MISSION: ARMENIAN 2023 – DAYS 14 to 17

August 30, 2023

WEDNESDAY, August 23: Gor, the 17-year-old blind boy we visited last week, wanted to “see” us before we left so we went to visit his family. His mother, Armine, is very proud of her three children and their accomplishments. She told us that Gor taught himself to play the guitar and he also plays the piano. She brought the guitar out and he sang a beautiful Armenian song. The rest of the day we ran errands and had supper with our cousins.

We don’t have any reports for Thursday and Friday as we mainly took care of preparations for Saturday’s activities.

SATURDAY, August 26: Baptismal Day! They came from all over to be baptized today. From the young to the old, those who had recently accepted Jesus into their lives and those who had been saved for a time, were baptized. . . 15 in all. We thank you for your continued prayers and support.

MISSION: Armenia 2023 – DAYS 9 TO 10

August 21, 2023

FRIDAY, August 18: Our first stop was the home of a family mourning the loss of one of their sons during the war. He left behind a wife and two children. The parents have built two shrines: one inside the home and one for passersby to see, rest, and drink cold water. We left the family with financial aid and prayers and encouraged them to give their pain over to the Lord and to continue attending church and having fellowship with other believers.

Our second visit was to the home of a family of five. The mother, in her early 30s, will be baptized next week. We ended the visitation by leaving them with financial aid and prayer.

Our third visit was with an older woman who attends a local church, and her brother who is visiting from Russia. Her daughter has been told she will lose her eyesight. We were able to share the gospel with the brother and daughter. Please pray their hearts will be softened and they will commit their lives to Jesus Christ.

Our fourth visit was with Mary, who was very ill with heart issues last year and had to undergo surgery. Today she is doing well and praising God for the changes in her heart. She has the most beautiful and ready smile for everyone. She attends a local church. Mary is a single mother of two boys, 13 and 6. Her husband has left them, and she is raising them on her own in very difficult circumstances. We ended the visitation with prayer and financial aid.

Our final visit was with our sister in Christ, Sveta. We met Sveta for the first time in 2011 in Spitak, where we held our first baptismal service in a very cold and hard-to-access river. Sveta is a powerhouse for the Lord. She now lives in Russia but has close ties with the people of Spitak and continues to minister anywhere she is. We met with her to go through the list of people who, through her mission work, have asked for baptism. There are yet others who would like baptism next week, so Sveta is traveling from Yerevan to Spitak on Saturday to meet with these people to ensure they understand and are ready for baptism.

Spitak is 96 km north of the capital, Yerevan, and 22 km west of the provincial center, Vanadzor. Spitak was entirely destroyed during the 1988 earthquake and was rebuilt in a slightly different location. Between 25,000 and 50,000 were killed and up to 130,000 were injured. Please pray for sister Sveta and her ongoing mission of helping the people of Spitak, and for those who will be baptized next week.

SATURDAY, August 19: Our first visit today was to a family that lives in a 5th-floor walk-up apartment. The mother is 84 years old, and the daughter (Narine) and son live with her. The son has been crippled for over 30 years, the problems having started after he served as a soldier in Siberia. He rarely leaves the apartment because there is no elevator. Last year he was baptized and that was one of the few times he left his home. He needs to go up and down sideways, a very awkward process. Narine is a nurse and the only one who can work. They depend on her salary and the pittance the government gives for her brother and mother.

No matter how poor and financially strapped families in Armenia are, they always are prepared to serve fruit, coffee, water, juice, chocolates, and other treats. We prayed with them and left them with financial aid.

Our second visit was to the home of an old friend, also named Sveta. She has been distributing books, Bibles, and tracts from her home’s front window for many years. She is ready to tell people about God’s plan for salvation. We had a time of fellowship and prayer and encouraged her to continue with her mission.

We then visited Gayane to pray with and for her mother-in-law who recently had a stroke. She has difficulty walking and her hands are weak. With all her difficulties she has a sweet demeanor and her faith is strong. We spent a bit of time talking about spiritual matters and ended with a prayer and leaving them with financial aid.

Mission: Armenia 2023 – DAYS 7 TO 8

August 21, 2023

WEDNESDAY, August 16: We drove to Monument, a neighbourhood in the Kanaker-Zeytun district of Yerevan, to visit Pastor Hratsh Kiujian, the founder of Armenian Christian Ministry, which celebrated 25 years last week. He and his wife have served the Armenian people for many years and recently started a ministry serving the people of Lebanon. They sponsor hundreds of families through the donations of supporters in Australia and hold meetings during the week for families and children.

One of the blessings for us has been meeting and getting to know our extended family over the years. On our first official trip to Armenia in 2011 we met the Pastor’s cousin Anahit, her husband (who has since passed away), her son, and her two daughters. That year, they all gave their lives to the Lord and went on to get baptized. This was the result of many years of prayers and correspondence by the Pastor’s parents. They planted the seeds, and Pastor Joseph had the privilege of harvesting.

After a long day, we went for a late dinner with our local missionary and his wife. We had a wonderful time of fellowship. Please pray for this couple.

THURSDAY, August 17: We started the day with a visit to an old friend. We first met this gentleman back in 2011 and, at that time, he listened but did not accept God’s gift of salvation. His wife was a believer and shed many tears for her husband. Several years ago, she passed away and her husband has been mourning her death ever since. During our visit today, his daughter and niece kept bringing up the subject of salvation and baptism. He is a learned man and has read the Pastor’s book, the Bible, and other books that have been given to him. His desire is to be united with his beloved wife.

The Pastor once again shared with him the plan of salvation and the hope that we receive with salvation. They prayed together and the man even spoke of baptism. There will be follow-up with him prior to the baptismal service next week and, if he is ready, he will be one of those who are to be baptized.

We were told of a heartbreaking family situation and agreed to go and pray for this family. The grandmother, in her mid-50s, looks after her son’s five children. He left for Russia and the mother disappeared. The oldest boy is in grade 9 and struggles with his studies. The two youngest boys do not speak; they use gestures, grunts, and other sounds to communicate. The saddest part is that the grandmother is very sick and struggles to look after the children. The living conditions are terrible. They rarely eat more than rice. Yet all five children have beautiful smiles and are polite. They enjoyed speaking with all of us.

Recently, a YouTuber had them on their channel and, since then, they have been receiving donations. A company has donated money to have a bathroom built and has installed a large solar panel on the roof to give them electricity. While we were there, a woman and her son arrived with boxes of clothing and food. We prayed and gave them some money and the Pastor’s book. While leaving, we were able to witness to and give a book to the man building the bathroom.

We ended the day with a special service hosted by the Huysy Doun, House of Hope church in Yerevan. Pastor Stepan invited us for an evangelical outreach service. Pastor Joseph preached about salvation and several in the room gave their lives to Jesus. There was also a request for baptism. Keep this church and its ministry in your prayers.

MISSION: ARMENIA 2023 – DAYS 5 TO 6

August 16, 2023

Monday, August 14: This was a day of visitations with those who have asked for baptism to ensure that they understand what baptism is. Our first visit was with a young mother whose husband had died and who had lost her job at a grocery store. She has a young daughter with medical needs. One of our partners here has built a relationship with her and helps her regularly. The mother and daughter live in an old hotel that has been converted, using this word loosely, into an apartment building. As with many of these buildings in Armenia, there is no upkeep. They live in a tiny room with no kitchen, a fridge placed by the door, and room enough for a bed and a couch. The little girl has had multiple surgeries for different ailments and needs another that they are waiting for. The mother, Rozanna, will be baptized on the 26th.

The second family we visited lived in a walk-up. The father is a dentist but works as a cab driver and the young boy, Armen, who was afraid of the dark and used to struggle with the fear of demons and spirits, would always wear a cross. During a previous visit, Pastor Joseph had prayed with this boy about his fears. When we arrived at their home, Armen came up to Pastor Joseph and declared that, since the prayer, he no longer struggled with these fears.

We also visited a family that we were introduced to in 2008, during Pastor Joseph’s first visit to Armenia. Artur, the father, is a prolific painter. He gave Pastor Joseph one of his latest paintings, which was done after he took a picture of the moon. This family has gone through many changes in their circumstances due to their son’s rise in the boxing world. Narek recently placed third in a world championship. Their daughter is married and has two children, the youngest born this past May. The mother, Anahid, requested baptism on the 26th and this is wonderful news for all.

Tuesday, August 15: The first visit was to a man, Samuel, who had requested baptism. After Pastor and Arayik spoke to him, Samuel said he would wait for baptism now that he understood what it was about. They left him a Bible, the Pastor’s book Gods Workshop, and a tract.

Our second visit was to Gor’s family. Some of you will remember Gor, the blind boy who likes to sing, from our previous visits. He has been singing publicly and even traveling out of the country to sing. His mother requested a longer walking stick on his behalf, but we were not able to find one anywhere in Armenia. We will be ordering one online and delivering it to him. Gor’s dream is to go to Bible school and learn the Word of God and tell others about the Good News. His older sister has been learning languages and speaks four, including English. She has been accepted into the American University in Armenia. His younger brother, who is 11, dreams of becoming a boxer or, if that doesn’t happen, a bank executive.

The last stop of the day, after a late lunch, was to buy Bibles for distribution. The price of Bibles has gone up from $2 to $8 and they are hard to come by. We were able to purchase almost 100 Bibles to distribute freely, thanks to the generosity of our donors.

Mission: Armenia 2023 – Days 1 to 4

August 14, 2023

Pastor Joseph Hovsepian and his daughter Ruth arrived in Yerevan on Thursday, August 10. We will update this blog every few days as Ruth sends us reports and photos. Thank you for following along!

Friday, August 11: Dear friends and prayer warriors. On our first full day, we took care of administrative tasks, got our Armenia phone activated, banking, and had a team meeting with one of the Armenian missionaries, who is also our driver while we are here. We have gone over our itinerary and confirmed our first week’s visitations and speaking engagements. We humbly ask for continued prayers for us as well as to prepare the hearts of those that we encounter and minister to. In the coming days, I will start to post pictures and videos of our activities. Feel free to ask us any questions that you may have. Thank you for continued support.

Saturday, August 12: We started our day off with a team meeting and prayers. Then we visited a shepherd’s home in a suburb of Yerevan called Bangladesh. In previous years we had been to this family’s home. The boy’s name is Gor, the girl’s name is Diana and the mother’s name is Armine. She recently had a beautiful baby. The family lives in a home the size of a single-car garage, in recent years they have slowly fixed up the interior of the home. This small space is included as part of the pay to the father who takes care of the sheep for his bosses. We ended the day by meeting with the congregation of the House of Hope, a small group of mainly women. Their Pastor will be ordained in the coming weeks. This is a small congregation that meets in the basement of an apartment building in Yerevan.

Sunday, August 13: We headed out at 9 am toward Horom, 1.5 hours northwest of Yerevan, to visit one of the earliest churches we have had a relationship with. In 2013, we were introduced to Pastor Tigran and his church. Throughout the years we have helped them complete the shell of a building that was their church to what it is today. We made repairs, added windows, bathrooms, etc.

We arrived early enough in Horom to have a time of fellowship with the pastor and his family. We then headed to the church only a short distance away. We had a simple yet beautiful morning worship. Pastor Joseph spoke and brought the Word of God to the congregation in Horom. At the end of the service, Pastor Tigran asked Ruth to speak to the women. The men left the church and waited in the courtyard while Ruth shared a short devotional with the women.

We spent the afternoon visiting with the pastor and his family, understanding the needs that they have as a family, church, and community. From there, we headed to Gyurmi, 25 minutes north of Horom, to meet with Pastor Rubik. He and his family opened their door to us and we had a time of catching up and planning for the upcoming ordination. We got back to Yerevan around 9 pm.

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