information about our Haitian Creole group with a person they encountered. A few days later, walking past the church, this individual was leaving the chapel. They talked with him and found that he loved attending church and was inviting family and friends to join him as well. So while it was disappointing to have his bike stolen, this encounter helped this elder change his perspective. He saw how the Lord used that event to reap some positive results.

Another set of elders were out making visits and after one stop felt prompted to stay in the area. One of them thought of a member they might visit in that area and they proceeded to the house where they believed this member lived. They knocked on the door and a friendly person answered who was not the member they were planning to visit. After some small talk, he asked "What can I do for you guys?" They responded "We were visiting your neighborhood and felt prompted to stay on this street, your house is the first house we've come to. So you tell us why we are here. This brought tears to his eyes and opened a conversation about Christ and His restored gospel. After they chatted for a bit this friend asked, "Where do we go from here?" The missionaries began teaching him.

We would like to close this post with a quote from Elder D. Todd Christofferson that we shared in our recent Zone Conference.

"Without repentance, there is no real progress or improvement in life. Pretending there is no sin does not lessen its burden and pain. Suffering for sin does not in itself change anything for the better. Only repentance leads to the sunlit uplands of a better life. And, of course, only through repentance do we gain access to the atoning grace of Jesus Christ and salvation. Repentance is a divine gift, and there should be a smile on our faces when we speak of it. It points us to freedom, confidence and peace. Rather than interrupting the celebration, the gift of repentance is the cause for true celebration." ( The Divine Gift of Repentance, October 2011.)

We rejoice in our purpose here as missionaries. We are here to invite all to the celebration, a daily rejoicing in the blessings of our gospel covenants. We pray that we may all be both hearers and doers of His word.