Huskoom
Huskoom February 26, 2010 by Hasmik Babayan Takoushian
It’s Friday, 7:00pm. The sun has already kissed the valley good night and beneath the silhouettes of old McDowell Mountains in Scottsdale,
the houses are finally welcoming their owners from work, soccer practice, or just from a Friday family outing. As the moon starts showing its
pale face in the dark sky, everything starts getting peaceful and calm, welcoming all the mystery lovers into its palace.
I need to go to church tonight. It’s Vigil (Huskoom). Vigil usually is a day of fast and/or abstinence and the service itself has propers –
specific prayers – that call the soul to purify itself in preparation of the feast tomorrow.
The walls of beautiful St. Apkar Church are stretching up in the darkness as close to the sky as possible to make sure that all the prayers will
definitely be heard and answered tonight. Inside the church the lights are dim. It doesn’t have the usual bright and welcoming look. It’s
rather solemn, kind of empty, but at the same time filled with people who are warm and friendly. The candles are flickering happily to assure
that every one of them lit by a faithful parishioner will help to make their wishes come true.
Der-Zacharia, our shepherd, the priest of St. Apkar and Joseph Sahakian, a faithful member of our church and a volunteer to help him, are
approaching each parishioner and handing out special prayers to them, written by Nerses Shnorhali, the 11th century Armenian writer and a
poet. Tonight’s Vigil Service has a cause: Der-Zacharia is dedicating this service to Tamara Vandian and to many of those parishioners who
have been sick or who have been recovering from sickness. Tamara, a young, beautiful, always in good spirits, married with three children
and a close friend of mine, was recently diagnosed with stage IV cancer. We all found out about that a few months ago. We also learned
how brave and strong-willed person Tamara is, facing her illness by standing firm on her feet, tall and confident, always positive, with a big
smile on her face and determination in her mind.
She has FAITH and lots of it. Those who know Tamara came to St. Apkar tonight to pray for her health and for the well being of her loved
ones. They say that St. Apkar (also spelled A-B-G-A-R), too was cured from cancer.
The silence gets broken by the powerful singing of the deacons Berj Manoogian, Dr. Stephen Ovanessoff, Jerry Avakian, George Mangigian
and by Der-Zacharia. The peaceful night is smoothly blending in with the hymns sung during the service. It is helping in calming down each
worried mind reassuring that things will soon get better.
It is time for Tamara and the other recovering patients to join the deacons and Der-Hayr to say prayers. Emotional, but yet strong, filled with
hope and faith, Tamara is kneeling down, while some others stand with eyes closed and they say a prayer. TOGETHER, then one by one,
the supporters of tonight’s cause, friends and family start reading prayers from Nerses Shnorhali. What a marvelous way to show the much
needed spiritual support. What a beautiful way to say, “I Love You Lord, please help our loved ones recover from illness fast.”
Following the beautiful service, everyone is invited to Upper Room where an amazing Lenten table is set by Susana Vardanyan and Djemile
Touresian for their fellow parishioners. Some have brought their signature food or desserts for this one-of-a-kind occasion. There is a
special guest tonight among us. His name is Jay Remington or Hagop, his newly baptized name. He was among the patients spiritually
while he was sitting among the supporters during the service. A special person, who has been struggling with cancer off and on since 1997.
His most powerful tool for healing from this life-threatening disease has been his FAITH. He is here to show us the miraculous ways FAITH
has worked for him. The amazing story of his battle for survival for so many years through his profound faith and love to God brings tears of
joy in audience’s eyes.
Jay sits there calmly, with one hand on The Bible, his face so serene, looking up and saying scriptures by heart, his voice so soft and so
natural, leading us to believe in the incredible healing forces of FAITH and it’s amazing powers of creating support network, which is so vital
for someone undergoing treatment.
Faith is what has brought us all together tonight to support our friend Tamara and many of our community members as they are trying to
recover from their sickness. I am glad I came tonight.
As I drive home feeling calm inside, I think about the day when I asked Tamara if there was anything she needed us to do for her and she said,
“Please ask everyone to pray for me.” Our community has responded to her request and has shown an incredible support to Tamara by
including her in their daily prayers, by inquiring about her well-being or by offering to help. Thank you Lord, for giving strength to my friend,
and to all those who have been sick. Please help them recover fast.
The Sun will be up soon and it will embrace us with its warm rays, giving us a motherly hug, and to assure us that the day ahead, will be a nice
one, filled with happy blossoms of flowers and trees. The fresh smell of spring is in the air with new hopes, new strength, new beginnings…
