[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 111 (Thursday, September 5, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING SISTER HANNA CHRISTEN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 5, 2002

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Sister Hanna 
Christen on the occasion of being honored by the Alurmni of the 
Armenian Evangelical High School in Anjar, Lebanon, at a ceremony 
taking place in Southern California on August 24, 2002. Sister Hanna 
served 30 years at the High School as a long time missionary from the 
Hilfsbund Missionary of Bad-Homburg in Frankfurt, Germany.
  Sister Hanna Christen was born in the city of Rothenburg on the 
Tauber near Nuremburg, Germany. She was raised in a Christian home with 
her father as a preacher. Upon completion of her studies, her parents 
suggested she enter a Protestant monastery. She then became a nun and 
started providing her services to an orphanage. She continually felt a 
call from God for her to travel to another country and serve. She went 
to serve in the Boys' section of the Boarding School of the Armenian 
Evangelical High School of Anjar, Lebanon. She served as a missionary 
to these students who are now well established in communities 
throughout the United States. Since 1980, she has served in nursing 
homes in Beruit, Germany and now serves in Yerevan, Armenia.
  Today, Sister Hanna is a certified general and geriatric nurse at the 
Nursing Home No. 1 of Yerevan, where she takes care of the residents' 
hygienic, emotional and spiritual needs. The 125 elderly residents of 
the home are grateful for the loving care and compassion of this German 
woman, who speaks fluent Armenian.
  Sister Hanna is considered the ``Mother Theresa'' for Armenians, and 
she considers Armenia her ``Hayrenik'' (fatherland). She has adopted 
Armenia to be her homeland and continues to serve as a volunteer 
missionary for the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) 
gaining the respect and admiration of people for her humanitarian 
services.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Sister Hanna Christen for her 
dedication as a volunteer missionary and for touching the lives of so 
many. I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing Sister Hanna 
Christen many more years of continued success.

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