Mary's Mission Dec 25, 2012

Today we not only got an email from Mary but we also had the blessing of being able to video chat with her!!  What a blessing technology is!!  We had the whole family together via the internet!!

Mary looks wonderful!!  She sent us some pictures with our Christmas package that I will post later.

She doesn't mention it here in her letter but she is a trainer!  And to top it off her new mission trainee is Sister Nelson - who is from Brigham City!!  To make this connection even more sweet - Sister Nelson's family lives next door to my sister, Ruth's sister - in-law and Linda (the sister in law) has been sharing Mary's letters with the Nelson's - so they feel like they know Mary just a little bit!!  Tender Mercies!!!!!

We got to meet Sister Nelson for a minute this morning which was great!  Mary also had several members of the branch there at the church so we got to see and be introduced to several of the wonderful people there who take care of Mary while she is away from home!!

Here is her letter for today -

Barev Family jan! 

What a great time of year! After the last few days being warm, we were surprised and blessed to come home to snow last night!  Another white, beautiful Christmas-for some of our missionaries, it may be the first and last white Christmas they ever have.  How blessed we are! More than the snow, we are so blessed to be a part of this wonderful season-to be able to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  The last two weeks, as we've passed out our Christmas oranges, I've come to realize how truly blessed we are.  In general, the celebration of the new year is so much larger here, than the celebration of the Birth of Christ, (Ironic, isn't it? For the first Christian Nation?) and it has been such a blessing to be able to share the love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ with those who need a little more lifting.  I would never have guessed that a simple orange could bring so many people to tears.  These people are so dear to my heart! I just love them and I can't begin to express how much, nor can I imagine exactly how much more our Savior loves them, as I feel that I have only experienced such a small taste of that infinite love for them.

I never realized how truly great it would feel to be a missionary on Christmas until this morning, as I was studying from the birth and life of the Savior.  Up until today, I just kept thinking how it didn't feel like December, let alone Christmas, then as I studied and thought about our Savior and the sacred privilege and responsibility we hold as missionaries, I couldn't help but be grateful and feel, once again, just how special it is to be here, serving these people.  When I read from Luke, the joyful declaration of the angel to the shepherds-I couldn't help but think about how we, if we will give our heart and will to the Lord, can be angels, declaring "glad tidings of great joy."  What a sacred calling we have! To stand as witnesses and declare to the world the joyfulness and truthfulness of this message-that Christ is living and guiding His church today! Wow! I pray I am fulfilling my calling!  I know that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God, that He came to carry each of us in our down times and to lift us higher than we could ever be lifted without Him.  He is everything we have and I know He loves and cares for each of us one by one.  

I am so grateful for each of you! For your testimonies and for sharing what we know, through example and word.  You are my angels.

I love you all!  Can't wait to talk with you! 

Metz Sirov, 

 

Quyr Broadbent

Wow Family!!!

Can you believe that Christmas is right around the corner?  I can't!  It's hard to believe that it is December, let alone that Christmas is so soon! Wow! 

I'm sure that missionary's mom was so grateful for all the help you gave! And what a fantastic way to spread some holiday spirit! I am SO excited for you! To go to Idaho for those names and to be able to spend some time with Kris, Marinda, and Camryn.  I'm sure it'll be just great!

We got our first real snow this week! A good five or six inches overnight.  I woke up and was just so happy! Everything looks so pretty-covered in white! And feels so Christmasy.  It's been fun, too, as we've walked around, to see all of the decorations coming up.  For the most part, everyone here is preparing for New Years (they don't celebrate Christmas until Jan 6).  And these people are just so giving! No matter the circumstances they are in, they always ask if we have a place to go for New Years and then they always invite us to spend it with them.  So great!  It reminds me of the teachings of the Savior in Matt 25-if you do it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.  As I've thought about this chapter, I've felt more and more how this is the call the Savior always gives-first and foremost, for us to come to Him, and then to build up His kingdom, to serve where we are, no matter how much we have, or how little we have.  He calls to us to serve.  I feel these people are such a great example of serving-that they are just so willing to give all they have to you.  I am learning so much from them! 

Sister Beal is being transferred this week down to my dear Artashat! She'll get to serve with Sister Henriquez (she's from Chili), who is so sweet and adorable!  I'll be getting a new companion, I'm not sure who it will be, but I do know she's coming from the MTC! BAH! I am just praying that I can be the trainer the Lord wants me to be and help this sister have a great beginning-one that will help her be solid for her mission.  I'm so nervous but I know that while I may not be adequate, the Lord is and I know He'll help every step of the way.  Sister Beal has been so good to remind me of this!

I don't remember if this last week I talked about our sweet investigator Lena, who just loves the Book of Mormon-we found out Monday night that she actually died on Sunday.  We were so surprised and saddened, but we know it is all part of the Lord's plan and as a result, we've been able to meet with her son-who is willing to learn more!  We're excited to help him come to gain a testimony, so that in turn he can have her work done too.  We also had a miracle-we had set up a time to meet with Lena's son-Gagik-we had called right before going over to make sure he was home, he was and invited us to come.  When we got to his home about twenty minutes later, he wasn't home.  We thought perhaps he had gone to the store, so we decided to wait.  After five minutes or so, a woman came up the stairs; she had also come to visit Gagik.  As we stood outside waiting, we talked and got to know her.  Over 15 minutes later, Gagik still wasn't home, so we all made the decision to leave.  Just before the woman went home, she explained to us that Gagik had invited her over to listen to us because he thought she would be interested in listening to us.  What a miracle!  This man, who we had never even met with, is already taking steps to share the gospel!  Since then, we've been able to meet with both him and her, on separate occasions.  I feel so blessed!

We've also been given a challenge by President Carter to find the low hanging heads this season and pass along a Christmas orange, one for each of the twelve days of Christmas.  I would invite you all to do the same-to find those that need a little extra lift and boost their day.  It doesn't need to be an orange, perhaps it will only be a smile, but I hope that we'll all remember a little more, the birth of our Savior, and strive a little harder to emulate Him.  I know He lives and loves us! What greater thing to do, than to share His love?

I love you all! I hope this week is wonderful! That you'll all be safe in the snow and that you'll have a great time together!

Love you!

Metz sirov

Quyr Broadbent

Mary's Mission Dec 10, 2012

Hello Family!

I think winter is finally starting to hit here.  According to the missionaries who were here last year, it was already cold in October, but it's just been the last couple of days where I have felt that it is getting cold. I was able to go to Gyumri this last week, and do exchanges with Sister Robles (Kami knows her from Ukraine).  It was so good to be with her and to get to know her.  She's from Washington and is just adorible!  I love being able to be with other missionaries; learning from them and getting to know them.  I love that just after a day of being together that I can feel like we are friends.  One of the sisters that is coming home this month expressed how she felt throughout her mission she has made eternal friends, and I couldn't agree more; there are just so many people, missionaries, members, investigators, and others that I just know we will be friends forever.  I love how the gospel connects people across the globe.  We are just so blessed!  The afternoon that I got to Gyumri, we got quite a bit of snow-and the following morning we had about 6 inches.  Snow is just so gorgeous! And I was so happy that I was able to be there to see it!

I just want to share a small quote that I heard this week, while watching a general conference talk.  It reminded me of our purpose, as missionaries and as members in general "What is most important in our church responsibilities is not the statistics that are reported or the meetings that are held but whether or not individual people-ministered to one at a time just as the Savior did-have been lifted and encouraged, and ultimately changed" Elder Ballard.  I have also thought a lot about what one of our elders said in his testimony, about going home and continuing to serve.  As I've thought about it, I realized that that is why, if nothing else, we need to serve here.  Because this is our calling.  Yes, one day our calling will be something different, but no matter what our calling title is, our calling it to do just as Elder Ballard said-to minister to people one at a time so that they are lifted, encouraged, and changed.  In essence, no matter where we are, we are called to build the Kingdom.

I love you all family! I know there's not much to my emails-sorry, I guess I'm just too scattered to make sense of the week and decide what I should write, but just know that Iove you all! A lot!  

Thank you for your constant support! You are all wonderful!

I love you!

Metz Sirov

Warm weather in Armenia

Hello, hello family! 

Can you believe it's December?! I sure can't! The weather has been so warm this last week and as we were driving to Gyumri there were fields of green!  I guess the weather just can't make up it's mind!

Sounds like another good week! Of course ours was good here! I think that very possibly my favorite part was sitting in a lesson with Anna, as she testified to one of her friends of the need of the Savior and the need to forgive others.  Then again in church on Sunday as she shared her sweet testimony of the gospel.  I felt like a proud parent and felt so amazed at the evidence of growth already since her baptism.  She is such a good woman.  We had a pretty special experience with one of our young members-a year ago she had her son die, so we went with her to the cemetery to support her (that's part of tradition here, to go to the graveside weekly for the first 40 days, and then regularly for the following year, and then on the year mark).  We sang through many of the Armenian hymns, mostly the slower, gentler ones; then our member, after we had said a prayer and talked with the caretakers of the cemetery, picked Come, Ye Children of the Lord for us to sing as our final song.  I was reminded as we talked with her, how so very blessed we are to have the gospel and to know of our Heavenly Father's Plan for us.  That is truly where our joy is found and even in death, we have so many things to be happy for-and so many reasons to push on with a good attitude and a smile.

Like I've probably said many times, it's neat to see the change start to take place in people.  It's been interesting to watch one of Elder Chojnacki and Elder Hall's investigators as he tries to quite smoking because a couple of weeks ago when he was doing so well and so close to quitting, you could see so much light and joy in his face, but the following week, when he was having a harder time and had begun smoking more again there was a physical difference in his appearance-that light and joy that had been there, was no longer evident.  Just another reminder that we are truly happiest when we are living the gospel and applying the principles in our lives.  And perhaps that is why, so that we can be worthy of the Spirit, be a light to all around us, and have the approval of the Lord, we need to apply the principles and doctrines of the gospel in our lives.  It's just so simple.

With the Christmas season here, I've been thinking and reading more about Christ and His atonement-I love how the angel of the Lord tells the shepherds he is there to bring "glad tidings of great joy"  And truly! What greater joy can be found than through our Savior Jesus Christ?!  I feel so blessed to be a missionary-a representative of Jesus Christ-to share that joy! Wow! One of our zone leaders recently told us "This is the happiest thing we could ever be doing" and I can't agree more! 

I'm going to start a study of Jesus Christ, His birth, life, and Atonement in preparation for Christmas.  Will you all do the same?  And share what you feel and learn? I would love to hear about why our Savior is important to you and about your testimonies!

I love you all!  

Have a fantastic week! Be safe with the changing weather! I'm always praying for you!  Thank you for all your love and support!

Love you!

Metz Sirov

Quyr Broadbent

Oh and that sentence (the one from last week that I couldn't translate) just means, I'm hoping your week will pass well (in other words that you'll have a good week)  I'll type in Armenian when I can, but the computer doesn't always work :)  Love you!  Thanks for the pictures! 

Mary's mission Nov 26, 2012

Barev im sireli family!!

It sounds like Thanksgiving was wonderful! (Despite the flu bug-it's also going around here-hopefully I'll stay far from it :)) Even better that you were all together!  You all look so great in the pictures!

Our Thanksgiving was a hit! We all did some part to prepare for it and the senior couple took care of the turkey (hard to come by here in Armenia...) and the home made rootbeer (mmmm).  It was wonderful to be together!  After eating we watched 17 Miracles together.  Just so great! The one picture of all of us missionaries is from Thanksgiving-getting ready to eat.

The baptism was really good! We had a lot of support from the branch members, we had some other investigators come, and the spirit was really strong the whole time.  The man in the picture with us and Anna is Sergey-he is a new convert and is AMAZING!

 We were talking with him the other day and he told us he doesn't want to find work, because he just wants to use all his time to help the church.  He is constantly with the missionaries and just loves it! He also was telling one of our investigators about his family and after he had told about his two children and grandchildren, he said "And I have some other children too....Sister Beal, Sister Broadbent, Elder Chojnacki, Elder Zachary..."  And he continued to list more missionaries.  I wish you could all meet this man! He is truly stalwart and has such a strong testimony! It was really neat, after the baptism, Anna was talking with one of our other investigators, who asked what she could do to prepare for baptism, and Anna just started talking about living it and how this message will change her life (the other investigator's).  Way cool! I love that! That's what the gospel is about right?  Changing lives so we can become God's people.  It's like Christ taught in the New Testament, they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.  And we all have a need for the Savior-we all are "sick" in some way or another, and only Christ can heal us.

Sunday we had a fun experience, one of our investigators orginally started learning in a different city and she's had a hard time coming to church here, so one of the missionaries that had been teaching her asked us to just go and pick her up, without letting her know that we were coming.  Her relative was also with her (she's a member and had talked with the elders about this plan).  Anyway, so we show up, they had just barely waken up, and for the next 5 minutes they tried to decide whether or not to come.  After we said there was a taxi waiting, they jumped into action and agreed to come.  For the next 20 minutes they ran around getting ready and we helped to dress the kids.  In the end they came! And our members at church were really good at helping them be more involved.  It was a MIRACLE! It's times like that, when I think that sometimes we all need that push, that someone to show up at our door when we are not expecting it, that will push us into action.  I don't know what'll happen with this investigator, but if nothing else, she's had another opportunity to accept the gospel.  I hope we choose to act on those pushes we are given-I would hate to look back and regret not acting on those promptings that were given to help us draw nearer to the Lord.  He is truly waiting for us.

I love you family! Շատ եմ սիրում ձեզ

Մեծ սիրով (lots of love)

Քուր Բրադբենթ (Sister Broadbent)

Հույսով եմ որ շաբաթդ լավ կացնի (not sure what this one says, something about shabat which I would guess means sabbath

Mary's mission Nov 20 2012

Barev im sireliner!

Happy Thanksgiving! In response to the question-we will be celebrating Thanksgiving as missionaries in our zone-for us it will be 6 sets of missionaries and a senior couple-it should be great! And be sure to tell Kami that I'll be with her friend that is here...I actually don't know her first name, but it's Sister Robles (I think they were in Ukraine together if I remember correctly....)  

It sounds like Sunday was good-Sundays are always wonderful! Here in our branch we heard from Ani and Araks, two sisters (from the same family) that will leave for England this week for their missions (they are both serving in London, one in the south mission and one in just London, I think) It was really good.  As I sat and listened, I was reminded of all the support I have and I felt so grateful! I also was reminded of the love I have for these people! They are so dear to my heart and I didn't realize how hard it would be to say goodbye to someone-to send them on their way.  It felt harder to send them out then to come on a mission.  Funny how that works.  We had a huge branch party for them-wow! It is so good to see the support of the members!  They will be so wonderful! 

Before I forget-Anna passed her baptismal interview-so she should be getting baptized on Friday! Yay! She said to tell you all hello and not to worry about me because she is our mom and is taking good care of us.  She is such a sweet lady with a large heart!

I'll try to describe Vanadzor a bit more-we are surrounded by mountains and hills on all sides-it kind of reminds me of Logan, but a smaller valley, a bit more narrow.  It's probably the most mountainous city in Armenia.  There's basically one main road, and it just extends through all of the city.  We were crossing it today and I compared it with Washington Blvd, until I realized that it is much smaller than that...so maybe it's not as big as Ogden :) I really don't know how to describe it.  We still don't have snow, I just keep thinking it will come and it doesn't...I'll just try to be patient and enjoy the cold without the snow :)

I think it's because of Ani and Araks leaving, but the last few days I've just been reminded of the great importance of this message, and how we, as missionaries, need to be bold and work with urgency.  I was reading a chapter from Mosiah this week and was thinking about how our Savior must be, I can just imagine Him begging us to just choose His way and come to Him, because He has already paid the price.  I often have to ask myself "Am I working with such urgency? Do I help others understand the importance of this message?  As I've thought about Him and some things that some say to us about it being impossible for the church to be restored in the way it was, I came to this conclusion.  I don't know a lot of things; I don't know how Christ did what He did, but I know He did it because He loves us; I don't know what it was like when Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, but I know they did because I've felt it in my heart and because  of how I feel when I read the Book of Mormon; I don't know how Peter, James, and John appeared to Joseph and gave him the priesthood, or how Moses and Elijiah appeared in the Kirtland temple, but I know they did because of the reality of the priesthood power today.  I don't know what God has in store for each of us, the trials we'll experience, or the burdens we'll be asked to carry, but I do know the God is our Father, that He loves us, He has a Plan of Happiness in place for us; a plan of redemption, so that we can return back to Him.  I don't know how it will be, but I do know that because God is God, because He is all knowing and all powerful, that anything is possible through Him.

I hope you all have a great time together for Thanksgiving!  Will you all take some time to write a list of things you're grateful for?  Often, we meet people here who have so little-so think beyond the matieral things that are so easy to see. Be sure to take lots of pictures and send some my way and I'll do the same.  I was hoping to send pictures today, but the computer just isn't cooperating...

I love you family!!  A lot!  You are truly so wonderful and I am so grateful for you! 

Love you!  Have a great week and try not to eat too much!

Metz sirov

Qyur Broadbent

Nov 12, 2012

Barev Family!

We has an AMAZING Zone conference this week with Pres. and Sis Lawrence (from the Area Presidency) Sis. Lawrence taught us about the house of israel and what it means to be a part of the house of israel.  She shared a lot of neat insights and I feel like her teachings have helped me to understand more exactly what it means to be a part of the house of israel.  She talked about how being a part of the house of israel has a lot to do with our premortal existence and the way we fought for the Lord there-our faithfulness to the Lord.  As missionaries, yes we are here to share the gospel for different reasons and we each received our answer that we needed to be here, but a lot of it comes back to the covenants and committments we made before this life-that we are now fulfilling here.  So neat.  I wish I could explain it the way she did-it was just so clear! Then she talked about how not all people on earth are of the house of israel-which is why some do not accept the gospel.  And of course those of the house of israel have been prepared to accept the gospel-so all we have to do to find them.  I hope we'll all remember the covenants we've made-both the covenants we've made here and the covenants we made before this life.  We have a great responsibility to fulfill!! 

Also, it was really neat-we were each able to have interviews with Pres. Lawrence and he knew all of us by name! Can you imagine!?  A man with such great stewardship who knows each of us individually? I testify that the Lord is the same-yes, He is the Savior of the world, and yes, He knows each of us individually and by name! I know the Lord is watching over us-that angels are protecting us, both angels on this side of the veil and on that side of the veil- and I know the Lord is with us! 

Sorry this is such a short email, I guess I didn't have much to tell this week, or rather that I couldn't think of what to tell...

I hope you all have a great week! Be safe! Enjoy the snow! :) I've heard it's supposed to snow here soon :) And it's starting to feel like that just may be true.

Love you all!!!

Metz sirov

Sis. Broadbent

Ps-the picture is just a gorgeous sunrise on the way to Yerevan this last week-enjoy!  Love you!

Mary's Mission Nov 5, 2012

Hello, hello Family!!

It sounds like you had a pretty good week-dear sweet Joe!  He is such a great boy!  (Dear Joseph-How I love and miss you bud!)  Can't wait to hear how the temple was for Callee!    

Before I start into the past week, I just have to say how I love days like yesterday, (we had a district conference with all the branches-Pres. and Sis. Lawrence, our area president, as well as Pres. and Sis. Carter spoke, some members, and our district presidency all spoke) when I can see the joy and excitement of the members just being with each other.  It reminds me of the feeling of how the gospel unites people in more ways than one.  We are so blessed.

 Just a little insight from this past week-nothing from the week is particularly standing out so....I studied from Jacob 5 this week and I feel like I gained a greater understanding of this work.  I'll just share a few of my thoughts:  I was thinking about the relationship between the master and the servant-how everything the servant does, he does for the sake of the master and the vineyard; I too need to be doing everything for the master and for the vineyard.  Thus-those selfish thoughts that take away from the work-I need to push them out, replace them with something better and then set to work-serving and "nourishing" those around me.  Then I love how the servant is so observant of what is going on in the vineyard-I definitely have room for improvement.  I came to know the character of our Savior just a little bit better as the master discovers there is no good fruit and is so saddened by the state of the vineyard (world?) but then how he gives it one more chance; where He and His servants set to work-for the Lord ALWAYS wants success-He does not want His work to fail.  And of course His work cannot and will not fail-and so there is more for us to do.  Starting with my attitude-expecting acceptance, allowing the Lord to work alongside us, working with the end in mind-to bring forth "good fruit".  Then I need to get to work-it says multiple times that we need to "go to and labor diligently" to "labor with all diligence according to the commandments of the Lord" and then I love what the Lord promises us: "Joy with Him".  That is such an amazing promise-the more I think about it-Joy with our Savior and Father-and then I think about how the greatest joy I have yet to feel is at those times when I am helping others to truly come to Christ.  There is much for me to work on-much work to be done-and much more faith that I need to excercise.  

These truly are the last days-I was thinking about the age change for missionaries and how it will bring so many more missionaries into the field-there is such an urgency to the work! And it is so exciting that you are all apart of it as well-as you see others come into the gospel and as you each serve in your callings.  This truly is the Lord's work!  

I love you family!  I hope your week goes great!  

Metz sirov

Quyr Broadbent

  

Oh and we (as missionaries) pulled together an activity for the youth for Halloween and it was great! We had a pretty good amount of youth there-members and nonmembers and they all seemed to really enjoy it. We started it with a spiritual thought and activity about light and sharing the light we have with others so that we can illuminate the world with the light of Christ, and then had some fun games. It was good and I feel like it was a success.

Mary's mission Oct 29, 2012

Barev Family!
Snow!!!?? Yay! Everyone here keeps telling us to dress warmly so we don't freeze-and yes there are times when it is cold, but so far it hasn't been that cold-I haven't noticed frost on anything and we definitely haven't had any snow.  I always ask about when it will snow (since you all know how I love the snow) and everyone always tells me different things-I guess we'll see when it comes.  It sounds like you had a pretty good week-I'm so excited for all those who are preparing for their missions!  What a great thing! I can't wait to find out where they will all be going! Speaking of the Brandleys-doesn't Phillip get home pretty soon?  Are they ready for him?  Thanks for sending on the pictures-Camryn is getting so big! Wow! 
I love how the Lord always answers our prayers-sometimes in different ways and at different times, but He always does.  As I prayed about the way I was feeling last week and searched for a way to change the way I felt, I had several things that answered my prayers.  First-We had a meeting on Tuesday with all missionaries, one of the area counselors, Elder Snow from the 70 (that just got assigned to church history stuff) and then a few other church historian people-as I listened, I was reminded of a few things.  I have to diligently go forward and trust in the Lord, even if means putting my heart outside of myself putting myself in a position that may not be so comfortable.  (Necessary, since there's no comfort in the growth zone and no growth in the comfort zone-and growth is what I want and what the Lord expects).  We are serving the Lord.  I am serving the Lord.  I am not here for my sake-I am here to help the Lord's work to go forward and to share this crucial message with these people-so the way I feel is not the most important thing.  It was a good reminder of who I am as the Lord's servant.  Second-a meeting with a young woman (Sasma) that we met a couple of weeks ago on the street.  She looked like an American Punk; dressed in black, died hair, an angry face, and sending off a negative vibe.  What a blessing that Sister Beal looked beyond that and had a good conversation with her.  After trying to call her phone, that didn't work, we put her out of our minds.  Then we saw her again and she gave us her address. As we met with her and got to know a bit of her sweet spirit, I was chastised by the Lord for judging her so quickly and not even giving her a chance.  Who am I to judge?  We are all children of our Heavenly Father, no matter how we look or the vibe we seem to send off.  Third-just yesterday as we were sitting in a marshutni, this man kept looking at us and it was rather uncomfortable.  As he glanced back at us for the fourth or fifth time, I was just not thinking the nicest things about him.  In that instant, I was again chastised for forgetting that that man, just as I am, is a child of Heavenly Father and has the potential to become like Him.  As I sat and thought about his potential, I began to pray to see him in a better way and began praying for him, if only that he could have a good rest of the day, and to have his heart prepared for a time when he can accept the gospel.  Then this morning as I was reading from Jacob 2 I came across this in verse 7 "Think about your brethren like unto yourselves and be familiar with all and free with your substances that they may be rick like unto you"  I was just thinking about how truly rich we are to have the gospel and how I need to be better at treating others as I would want to be treated, better at gaining their hearts and confidence (vs 35) so that I can share with them the treasure that we have.  I love how the Lord teaches us, especially as we seek it.  It is truly a miracle and a blessing to be apart of this work.
One other thing, the last couple of times we have taught Anna, I've been reminded of Lehi when he has his vision, partakes of the fruit, and desires to share it, because Anna has so much desire to share the gospel with her children, to help them come to understand and feel what she is feeling.  It's so neat to feel that desire within her.
I don't have much else to tell this week-just working, walking, and doing all we can. Be sure to let the ward know I am thankful for them and give hugs all around.  I am so grateful for your prayers, your support, and your love.

Love you all!

Metz sirov

Qyur Broadbent


Oh and Mom-I already got my Christmas package-according to our office Elder it made it in record time-they don't usually arrive that fast-Thank you for everything! I'll try to be patient and not open any of them :)  Love you!


Note From Laurie - Wow!!  Cannot believe the package even got there let alone so quickly!!  And Mary's 9 month mark is Thursday!!  Time is flying!!

Mary's Mission Oct 22 2012

Barev Family!

We have had a great week filled with tender mercies!  I am continually amazed at how the Lord blesses us! I've always felt that if we look for the Lord's hand, we will undoubtedly see it, and I've learned that is so true!  Especially with these people-there can be two people who are in similar, difficult circumstances, but because of their attitude and whether or not they see the blessing of the Lord-it seems their lives are as different as night and day. We just have to open our eyes and minds to see the blessings of the Lord in our lives.  I've been trying to be more aware of those miracles and I feel so blessed! Last week (or the week before) we met a woman on a marshutni ride, we tried talking with her, but she only responded in Russian, so communicating was a bit difficult.  We saw her again walking on the street a few days later, greeted her, and continued on.  We saw her again a couple of days later and this time, we talked more with her.  She immediately invited us to her home to meet her two children as well.  So neat how the Lord places people in our paths.  

We had a really amazing experience on Friday-we had tried the night before to plan well for our day, according to the spirit, but no matter what we did, we couldn't get any meetings between 11 and 4.  We had a couple of addresses from contacts, but no phone numbers, so we determined to include those in our day.  After we did our power hour, we headed to one addresses, and the one we felt we needed to go to first.  On our way we talked to her neighbor, who said she was sick, but that we could still go if we wanted to.  We opted to still go and try, if only to see how she was and if there was anything we could help with.  When we got to her house, her grown granddaughter was sitting in her front room and was very surprised to see us.  After we explained how we knew her grandma, she told us that she was on her deathbed.  Sis. Beal (following the Spirit) asked if we could come in and say a prayer with her.  She agreed.  As we talked, there were a few other people that came- we again explained how we knew Emma (the dying woman) and one of the others that came in told us that she remembered Emma telling her about these 2 girls from America (Sis. Beal and Sis Bobzien) helping her to carry her bags and helping her up the hill to her home.  Neat! We were able to talk a little about the Plan of Salvation and asked if we could leave a pamphlet with them-they were very eager to accept and asked if we had more for them!  We closed our meeting in prayer, and the spirit was so strong! So tangible in the room! Both of the women were holding back tears and were very grateful for our meeting.  We went back again, only to find no one home, but we plan on going again.  I'm not sure what will come of it; I'm hoping for the best, for their hearts to be soft and open to the gospel, but whether or not they accept us and the gospel, I am so grateful for this tender mercy! That we were able to share this message of peace and hope with them and that if nothing else, they have felt the love of our Merciful Father in Heaven.

The Lord truly is aware of us! Every minute of every day! We recently met with a woman who believes in God, believes He answers prayers for others, but doesn't believe that He will answer her own prayers; she doesn't believe that He can help HER.  It just hurts my heart thinking about it.  I testify that God is our Father.  He loves us! We are His children! And He wants to help us-He does help us! Not only as a whole, but on an individual basis.  He knows us and loves us!  Maybe we already know that, maybe we have forgotten or don't know it at all, but will you all pray to really feel that this is true?  That God is listening to YOU, that He loves YOU, that He is caring for YOU and answering YOUR prayers?  I know you will feel it-He will answer!

I love you family!  I hope you have a great week!  I am so grateful for all you do! For your wonderful examples! You are the best family I could ever ask for!

Love you!  

Quyr Broadbent

Mary's Mission Oct 15, 2012

This is a picture of the Armenia Yeravan  missionaries except for 10 elders and 1 couple that serve in the country of Georgia.  Pres and Sis Carter are in the center front. There are 28 elders, 10 sisters and 5 couples - this was taken at the their zone conference (but was really almost a mission conference!)

Sept 2012

Barev marev Family jan-

That is exciting news for all the future missionaries in our ward (and throughout the world) who are now preparing for missions! SO WONDERFUL! As I've thought about it, I have to say, I am very grateful for the timing of the Lord in that regard.  I would have completely gone on a mission at 19 had the opportunity been there, but I am so grateful for the many experiences that I had between 19 and coming on a mission-I feel like many of them shaped me more into the person I am now.  

Congratulations to all of the cousins who will be having new additions! That is so exciting for them all! What a surprise to hear about Jen-what a blessing it will be though!

We have many wonderful missionaries serving here and I am so grateful to be amongst them and learning from them.  I have much to be grateful for and much to work on.  I am feeling a great need to do more and be better, especially after being fed from general conference.  First, I have to say-I can't begin to describe the power of the spirit that I felt as I listened to President Monson speak to us.  He truly is the prophet of God.  I know he speaks with our Heavenly Father and Savior in our behalf.  I don't know if it's because I testify of him and our Savior on a daily basis, but I have never felt so strongly in my life that the words he speaks are truly God's words.  WOW! On that note, I feel like I learned so much from conference, so many things that seemed to go right along with many of the things I felt and learned at zone conference.  I have much I need to be doing.  I feel there is a great urgency to this work-there are so many of our Father's children we need to reach and I need to be doing a better job.  With humility and the Lord's help I know I can become who the Lord wants and that I can help to reach those children He wants me to reach.  There is always more to be done; a work in progress.  I'm praying I am moving forward and doing as the Lord wants.

Just an example of the wonderful elders we have in our area.  Earlier this week, Sis. Beal and I were in a meeting, when one of our members that we had planned to take with us to another meeting began calling us, multiple times.  Because we were in the meeting we put the phone on silent.  As we finished our meeting we forgot to take the phone off silent and forgot to call our member back (because our other meeting hadn't worked, we didn't need to take our member with us, but we had a surprise meeting, so we were distracted-no excuse can excuse us from calling our member to let her know that the meeting didn't work out).  Over an hour later we were in a meeting with a member when our member's phone rang.  Sis. Beal and I realized that our phone was on silent, checked it and realized that we had missed many calls-not only from our member but from the Elders and from Pres. Carter.  We were so embarassed when we realized our little slip up! When we called our District Leader, we were touched with the concern that he showed, as he expressed that he thought something bad had happened because no one could get a hold of us.  I am so grateful for the leadership positions of our Elders and the love they show as they lead and try to help us serve more effectively.  It is so wonderful to be serving with these Elders, to be learning from their humble leadership and service in the priesthood.  

Just a little tender mercy I want to share-we've made more of an effort to talk to people while we are on marshutnis(they are our primary source of transportation here, these van things that we stuff full of people as we drive up the street)-sometimes it feels a little awkward to start the conversation, just because the normal way on marshutnis is complete silence.  As we've gotten to know some of the people on the marshutnis and talked with them about the gospel, we've had multiple times when the person we are talking to pays for our ride.  As little as it is-I feel so blessed and amazed to be serving amongst these humble people, who themselves often have so little, but are willing to serve us.  It has been a reminder to me that the Lord truly does care for His servants.

In answer to some of your questions-Vanadzor is a lot bigger than Artashat-it is actually a city-maybe in comparable in size to Ogden (I don't know, really).  Because we are settled in the mountains, it is already pretty chilly-the leaves are changing and we've had rain every day the past week (that means the real cold will be here soon) From talking to members and other people, it sounds like we'll probably have as much snow as we get in a good snow year at home.  You know how I love the snow, so I'm looking forward to that :)  Ani leaves for her mission the end of November-she is AMAZING! I just love her! 

I'm having a great time getting to know Sis. Beal-she is adorable, has a great sense of humor, loves to laugh, and is a wonderful teacher.  She has many qualities I am learning from-I just love her.

I love you all family!  Thank you so much for all you do!

Have a fantastic fall week! Enjoy the colors while you can!

I love you!

Metz sirov,

Qyur Broadbent

Mary refers to some pictures in this letter, however she has sent them in an odd format and the only way we can view them is to open them and find a program to view them in!  Until I can figure out how to change them into a jpeg file or have Mary resend them I won't be able to share them - sorry!  Also, when she types out the Armenian I have no idea what they mean!!  She has to type it in the Armenian characters for me to translate them!  Barev means hello but I have no idea what the rest of the opening line means!!

Barev dzez im sireliner!

WOW! We heard yesterday from one of our members about the age change! At first we didn't believe it, but what great news! A HUGE surprise! But how wonderful it will be! I think it will take a while to work its way into our mission, considering we already know many of the missionaries that will be arriving in Armenia in March-but maybe it'll start with the group after that.  So exciting! And what a way to help the Lord's work go forward! I feel there is even more urgency in the work with the age change! 

It sounds like the Hatch family is doing well! What a miracle for Matt and Melissa! That is SO exciting! And pretty soon Brian and Becky will have their little boy too, right?

So half way through this week I had a big change-I was transferred to Vanadzor with Sister Beal! It is SO different from my little hot Artashat! My first full day I was wearing tights, a sweater, and a rain coat.  Cold.  We'll probably have snow pretty soon here-were nestled in the mountains of northern Armenia and it is gorgeous! The one picture is a picture of some of the many mountains that surround us! I was so sad to leave Sister Tolman and Artashat-I feel like my home is there and I feel like Sister Tolman and I made a lot of progress together and that I grew a lot with her.  I am very excited to be here though!  

Sister Tolman and I were able to visit a member of ours before transfers that lives over 2 hours away by bus.  We had planned with her in advance and told her to invite all her friends, when we got there, she said she had invited everyone, but they all were working or busy.  While we weren't able to share the gospel with her friends, we had a wonderful meeting talking about service and missionary work and things she can do to help share the gospel in a way that is appropriate.  It was really good, but the best part was when she proceeded to tell us about her experience with prayer.  She said she had just been praying for ways to share the gospel and she felt very strongly that 2 missionaries would come and visit her.  A few days later a couple of missionaries from another church showed up at her house.  They talked for a bit and she thought that was her answer, however she immediately heard the Spirit tell her to be patient and that these 2 men were not the missionaries the Lord was talking about.  So she continued to wait.  And then we called her to tell her we were coming and she immediately felt that we were the answer to her prayers.  I am so grateful that Pres. Carter gave us the direction to go! I can't begin to tell you how wonderful it feels to know that between his direction to go and the opportunity we had to go, that we were the answer to her prayers. I hope I am always in the position to be the answer to other's prayers!  I want so badly to help this work to go forward and to truly be the Lord's hands and servant! I know I have a lot of room for growth-a lot of things I need to do to become who Heavenly Father wants me to become, but I want to be that person.  I hope I am allowing the Lord to mold me into who He wants.

Vanadzor is so different! There is such a different kind of beauty here in the North!  I already love the branch! They are so great and have a wonderful vision of how the work needs to be! I am excited to be with them.  I love Sister Beal! She is so humble and such a great teacher! I know I have a lot to learn from her-I'm trying to soak up everything I can from her! She has such a big heart-so much love for these people and for the Lord and I can feel how she wants to help this work progress-I feel so humbled and blessed to be serving with such a spiritual giant.

There were a  couple of things I was reminded of while reading the words of our dear friend Nephi-First-1 Nep 16:28-29-we also have a liahona of sorts-the Holy Ghost as our guide.  And it works the same with us-it works according to our faith, diligence, and whether or not we heed what has been given to us.  I need to be better at heeding when the Spirit prompts me.  Second 1 Nep 19: 7-I was thinking abou myself-if I am giving heed to the counsels and the voice of Christ then all is well.  But if I am not-I am trampling Christ under my feet.  What a terrible and saddening thought.  Everytime I think about all the Christ went through and how the people persecuted Him, I just hope and pray that I am in the crowd that is fully following Christ and not in the crowd that was persecuting Him.  Once again, a reminder that I need to do better.

Will you all looks for ways you can be Christ's hands this week?  And make an effort to follow the Spirit so you can be the answer to other's prayers-knowlingly or unknowingly?

I love you all family! Thank you so much for all you do! I can't begin to express how grateful I am to have you! LOVE YOU!

Metz sirov, 

Qyur Broadbent

Mary's Mission Letter Oct 1, 2012

Hello Family!
What a week we've had! I feel like it was pretty crazy, but now
sitting down to write, I don't feel I have that much to say!
 It sounds
like your week was good-we didn't get to watch the RS broadcast, to be
honest I didn't even know it was happening.  I don't think we'll get
to watch it, so I guess I'll wait for the Ensign. 
 I was sad and
surprised to hear about Pres. Cottle.  I hope the family is doing
ok-be sure to give Betty a hug for me. 
  I can't believe this is Joe's last primary program! He is a goof-sweet little
boy! 
 That is so exciting about Brittany! It's always neat to see that
change come into people's lives.
Gayane was baptized on Saturday.  It went really well and we had some
good support from our branch.  She was so nervous to be baptized, but
when we talked to her after she said that she felt so calm and
peaceful afterwards.  She will be a wonderful addition to the branch.
We're now working with her daughter to help her also reach the waters
of baptism.  I love seeing the change that comes over people-I feel
like Gayane has made some rather noticeable changes since meeting with
us-and there's now just more of a light in her eyes.
  I was also thinking about Anik-how her demeanor has changed and she's become more
calm and confident.  I also feel there is a noticiable light in her
eyes and I just love seeing the way the gospel changes people.  I
would hope that I'm also giving place for the gospel to change me more
into the person that Heavenly Father wants me to be.

Zone Conference was good-so powerful.  We actually met with all the
missionaries in Armenia (which is still so few compared to other
missions, but I love how small we are).  Pres. Carter had asked us to
go to it fasting.  It was a great experience to be all together.  We
received a lot of direction on how to be better.  It was really good
to feel and learn about the changes I need to work on to better use
the Lord's time.  As we discussed it, we talked about how we are
obedient, doing things that we need to do, but there are many little
things we could be doing better, many things we need to do to use the
Lord's time more effectively, and to become more consecrated.  I was
reminded of the quote by Pres. Benson(?) that says "When obedience
ceases to be an irritant and becomes a quest, then we are endowed with
power from on high"  It was really neat to feel the spirit work in
me-as we discussed things and as I felt more of a desire to be more
consecrated-I noticed how I began looking for those little things-that
obedience feels more like a quest instead of being content with where
I am.  I love seeing and feeling how the Lord works in our lives-how
He gives us those gentle reminders that help us come to be more
aligned with His will.  Sometimes the changes may be hard-often they
are, but they are so worth it.  Learning by example-I've learned from
you and from others-that if we'll just accept those things, work to
change, and do it with out complaint-then the Lord truly strengthens
us.
We also received some new mission standards of excellence-goals that
will definitely require us to have faith in the Lord and completely
rely on Him.  As Pres. Carter presented them he told us "These may
seem impossible, like you can't do them.  And you can't...alone.  But
with the Lord's help you can."  I am so grateful for a wonderful
mission president! I'm grateful that he receives revelation and
direction for us!  And that he reminds us of the potential that our
Heavenly Father sees in us.
On that note-I am also very grateful for our living prophet! For our
beloved Pres. Monson.  How blessed are we that we'll hear from him
this next week!? (Or at least you will-we still have a couple weeks
after that to wait...) That we'll receive direction from him-hence
that things that Christ Himself would tell us if He were here! WOW! I
know Pres. Monson really receives revelation for the world-the things
we need to know, the things our Heavenly Father wants us to know.  I
know he, as well as the apostles are called of God-that they truly
hold His priesthood power and keys!

I love you all!  Thank you for all you do! I couldn't ask for a better family!

Love you!
Sis Broadbent

Mary's Letter for Sept 24 2012

Բարև ընտանիքս (hello family)

Wow!  It seems you have had a weekend of temple wonderfulness!  That is fantastic that so many youth went with you and then that you were able to go the dedication.  So neat!  I am so excited for Brian and Becky!  They look so happy and their little boy looks adorable!  And how great that you skyped with Kris, Marinda, and Camryn!  What a great connection the internet brings us! 

The temple has got to be the thing I miss the most!  I know it'll be there when I get back, I just miss the peace of being in the Lord's house.  We are so blessed! Especially to have over 100 hundred temples on the earth.  Sis. Tolman and I were just talking about the temple yesterday, and how we feel we should make that more of a focus in our church meetings.  I feel like there, it gets mentioned much more, but here, we don't talk about the temple so much-it's usually an occasional Sunday when we talk about it, whether in passing or as a lesson.  But really, the temple is our ultimate goal-and just being worthy of always having that recommend in our hands-while I feel like we understand that without the ordinances that take place in the temple, we know that we can't reach our ultimate goal to live with our families and our Heavenly Father again, but here, I'm not so sure our members understand that.  It's something we're trying to work on.  To always keep the temple as our goal.  We are so blessed.

I don't really have much to say this week-It's still been really warm-and we've heard it will probably continue until the middle of October.  We'll just keep going with it. We've had a fun time trying to get meetings this week because everyone is gathering grapes.  Really, everyone-almost every contact or member we call is out working in the fields from dawn to dusk-I know it's hard labor for them, but for a lot of them it's probably the last work they'll have until next summer, so I'm trying to be patient with it.  

We've talked a lot about church this last week-why we go, what does it do for us-those kinds of things.  And how we need to prepare for it if we are going to have an experience that will do us more good than just going and sitting.  Will you make an effort to really prepare yourself for church this next week?  I read somewhere in PMG that no Sunday will ever be boring if we have prepared for it and if we are really going to learn.  I know the Spirit will teach us what we need if we are open and prepared to listen.

I don't have much to say this week-we have a baptism planned for Saturday-Gayannae-I'll tell you about it next week.  We also have zone conference this week, so I'll tell you about that too.

I love you family!  I hope you have a great week this next week-that school and work will go well!

Մեծ սիրով (literally big love she probably means lots of love)

Քուր Բրադբենթ (Sister Broadbent)

Mary's Mission Letter Sept 17, 2012

Hey family-just a random quote I've been thinking about from Pres. Monson

"To find real happiness we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves."  

I hope you'll all find some little service you can do for someone-even if it's just a smile, listening to them for a few minutes, letting an angry word pass, etc.  Nothing big.  Just find something you can do for someone else.

Love you!

Sis. Broadbent

Բարև ձեզ իմ սիրել ընտանիք (hello my beloved family),

It sounds like this week was another good one!  I am so grateful that the Lord takes such good care of all of us.  It sounds like the fireside was really good-and I'm sure Josh and Beth sounded wonderful!  They are both so talented!  I was surprised to hear about Pres. Cottle and Sis. Jones.  As hard as both circumstances are, I know the Lord is caring for each of us, that His plan and timing is so perfect, even if we don't understand the reasoning behind it.  Congrats to Curtis! I didn't even know he was dating anyone-it will be so neat for them to be sealed!  That is so exciting for Brian and Becky-it sounds like it's getting closer for them! That's great!  And way to go Joe! I always hoped he would find that love in reading....I knew it was deep down there somewhere! 

Lately the weather has been starting to cool down-it's still in the 90's during the days, but at nights is when we feel the chill-I think fall and winter will be here soon!

Gayane is good-she was a bit sick this last week, but she's still doing so well! We had another miracle-she has never had an abortion!  That is so huge for an Armenian woman! We also found out that her daughter is actually adopted and her son was a miracle because she couldn't have kids!  WOW! I can't even tell you how we felt when we found out and when we found out how she feels about abortions.  Truly, amazing! 

Sveta, another investigator, has started doing better this last week.  Up until about halfway through the week, we didn't really feel like she understood, and she hadn't read on her own from the Book of Mormon, but there was a switch that seemed to go off-she read quite a few chapters on her own, and she was able to completely voice her understanding.  We're hoping with the understanding, that she'll be able to progress.  She faithfully comes to church and has a lot of desire, we're praying and hoping for her.

  

I had a neat realization the other day as I was studying about prayer-I was just studying and opened up to Moroni 7-the charity scriptures.  As I read verse 48 I read it with a slightly different light, and I'm grateful for what I learned.  I always thought this verse was saying that we need to pray specifically for charity, and I'm not saying it still doesn't mean that, but I feel like it also means that as we pray for others, with all the energy of heart-then we are filled with love and charity for them.  I feel like that really is true, as I think about the times that I sincerely and whole-heartedly pray for our members, our investigators, and others-I always finish feeling like my heart is filled with love for them-a love that is indescribable.  It sounds so little and insignificant, putting it into words, but I guess I was just filled with a greater understanding.  Then as Sis. Tolman and I talked about it-we also came to the conclusion that without love, we can't really receive revelation for others.  Will you make an effort to have more meaningful prayers?    

I know I probably say it often-but I love this work-so much!  I never would have been able to imagine the things I've felt or experienced while serving-I know I have much to learn, but I feel so grateful for this gospel!  I know it's true!  I know this is Christ's church and that He is the head of it!  We are so blessed!

I love you all!  I hope you have a wonderful week!

Love you!

Metz sirov, 

Sis. Broadbent

Mary's Mission Letter Sept 10, 2012

Բառև ձեզ իմ սիրելիներ (my beloved family)

What a good week for you! It sounds like the Brigham temple is just beautiful! I'm sure it is-I'll wait as patiently as I can to hear how the dedication is and for when I'll be able to go myself!  Jim and Kami are great aren't they-how's their family? I wish I could hear Josh and Beth play their whistles-especially that piano and whistle duet-I'm sure it is beautiful! I wonder if you could record it and send it to me-or we'll just wait for Christmas and they can play it then :)

We had a really neat experience this last week with our investigator Gayane.  We were teaching about the Word of Wisdom, discussing it, and then asked her to live it.  She accepted and then proceeded to tell us that when she first went to church in Yerevan, she had already decided to start living that.  She was a smoker and knew she needed to stop.  She was doing pretty good, and then one day she came home really upset and her kids' behavior made her more upset.  She decided to light a cigarette and smoke.  Not even a minute after she had lit it, we knocked on her door and walked in-it was within the first week of when we first started to teach her.  She told us she knew from then on that she wouldn't smoke or drink anymore because Heavenly Father had sent us to her.  What a miracle!  Despite that we had no idea that we had had that kind of effect, the Lord used us as His hands.  I am continually amazed at the tender mercies and miracles that the Lord works in our lives and in the lives of others.  I've come to learn over the past few months of being here, that there are many days, if not most day, where I may not feel like I received any specific impression from the Spirit, but I just try to do good things, and try to do and say whatever seems right; and that is how the Spirit seems to work.  If we are obedient, worthy, and working, we can be sure the Lord is using us.  Wow! I feel so blessed!

One other miracle-a little sad, but a miracle none the less.  I know I've told you all about Virab-Elder Minasyan's dad-one of the oldest and most amazing members here.  We visited him all the time and he's just amazing.  He passed away this last week, which is hard because we love him so much, but let me tell you about the miracle and experience we had.  We had planned to help Elder Minasyan help clean his house this last week-we called right before we went to make sure we could still come and he told us his dad wasn't doing well.  Later in the evening, we went to see how he was-and he was basically in a coma-laying down and not responsive in any way.  We had a small lesson with the family and talked a lot about the plan of salvation-they all have a really good understanding of it, but it's always nice to have reminders.  We went on our way-expecting it would at least be a couple of days before he died.  The following morning our branch president called to tell us he had died the night before.  We came to find out that he had died about 15 minutes after we left the home.  As small as a miracle this may seem-I feel so grateful that #1 we were able to go and be with the family before he died and that we were able to say our own goodbyes and #2 that we weren't there when he died.  The Lord's timing is so perfect and I am so grateful.  Another really neat thing, we were able to participate in the first LDS style funeral in Armenia.  Pres. Carter felt very strongly about doing the funeral how we would in the states-he invited many of the members to participate and all of the branch presidents.  He gave direction that that is how funerals done for church members need to be done from here on out.  It was a really neat learning experience and the spirit was so strong as many taught about the plan of salvation.  Also, this is probably more cultural than anything, but I think it was really neat.  in general, Armenians are buried in a dark brown color, the only time they are buried in white is if it's an unmarried girl-kind of as a symbol that she was never a bride.  Anyway-Virab was buried in his temple clothes-it was just so neat!

I love you family!  I don't really have much else to say nor do I have much time to say anything else.  I hope this week is another great one!

I love you a lot!

Love, 

Sister Broadbent