MA26 – Aug 26 (Last Day)

August 26, 2026

This morning, during breakfast and our devotional time, knowing our mission trip was drawing to our close, we reflected on the past three weeks. The pastor asked an important question: “What did you think of the trip this year?”

During the day, we had a visit with Emmi and spent some time discussing this same question, and some of the doubts and fears she is facing even as she continues to express her determination to continue serving God to her full ability. 

In the evening we had dinner and a visit with Arayik and Nelli, and Arayik asked the same question the pastor had asked this morning. So here is a summary of our reflections:

Like a farmer who must perform various chores at different times, there is a seasonality to mission work which is important to acknowledge. Sometimes it is all about preparing the ground; sometimes it’s planting the seed; sometimes it’s watering; sometimes it’s pruning; sometimes it’s even weeding. And, sometimes, it’s doing nothing but resting after having done everything that can be done, and just letting the sun do its work.

We came to Armenia this year just as a new crop of figs was ripening. We were able to enjoy them right off the trees, fresh and ready for picking, and tasty. Yet before we arrived, someone had done the necessary work to ensure that these fruits could be ready at this time. 

This is how we see this year’s mission trip. A lot of ground has been prepared, through the new contacts we made this year; a lot of seed has been sown through the messages, Bibles, tracts and devotional books given out; there has been watering through prayer and even tears over the people and ministry here; pruning through some of the encouragement and admonishment of our ministry partners; and even weeding, as we encountered some opposition and dealt with false teachings and doctrines. There was some harvesting too, as we rejoiced over the three (soon to be four) newly-established Bible Study groups, witnessed two people give their lives to Christ and celebrated the baptism of eight others. 

In addition to all of this, we do not forget the other situations in which we found ourselves where we recognize the importance of waiting and allowing the Son to do his work.

Unlike a farmer who must normally do his chores in consecutive order, we had the privilege of doing all of ours at various times throughout our visit. 

We are grateful to God for giving us this opportunity once again, and we are again trusting him to continue his work after we leave. 

May his will be done!

MA26 – August 25

August 26, 2026

Today was the day that we were supposed to visit a prison. The man we met at the baptismal service on Saturday told us we would have easy access, not just to a prison but to any number of prisons. We simply had to provide our passport information for identification and security clearance purposes, which we did a couple of days ago. We later learned, however, that this process does not apply to foreigners. Because we are foreigners, we would have had to apply two weeks ago. We trust God’s wisdom in closing this door for us this year and will add this activity to our list of things to prepare for if we return next year. 

We had other visits planned with Samvel, so we left the hotel around 11:30. Our first visit was with Artur and his grandmother. We met them for the first time last year; Artur is the boy who showed us his Bible, which started the process of us distributing children’s Bibles. We had a nice visit with them again and told Artur how he had been instrumental in this Bible distribution initiative, which made him glad. We compared him to the little boy in the Bible who shared his lunch of five loaves and two fishes and encouraged him to continue to be willing to speak up for God. We noticed that he still had a few questions but he also seemed more confident this year in his answers to the pastor’s questions. 

Our second visit was to the home of another family we had met last year: an older couple living with their son and daughter-in-law and their three young grandsons. We had given them a Bible as well as both devotional books, which were all displayed on their bookshelf. Not all of the family members were present this year but we still enjoyed a time of fellowship with them and prayed, as usual, before we left.

Our third visit was to the home of a family that Samvel had just recently met. Four generations are living together in this small house which, though fairly comfortable, shows signs of difficult living conditions. The older of the two children, a boy of about eight, has recently faced some medical challenges, and is just now regaining his ability to walk after two surgeries. They had already received a copy of the God’s Workshop devotional, so we gave them a copy of Does Your Life Have Meaning? This was one of those situations where it is hard to know what to do. We gave them some money, which will be of some help, and of course prayed with them and for them, but we left with a feeling of uncertainty about their overall condition. We are praying for God to be with them and are asking for his guidance as Samvel continues his ongoing visitation with them. 

Since we were spending the day with Samvel, he invited us to his home in the evening, and we met his wife Stella and one of their sons for the first time. This son, the younger of two, had been in the army during the last war with Azerbaijan in 2023. Of the 500 men in his troop, only 30 survived. Toward the end, he was not able to communicate with his family for 21 days. This was a harrowing experience for all of them, but we rejoice with them that he was able to be reunited with his family. Today being the last day of official visitations, it was nice to end it this way. 

Tomorrow is our final day in Armenia, so we will spend it preparing for our journey home. Thank you all again for your faithful prayers and words of encouragement! 

MA26 – August 24

August 24, 2026

Today was a full day of visitation but the format was a little different: We didn’t have to leave the hotel because they all came to us!

Our first visitor was Susanna from Vanadzor. She wanted to come to Horom on the Sunday we were there but was unable to arrange transportation so she travelled about two hours by bus to see us at the hotel and spend time in fellowship and prayer. For the past several years, Susanna has faithfully posted a chapter from the God’s Workshop devotional on Facebook every day. Although she arrived on her own, a friend of hers later joined us. We were surprised to learn he lives in Montreal! The pastor was able to have good conversations with both of them.

Before that meeting had even finished, Emmi arrived with Sarkis’ mother, Tatevik, and older brother Armen. Sarkis is the little boy we met last week who is unable to walk. We found out that his condition is spina bifida, a disease we sadly also know of in Canada, for which there is treatment but no cure. The good news in this situation is that Sarkis is being followed by a team of doctors; the bad news is that some treatments are free because of his age but others are not, so his progress happens in starts and stops.

We learned of other tragedies affecting this family and promised to pray for them and do what we can to help, although our resources are limited.

During this meeting, the pastor asked Tatevik a few questions about her spiritual wellbeing. She said she believes in God and knows that He is watching out for her and her family and helping them. However, she did not know what it meant to be born again, so the pastor explained this to her. Once again, the prayer on the back of the tract was very helpful. While she did not pray it for herself today, she did accept for the pastor to pray with her. We reminded her about Pastor Stepan’s church nearby and she said she was looking forward to being in touch with them.

Just as this meeting was ending, Anahit, the pastor’s cousin, called to say she was on her way to see us as this was the last time we would be able to see each other on this trip. We spent about an hour with her before we all needed to go our separate ways.

Our last visit of the day was the only one we didn’t have at the hotel. Sanadroug and Mariam had invited us for dinner to help them celebrate their wedding anniversary and we had a nice time of fellowship at their home in Kosh. 

We have one update to add from yesterday: After we finished and sent our report, a bit earlier than usual, we walked to Republic Square as we sometimes do to spend some time by the Singing Fountains. While we were sitting there and talking, Jonathan noted that we had not seen “our Iranian couple” over the last day or two. About 10 minutes before the end of the nightly presentation, we decided to head back to the hotel, mostly to avoid the inevitable mass exodus of the gathered crowd. Along the way, “our Iranian couple” exited a building right beside us. We continued walking all together and then spent another half hour or so talking with them and learning about their ministry in Turkey and Iran. They had worked with OM (Operation Mobilisation) but are now working with an organisation called Elam. It was fascinating to hear how they navigate the sometimes perilous waters of evangelism in two countries that officially oppose or are closed to Christianity.

We also found it interesting how our paths had crossed again: If we had not finished our report early; if we had not gone to Republic Square; if we had not left early; if they had not needed to go to the building they exited just as we were passing by…

Like “our Russian family,” we do not believe that we met this Iranian couple by chance. We now have their contact information and they shared some information that could be beneficial to the Iranian refugee community that we met here.

We continue to praise God for his leading!

MA26 – August 23

August 23, 2026

For Sunday service today, we went to Pastor Stepan’s church. The three women who were baptized yesterday were present. Pastor Joseph preached a message and Ann-Margret, Jonathan, and Shubroto shared short testimonies and words of  encouragement. After the service, several people asked the pastor for private prayers for their specific situations.

A woman who only recently began attending this church, Hasmik, speaks Greek and English and she had invited us for dinner tonight the first time we attended the Tuesday night Bible study there.

At her home this evening, we were treated to homestyle Greek cuisine. . . very different from what we have gotten used to eating in Armenia, which was a nice change.

We didn’t know much about Hasmik but that naturally changed over dinner. She had also invited her mother who initially didn’t know how she would be able to come, although she eagerly wanted to, because she lives in a small village about 50 miles away. However, at the last minute, she was able to get a ride from a family member who happened to be coming to Yerevan this evening.

Not only did we all enjoy a great meal together, but we also had a great time of fellowship. It turns out that Hasmik is a translator who works for the Bible Society and knows the other contacts we have already met from there. 

Tonight’s meeting is another example of how God lined up events in order for each of us to be in the right place at the right time. It was evident that our gathering was a blessing and encouragement for us all, and we will continue to pray for these women to grow in their faith.