Our Mission Armenia 2026 team is getting ready to travel in exactly a week! Watch this spot for updates and photos a day or so after we arrive (which is on August 7). In the meantime, if you’d like to support our mission trip, please click here.
Today’s devotions were about feeling empty and needing to be filled, and knowing that sometimes the best way to receive is to give to those with greater need. On this last day of our trip, we see how this has been the theme of our visit all along. This is not a complaint, but we have experienced moments of tiredness, frustration, concern, and even doubt; yet each day after our visits, we returned uplifted and feeling blessed. Still tired, maybe, but not “weary in well-doing.”
Emma arrived right at the end of our devotional time and we were able to spend a good amount of time with her to say an official farewell. We also made the nice discovery that the Bible storybook we mentioned in Monday’s report was available for sale at the “all things Armenia” store right near the hotel. We bought a few copies for Emma to distribute to children in her circle. We had a bit of free time, which we used to start preparing our suitcases, and then we went to a nearby hotel restaurant for lunch and a final good-bye with Samvel. We specifically chose this spot because Ann-Margret’s cousin Shushanik works there and she and Samvel go to the same church. It was an added blessing to be able to spend a bit more time with her also.
After lunch, Arayik picked us up at the hotel and we went to his home to spend our last afternoon with him and Nelli. This has been the tradition for the past few years and it really is a nice way to wrap up our visits. We ended our time with them in prayer, then Arayik drove us back to the hotel. We will see him one last time in the morning, as he is taking us to the airport.
Thank you for all your prayers, support, and interest in following this trip!
We started our day with breakfast and devotions as usual, and left almost immediately afterward for the baptismal service. Emma had found, through her connections, a house with a swimming pool that was the perfect size and depth to accommodate our needs, in a lovely yard with fruit trees, and a comfortable veranda with tables and chairs, as well as a changing area. It was perfect!
Pastor Joseph began the service with a prayer and an address to the six candidates: the “shepherd family”—Rafael, Armine, and their two older children Diana and Gor—Roza, a member of Pastor Stepan’s church, and Anahit, whom we had also mentioned in a previous post. The address included the confirmation of their commitment to their faith, and every question Pastor Joseph asked was met with a resounding “Ayo!” (Yes!) The group then moved toward the pool to be baptized. It was the first time we saw “self-immersion” (the pool would have made it difficult for Pastor Joseph to “dunk” people the traditional way) but with the support of his arms and Arayik’s encouragement, each candidate wholeheartedly plunged under the water after the Pastor repeated the standard declaration: “Based on your profession of faith, and at your request, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Each one emerged happy and smiling and excited, and it was a delight to see their joy as they grouped themselves together after their own turn, watching and waiting to welcome the next candidate to join them.
When the service was over, Pastor Joseph presented each one who was baptized with a certificate, a New Testament, and a cross pin or pendant. Then the women changed back into their regular clothing but, as it was a hot day and we were beside a swimming pool, Rafael and the kids got back into the water and were soon joined by some of the other people present. Meanwhile, others enjoyed the fruits and pastries that Emma had picked up for us and, as usual, there was a lot of good discussion and fellowship. It was nice to see that some people had come just for the support of their family or friends, and this was like a reminder of how the church should be: people from all backgrounds coming together to celebrate each other and their common faith.
We returned to the hotel to rest, a bit tired but with our own hearts full of joy after sharing in today’s service. As we are preparing this report, we realize that this is a nice way to end our trip: sharing about an event which is like the culmination of the Christian experience; an important step in a journey which may have started long ago or only recently; the outward expression of an inward transformation; the beginning of what is to come next. Please keep these six special people in your prayers, and please continue to pray for Armenia and the ministry here.
If you’d like to watch a video of the baptismal service, our friend Sanadroug Hajian posted his nine-minute recording on Facebook here. You can also view the photos below in this album (for easier scrolling).
As it was the 7th wedding anniversary of our friends Sanadroug and Mariam yesterday, and it was Pastor Joseph who had married them, we took them out for lunch today to celebrate. We hadn’t really had a chance to visit with them until now so this was a good occasion to catch up.
We then met Samvel back at the hotel, went to Davitashen to pick up Gayane and meet with two of her contacts. When we got to the first house, we were a bit surprised by the relative luxury we found. We were greeted by a lady who was home alone except for her youngest grandson, a boy of 12 named Artur. Although Pastor Joseph tried, as usual, to get to the point and engage our hostess in a conversation about her spiritual life, there didn’t seem to be a lot of interest. However, we have been praying daily that God would lead us to those that need Him so we knew there had to be a reason we were there, especially since it was Gayane who had arranged the visit.
Before long, Artur presented an opportunity to turn the conversation to more serious matters. He had been sitting alone off to the side but suddenly joined the adults at the table, apparently wanting to hear more about God and faith. Pastor Joseph asked him if he knew who Jesus was and he confidently responded: “The Son of God.” When he was asked who Jesus was to him personally, he hesitated, unsure. His grandmother said he reads his Bible every night so Artur went to get it to show us. It’s a “Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes” type of Bible, but it presents all the stories in order, with a reading and accompanying picture. Jonathan had this same book in English when he was little.
Then Artur surprised everyone by moving to sit beside the Pastor to ask: “Babi Hovsep, I have heard that Jesus is coming back some day. Is that true? And when?” The conversation went from there to prayer, how to keep in contact with God, and the importance of daily Bible reading. Pastor Joseph invited Artur to reach out to him if he ever has any questions so we helped him connect with Pastor on Facebook. We also gave him a New Testament and the two devotional books to his grandmother, then had a word of prayer. We left with a feeling of “mission accomplished” and pray that our visit today will leave a long-lasting impression on this family, especially this young boy who seems so spiritually open at this stage of his life.
Our second visit was to a family with three small children, the youngest being the same age as Pastor Joseph’s great-grandson: not even six weeks old! Again, the visit finished very differently from how it began. We met the whole family upon arrival but suddenly found ourselves alone with the father, Antranik, in the livingroom. He was quite willing to talk and, with no hesitation, identified himself as a Christian; but then he went on to say that it was only natural that he was a Christian since he was born in a Christian country, just as he would have been Muslim if born in a Muslim country or a Hindu if born in a Hindu country. He went on to say that this was God’s plan and this was basically how it worked everywhere around the world.
Naturally, this wasn’t the answer we were hoping to hear, but it did open the door to a longer and much more fruitful discussion. In his own style, Pastor Joseph challenged Antranik on various points. During the rest of the conversation, the other members of the family joined us one by one and pretty soon we were all sitting around the table, focussed on one main question: If I were to die today, and God asked me why He should let me into heaven, what would my answer be? This was the real turning point and, at the end of the conversation, the head of the household said: “I have really been affected; there is a fire inside me now.“ They were very grateful to receive the devotional books, tracts, Bible, and New Testament we offered and promised to read them because, as Pastor Joseph said, “Like life-saving medication, it’s not worth anything if you just lock it away in a cupboard and never use it.”
For the second time today, we ended the visit feeling that the Holy Spirit had really intervened and led us exactly to where we were supposed to be. We ask you to join us in prayer for these two families, especially Artur and Antranik who responded with genuine openness to the gospel. Pray, too, that the Lord will continue to guide us so clearly during our last two days here. Tomorrow is the baptismal service and six souls, including two children, will be taking the big step to identify themselves with Christ.
Saturday, Day 15 of our mission trip, was “family reunion” day. Pastor Joseph has cousins from his father’s side living in Armenia and they invited us for what we thought was going to be a small picnic at their new house. It turned out to be a big, big family gathering, including almost all the siblings and grandchildren. About 35 people were there!
It was nice to see so much extended family together. Amidst the various toasts, Pastor Joseph was asked on two occasions to say a blessing. Despite the celebratory setting, it was an opportunity to have some meaningful conversations as well.
For Sunday morning worship we went to the Evangelical Baptist church, as planned. Although we know that God accepts all forms of sincere worship, it was a nice change to be in a church with a more traditional service structure, choir-led congregational singing, multiple instruments, and a multi-media recording which will eventually be posted in their church’s Facebook group. There is, of course, a lot more to what makes this a good church, such as the biblical teaching and their ministries to children and teens, but these other elements certainly contribute to inspiring collective worship.
Jonathan and Ann-Margret were invited to share their testimonies again, as was Emma, and then Pastor Joseph’s message touched on the importance of pure, Bible-based doctrine and the dangers of the trend he sees developing in Armenia toward incorrect teaching. This exhortation was met with a wholeheartedly favourable response. The greeting time after the service was very warm and, for the Pastor and Ann-Margret, it was again a happy reunion time with many familiar faces. We then returned to the hotel to rest up for the ordination service to be held in the evening.
A few hours later, we arrived at Pastor Stepan Vardanyan’s church, Huysi Dun (House of Hope) for the ordination service just before 6:00 p.m. and were pleased to find that many people had already arrived. The refreshments for after the service had even been laid out. During the service, we could tell it was an emotional experience for some of the members. We heard afterward of the challenges Pastor Stepan has faced in his ministry and leading up to his ordination, so it is a real blessing that Pastor Joseph was able to help make this event happen. We were moved to see that for the prayer of blessing and laying-on of hands, Pastor Stepan’s wife was included. This is a good idea since, ultimately, this important step will have an impact on her as well and they will need each other’s support.
Overall, it was a very nice Sunday and we feel blessed to have been able to participate in these worship activities today. We hope your Sunday worship went as well as ours and we look forward to being back in Montreal at our home church in about a week’s time.
Click here to view the weekend’s photo album and video of some of the worship time at the morning service.
In our devotional this morning, part of the text mentioned asking God to lead us toward people who may need to be reminded of their importance in His kingdom and of their value in His eyes, regardless of their age, physical condition, or talents and capabilities. Hebrews 10:24 says: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Since we still had no planned visits for today, we decided to look up another relative of Pastor Joseph’s; to be honest, we weren’t even sure if she was still alive. We took a chance and went to her home, where Arayik boldly knocked on her door and called out to her. Sure enough, she came to her window and after a brief exchange, threw down her door key so we could let ourselves in (she can no longer manage the stairs). As with our last visit yesterday, here we found an elderly woman with significant mobility issues, yet a faithful servant of God who is strong in her faith despite her many challenges. We prayed with her and convinced her to allow us to take a photo (she is usually camera shy). It was so nice to see her again! This visit was a good example of this morning’s devotional text, about Christians blessing one another. We pray that we encouraged her as much as she encouraged us.
A couple of other moments to note: At breakfast this morning, Ann-Margret happened to sneeze and a young man seated a few tables away said, “Bless you!” We all turned toward him and this was an obvious opening to start a conversation, so Pastor Joseph asked him where he was from. It turns out he is an Armenian from California. He wished us a good vacation so Ann-Margret mentioned that we are actually on a mission trip. He inquired: “Christianity?” When we said yes, his response was positive. Pastor Joseph gave him the “What Are You Searching For?” tract, which he seemed to accept willingly.
After this morning’s visit, we stopped at a Syrian restaurant for a late lunch and had two different waitresses serve us. One is from Syria and spoke Western Armenian, and the other is from Armenia and spoke Eastern Armenian. This also allowed an opportunity to offer each of them our tract, since it has been translated into both languages.
It can seem strange to have a day that’s not very busy with official “mission” work but we sincerely prayed this morning for the Holy Spirit to guide our steps so we trust that He did. If we needed to rest our minds and spirits in preparation for the next five days, the last stretch of our time here, we are grateful that the Lord provided the opportunity for that. Your prayers and support motivate us! God bless you all.
Day 12
Wednesday was a “refresh” day without any official mission work so we took the opportunity to visit Pastor Joseph’s grandmother’s grave along with his cousin Anahit, whose parents are buried in the same plot. (The cousins’ fathers were half-brothers.) It was moving to see the Hovsepian family name engraved there for perpetuity—a tangible reminder of the heritage of faith that has been passed down through so many generations.
We then spent a few afternoon hours with Arayik and Nelli. It can be easy to forget that even though they are partners in this ministry, they also have their own concerns and worries and needs for encouragement, and so it was good to spend this time of fellowship with them, sharing segments of our testimonies and other life stories, and giving Pastor Joseph the opportunity to provide some pastoral care. We returned to the hotel to relax for an hour or so, then went for dinner. Upon returning to the hotel, we had a short farewell and prayer time with Joel, who would be leaving early the next morning.
Day 13
As with Shubroto’s departure, Joel’s absence left a small feeling of emptiness in the morning. It was good to have him with us for the time he was able to get away, and as Joel was on the prayer calendar today (this was not planned but a providential coincidence!) we prayed not only for his safe travels but also that God would use this time to reinforce his faith and his spiritual walk.
Around noon, Emma joined us at the hotel and then we went to pick up Pastor Stepan to visit a few members of his church. The first visit gave the one remaining non-Armenian in the group a taste of authentic Armenian hospitality: no asking and no taking no for an answer; just a staunch determination that we would leave well-fed, and by our hostess’s own hand, as she loaded our plates again and again. On a spiritual note, after a discussion about the difference between infant and believers’ baptism, she and her daughter both expressed an interest in being baptized, so we shared the details of Tuesday’s service and now look forward to their participation.
After dropping off Pastor Stepan, we visited a woman who shared with us how conflict in her family is distressing her and weighing her down spiritually. She was open in her sharing, but also very receptive and grateful for the advice that Pastors Joseph and Stepan offered her. At the end of the visit, as usual, we prayed for her and we hope that our words of encouragement will remain with her in the days ahead. We then went to visit Hripsime, an elderly woman who had just been released from the hospital, where she’d been treated for a heart problem. Some of you may remember seeing a video from a previous year of the group singing a hymn together in this same house. Lucine, a member of a local Pentecostal church, was there to keep her company and do some cooking and housekeeping, so we enjoyed a very nice discussion with both of them about the importance of personal faith and solid doctrine—regardless of denomination. We sang a few hymns, in Armenian and English simultaneously.
In the evening, our team (down to three now) walked to a restaurant close by where, to our delight a troupe was playing, so we were able to appreciate some Armenian folk music. As of the writing of this report, we have no firm plans for tomorrow so we will be excited to see what God has in store for us. Kisher pari!
You’ll find a few more photos, showing some art around the city, and bonus video clips in this album.
Today we were grateful that Emma could accompany us once again and that we were able to visit the people she had wanted to see yesterday. Our first stop was in Bangladesh again (the neighbourhood of Yerevan, not the country!)
The family lives on the fifth floor of a building with no elevator. With the heat and the effort, we were winded when we finally arrived at their apartment. We were a little bit concerned about Pastor Joseph climbing all those stairs, but he was fine! We enjoyed a lovely visit with Narine, her brother Garen, who walks with great difficulty and can’t stand for long, and their elderly mother. The pastor had baptized the siblings about four years ago. Narine shared that she has taken on a personal ministry in her job as a nurse to dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. She told us that even those who are violent are calmed when she talks to them about the love of Jesus. One woman in particular, however, was adamantly opposed to the gospel, even though she was nearing her last days. Narine prayed loudly for her one day, not caring if all the neighbours could hear: “Lord, I think she will not believe in you unless she sees you. So if it be your will, please let her see you.” She then went about her regular duties.
A little while later, she heard the woman talking. She went back into her room and found her lying on her back, looking up at the ceiling, her eyes fixed on something that Narine couldn’t see. She had a smile on her face and was saying “yes, yes, yes” over and over again. She died a few hours later. Narine said that she cannot be certain, but she is convinced that the Lord did show himself to this woman in some way and brought her to salvation just before she passed away.
After saying a prayer with this family, we drove to Abovyan to visit Artur and Anahit, friends of Arayik and also the parents of world-champion boxer Narek Manasyan.
Outside the building was a group of children sitting together and talking. Arayik asked if they spoke English. To our surprise, a couple of them did, but the oldest girl said she also speaks Russian and is learning French and Korean! We continue to be amazed at the interest and openness of the younger generation to explore and learn other languages.
We were glad to hear that Anahit wants to be baptized during our stay in Armenia (she had wanted to be baptized previously but circumstances prevented her) Part of the afternoon was spent making plans for the baptismal service, which will be held on Tuesday, August 26. We praise God that we currently have five candidates ready to follow in this important step in their spiritual journey.
On the way back to Yerevan, we stopped in to see a fairly new Apostolic (Orthodox) church, which was completed in 2013. We also checked out a potential location for the baptismal service, then walked through the “vernissage” marketplace to pick up a few momentos. Before we left the flea market, Pastor Joseph approached a tourist from the Philippines and gave her a gospel tract, which she happily accepted when she saw that it was in her own language. We pray that she will read it and be drawn to Christ.
What a day of contrasts from yesterday. After witnessing families living in extreme poverty who had nothing at all to offer us, today we were surrounded by comfort and abundance: from the completely renovated apartment and food-laden table of the second family we visited to the domes of pure gold adorning the church to the rows and rows of trinkets, toys, and textiles at the vernissage. We know that Jesus lived among these same contrasts in His time, having been invited to feasts and wedding banquets but also eating simple meals with those of lesser means, or even being the one to provide food when the occasion called for it. So we write this report with no judgement of either group of people, but simply noting what we have observed with a renewed, fervent prayer that God will continue to use us to minister to the needs of all those we meet, regardless of their circumstances.
Amen
Our second Sunday in Armenia, we travelled to Gyumri, which is the second largest city in Armenia and a little farther than Horom (where we worshipped last Sunday). It has a slightly European flair, which we always find charming.
Pastor Rubik shepherds the Baptist church there, a congregation we have enjoyed visiting in past years. We were warmly welcomed by this small group and had opportunities again to give our testimonies. Although this is church is small, there were noticeably more men and young people than in the other congregations. Jonathan also shared his music ministry by singing Der Voghormia (Lord, Have Mercy) in Armenian. To his delight, the church members immediately started singing with him and then the pianist joined in as well! The service ended with a time of open prayer, a regular practice at this church. After the service, we brought in a few big bundles of both our devotional books and handed them out freely, which the church members accepted with gratitude. We also gave away the balance of our reading glasses and some of the medication that our supporters had donated.
After church we went into the downtown area for lunch and had a walk around the city centre a bit before returning to Yerevan where we enjoyed a wonderful reunion with Pastor Joseph’s cousin and her family. It is always nice to see anyone growing in their faith or coming back to the Lord but it is especially precious when it happens in one’s own family. We had a really great discussion about the importance of faith and doctrine, church attendance, and personal spiritual discipline, and since the younger cousins speak English, everyone was able to participate in the conversations.
Heartbreak and Hope
One of the things we are always reminded of during these mission trips is that we need to leave room for the Holy Spirit to work and to guide our steps. We sometimes make plans to visit people or go places and then those plans have to change for reasons beyond our control. Pastor Joseph has learned to not overplan our schedules, which means we sometimes don’t know what our day will look like when we get up for breakfast. This can be jarring at times but it also challenges us to trust God’s perfect timing. And He never fails to lead us to right where we need to be.
Monday was one of those days when we had to be flexible. We also were reminded to always be ready to share our faith, to count our blessings, and to care for the poor in spirit and the meek. Sadly, our friend Emma was not able to join us because she had been bitten by a dog the night before and needed to go to the hospital for shots. Please keep her in prayer. Although we couldn’t meet with her, we made a new connection through Arayik, Vova and Mari, members of his church who in turn introduced us to two new families.
The conditions of these families are unlike anything we have come across in all of our mission trips until now. Both families are living in converted metal shipping containers, but these are nothing like the tiny-home transformations we see on HGTV. They have no indoor plumbing or kitchen. The first home has eleven people, including two infants, living in close quarters. The second home, housing six family members, has no windows and the surrounding landscape is extremely harsh: no trees for shade, very rocky soil so no chance of a garden, and a steep embankment a few metres away which could be very dangerous. Its remote location means a long, hot, dusty walk to access any services or commodities. The refrigerator, which someone helped them buy a week ago, had nothing but bottles of water in it. Another row of water bottles outside is heated up under the sun for washing. The mother has four cysts in her head and a problem with one of her ears and needs serious surgery that has been delayed because they cannot afford it, as well as other issues. Thanks to donations from our supporters, we were able to offer help to both these families so that they can meet some of their immediate and urgent needs.
Later in the afternoon, we met with an inner-city pastor to plan his ordination, which will take place next Sunday.
Our team had started the day with a time of devotions, during which we prayed for the leadership of the churches in Armenia and that the Holy Spirit would lead us to the people He wanted us to minister to. At the end of the day, we recognized how those prayers had been answered by God showing us in unexpected ways how great the needs of others are and how much we have to be grateful for.
As Vova said at one point, we pray that God will bless us so that we can bless others, we ask God to give to us so that we can give to others, and then we ask God to lead us to these others who need these blessings and gifts. Thanks again to all of you who have contributed to this important mission.
Some more photos and videos are here.
Friday started off as another chance for some down time as we didn’t have any visits or specific ministry activities planned, but the Lord provided wonderful opportunities for outreach, as usual! We thought that Joel, Shubroto, and Jonathan would appreciate a trip to Khor Virap (which translates to “deep dungeon”), the site of an ancient monastery with a fascinating history that relates to Saint Gregory the Illuminator and the establishment of Christianity as Armenia’s state religion in 301 A.D.
Since there was a significant climb up to the monastery, Pastor Joseph decided to wait in the rest area and have a coffee. Naturally, he used that time to strike up conversations with other visitors and ended up having a lenghty conversation with an Iraqi-Armenian family who fled to Greece some years ago as refugees and now live in Australia. He was able to share the gospel with the son and give the family copies of our tracts.
We should add that, before we even left the hotel that morning, Pastor Joseph chatted with two families sitting near us while we had breakfast. He exchanged contact information with one family (from Greece) and gave our church’s business card to the other (from Dubai).
On the way back to Yerevan, we stopped by the home of Pastor Arsen, who shepherds a Baptist church in Nshavan. He has been called to the army reserves for a short time but we got to meet his wife and two of his children. The youngest son surprised us with his command of the Russian language, which he has been fluent in (even more than Armenian) since he started speaking. And the daughter, a young adult who speaks excellent English, shared with us about her desire to become a missionary and share God’s love with people in other countries. She also gave us a quick tour of the church, which has had many improvements since Pastor Joseph’s first visit in 2011, when there were no windows on the building.
In the evening, Shubroto suggested we try an Indian restaurant near the hotel and we even had a brief conversation about faith with our waiter.
Sowing Seeds
On Saturday, while we waited for Arayik to drive us to our first visit, we briefly met with a woman named Ruzanne whom we had heard about from one of our family members in Canada. Ruzanne is a tireless street evangelist in Armenia, handing out Bibles and gospel literature to passersby. When we gave her some money to help with her needs, she said she would use it only for her ministry expenses.
After that, we had the pleasure of visiting Nelli’s uncle, Kevork, a man who, for many years, had been a staunch defender of the Orthodox church but refused to accept the notion of personal salvation or believers’ baptism. For 10 years, Pastor Joseph visited him and, finally, after many discussions, this man chose to truly open his heart to the Lord. He was baptized the following year.
His life and his surroundings are living proof of the patience required to produce fruit. He has a small plot of land with many kinds of plants and fruit-bearing trees; many of these were ripe for the picking and we enjoyed them, fresh off the branches and vines, as we sat and talked. Yet we know that, just like this man’s spiritual life today, these fruits required time, attention, effort. . . and patience. We pray that God will continue to bless this man and help him to grow in his walk with the Lord.
Earthquakes, War Victims, and Artists
Our second visit was to a family in Spitak, 75km from Yerevan, who are survivors of the 1988 magnitude 6.8 earthquake. Although this tragic event happened 37 years ago, the family is dealing with the aftermath to this day: the second floor of their house is still unusable, and the house-owner herself is dealing with long-term issues with her legs, which had been pinned under rubble for two days. Although several children live in this house, one of the boys, aged 11, sat with us the whole time, listening quite intently to the grown-ups’ discussions. As we were leaving, Arayik and Pastor Joseph gave copies of both our devotional books to a group of teenagers and children who had gathered outside. We pray not only for this family, but especially for these young people, that the messages they heard today or will read in the books will shape their faith into strong and lasting relationships with Christ.
We then went to see a family who lost their 19-year-old son in the war with Azerbaijan. The family is, of course, still in mourning until this day. Yet, although there were some recurring sad moments throughout the visit, it was a nice time of sharing and fellowship and laughter. Despite the tragic loss, there are other children who are healthy and thriving (including a six-year-old who has taught herself an accent-free English using whatever sources she can find online).
We stopped in for a quick visit with another woman who had simply asked for our prayers. After some greetings and discussions, during which we discovered the amazing artistic talent of the 17-year-old granddaughter, Pastor Joseph said a prayer as requested, and we bid them farewell to return to Yerevan.
Despite the varying conditions of everyone we meet, there are two common elements to every visit: One is the discovery of the complex layers of their situations; the second is prayer. We are learning about issues which some of us have personally never had to face and for which at first glance we, of ourselves, see no solution or light. But we also believe that by turning to God in these situations, and in turning them over to Him, there is an answer and He will provide solutions beyond what any of us can imagine. So we pray, continuing to believe that we are here for a reason and that God can use us and the resources He has given us to be a blessing to these people. And we ask you to pray, and to keep praying, that we would not grow weary in well-doing, but continue to be a light and a beacon of hope to those who need it.
Sadly, we ended the day by saying “Good-bye!” to team member Shubroto, as he needs to return to Montreal on Sunday. We will miss his fellowship, enthusiasm, and creative thinking but we are grateful he joined us for as long as he did. Please pray for his safe journey home.
We will eventually move all these photos to Flickr, but here’s a quick link to the album for Days 7 & 8.
English
Armenian