Onward Ho! To Armenia We Go!!

After 18 hours in the air and 9 hours in various airports, we finally landed in Armenia at 4:00 a.m. After a few hours of sleep, Mark was ready to see the sights and I was ready to show him the country that I had served and loved. Here are some highlights of our trip.

One of Mark's favorite stories from my mission is that I fell in a manhole and had to get stitches in my knee. He gets a lot of amusement from the fact that I could actually fall in a manhole. I've told him with each telling of the story that Armenian construction crews have never heard of cones or warning tape. Our first day in Armenia, I was able to show him what I was talking about when we came across an open manhole right in the middle of the sidewalk. This one was at least marked with a stick and a yellow plastic bag. Not that it would do much to stop a fall. Watch out Mark!

We went to a barbecue at the mission home. All of the Armenians who have served missions were there. It was so cool to see so many people that I had taught as a missionary as returned missionaries themselves.


We visited a village south of Yerevan called Artashat. I spent 4 months here as a missionary. We spent some time with a family who have a daughter serving a mission on Temple Square. Vardan, the dad, insisted on barbecuing some fish for us. It was delicious!


Hot dogs are a new craze in Armenia. You can now find hot dog stands by most metro stations and along the side of the street. Mark was a little confused at one billboard we saw advertising hot dogs. He asked, "How is that appetizing???" I replied, "Typical Armenia..."


One day we took a trip to a couple of monasteries. Our first stop was Khor Virap - the cradle of Christianity in Armenia. According to legend, a Christian missionary, Gregory the Illuminator, came to a pagan Armenia to preach of Christ. The King of Armenia was not pleased with Gregory's preaching. He had him captured and thrown into a deep hole (Khor Virap means "deep dungeon"), where Gregory remained for many years. He was kept alive by a woman who would lower bread and water down to him each day. One day the King of Armenia grew very ill. Gregory was called upon to heal the King, which he did. From that day on, the King and his subjects became Christian. Armenians today pride themselves on being the first Christian nation. We were able to go into the dungeon where Gregory was imprisoned. Down you go, Markus!


I found out where babies come from! En route to our second monastery, we came upon a village of stork nests. All the people of this particular village place a tall pole next to their house, where storks build their nests. There were hundreds of them!

Our second monastery visit was called Noravank. I had never been that far south in Armenia. Mark and I were both impressed with the beauty of the monastery as well as the surrounding mountains and nature.


We spent some time in a village called Charentsavan. I spent the longest time of my mission in this area. I was able to introduce Mark to all of the people that I taught. It was so great to see them all again!

Armen was injured in a car accident several years before he met the missionaries. He was able to have a badly-needed operation to set him on the road to a better recovery. He was baptized after the surgery enabled him to sit in a wheelchair. The Sunday we were there, Armen was put in as the branch president in Charentsavan. This is a picture of us with Armen and his mom, Lianna.


I taught Maga (in the picture), her mother, and two brothers. All are baptized now, and it was so great to see how happy Maga and her mother especially are since they have been baptized. They have found good friends and a new purpose in the church.

Marine is a girl I taught who has since gone inactive. I was able to go with the sisters to meet with her. Mark asked her why she got baptized and she said that she couldn't remember. We then had a really good chat about how going to church, reading our scriptures, and keeping the commandments helps us to remember why we were baptized. Hopefully the sisters will be able to keep working with her. She is a such a sweetheart. Her sister Arevik was there also, so I hope a seed was planted for her as well.


While we were walking another day in Artashat, Mark noticed an excavator hard a work. Being a civil engineer and interested in that kind of stuff,he was amazed at how old the excavator was, and had to have a picture. The excavator was digging to enable new water pipes to be put into the ground.


We had a barbecue with a family that I taught on my mission. It was Tamara's birthday as well as the anniversary of her baptism. After the barbecue, the family taught us how to dance - Armenian style!

Ararat is a shy mountain, and it's hard to get a good picture of her. I finally got one on our way home from the party.

One day we hiked up Cascade, a set of stairs that takes you up a mountain in the city where you can look over all of Yerevan. It was hot, but the view at the top was worth the hike!


From Cascade, we walked to the statue of Mother Armenia. The statue was erected after the Soviet Union dissolved, and stands as a symbol of protection over the city. This site is also where Armenia was dedicated for missionary work.


We also came upon a carnival in the park. We decided to have a ferris wheel ride. I was a little nervous, as the ferris wheel had to be really old, but it held together, and we had another great view of the city.


Mark fell in love with the architecture of the buildings near Hraparak (the city square). With the growing economy, there are several new buildings going up around the city. They really are beautiful.


On our last night, we went to Hraparak and watched the fountain show in front of the museum. It was so cool! Definitely a rival of the Bellagio in Vegas.