January 1, 2012 from Stacy

Snowvem Godom (Happy New Year)!!  We had a feast of feasts today at the Vagik’s.   The “spread” looked like a feast for a king!  The leg of pork was HUGE with the knife and fork protruding from the top of the roast.  There was so much food, the plates were layered on top of each other.  Olives, cheeses, salamis, caviar, fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, flat breads, rolled sausages of this and that and who knows what, pickles, peppers, sliced meats, mixed nuts, fruits, Armenian salad, assorted fruits both fresh and dried, Armenian cakes and sweetbreads…and we tasted it ALL; well, almost all of it.  We couldn’t handle the caviar.  I have never seen so much food in my entire life!!!  We won’t have to eat for another week!  We felt so appreciated and welcomed.  They are so generous to include us in their family tradition.  The elders in the branch were allowed to come with us to translate which was a treat for them, too.  All of the elders and sisters were supposed to be in their apartments right after church for the rest of the day due to the holiday.  One funny thing that happened is Brother Vagik asked Elder Peterson to pray at the end of the meal after we had been eating for literally two hours.  Elder Peterson asked if he could stand to pray which was interpreted that everyone should stand for the prayer, and they did. The family’s friends who were also there drove us home.  We managed to somehow communicate for the 20-minute drive home.  That was a small miracle!