Patient in Afflication

Ann-Margret wrote this article a little over two years ago but we want to share it again as it’s a good introduction to the church in Horom that we work with, as well as our ministry in Armenia in general. Please continue to pray for us!

“Twenty-one people, mostly women, gathered in a shabby room at the back of a one-story building. It looked more like an abandoned warehouse than a church. The floor was covered with curling, overlapped pieces of linoleum. The furniture consisted of a tiny table, a bookcase, and two dozen rickety chairs lining the walls.”  MORE

Update from Armenia

Here is one of several exciting reports we have received from our mission field in Armenia lately. This one is from a pastor we support in a poor farming village:

Our son, having been called up to join the army, had to have a medical examination. As a result, we found out he had some problems with his nasal septum and needed surgery. He had a tough time after the surgery, which lasted over two hours. There were problems with his blood pressure and the doctors had difficulty waking him up. All we could do was pray and, thank God, he is fine now.
There were many doctors, nurses and other workers in that department. They knew we are a Christian family so they had many questions. Many were surprised to hear my son’s name is Timothy, and I told them that if they were Christians and had ever read the Bible, they would have known that his name is taken from the Bible.
All things work together for good to those who love God! My wife and I evangelized those people in the hospital. Several doctors were eager to hear the gospel. There was also a nurse who used to attend a church several years ago but stopped attending because of some problems. At the end of the day, two nurses came to our room and we talked for an hour. They repented and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
The whole department knew about us the next day and five more people joined us, all of them very interested in the gospel. We had very blessed days. We shared nine New Testaments and 13 copies of Pastor Hovsepian’s booklet “Does Your Life Have Meaning?”

God’s Workshop Facebook Group

Our friend Susanna likes Pastor Joseph’s book “God’s Workshop” in Armenian so much that she has created a Facebook group where she will be posting chapters from the book on a regular basis. If you read and understand Eastern Armenian and would like to see these posts, we invite you to join this group… and share your comments on the devotionals!

Click here to join the group.

Two days left!

It happens all the time. You wait for something for weeks or months and then you blink and it’s over. That’s kind of how this year’s mission trip to Armenia feels. Months of preparation went into this trip, a major undertaking even under the best of circumstances, and now Pastor Joseph and Jessie are resting for the night with two full days left in Armenia. They will leave Yerevan on Thursday morning and, crossing over eight time zones, will arrive in Montreal on Thursday afternoon. 

The last few days were quite busy for them so we thank you for your prayers for their health and strength. On Friday, Pastor Joseph visited several families in need, accompanied by a couple of the brothers we work closely with in Yerevan. Most of Saturday was spent in a town called Charentsavan, where the local Baptist church was celebrating its 10th anniversary and had asked Pastor Joseph to preach. 

Day 13 – On the Road Again

After resting for a couple of days, Pastor Joseph and Jessie were full-swing back in action on Wednesday, beginning their third and last week in Armenia. The latest photos begin HERE.

On Monday, despite feeling some stress and fatigue, they relied on God’s strength and went to visit two widows. The people they are visiting live in difficult circumstances (notice the buckets in one home where, when it rains outside, it also rains inside). Special thanks to those of you who have generously provided the means with which we can help some of those in need.

On Tuesday, they had a visit with a local journalist (the woman seated with Pastor Joseph, with a bouquet of roses in front of them) whom we connected with a few years ago, but they kept the rest of the day low-key. On Wednesday, however, they visited four families, in Yerevan, Getap, Sayat Nova and one other town. All of these families face hardship and a couple of them have experienced heart-breaking tragedies (suicide, abandoned children, disabilities caused by trauma, etc.) What is amazing is seeing the joy and peace they have because of the hope they have found in Jesus Christ!

Day 9 – Baptism in Horom

Hello, everyone! Thanks for your patience as we paused in updating our Armenia mission trip blog for a few days as Pastor Joseph rested. I spoke with him and Jessie earlier today and, though they were understandably tired, they were also excited to share a little about their special day back in Horom.

As you’ll see from the latest photos (you can start viewing the new series HERE), ten women and men (four of them teenagers) were baptized. A few of them were new believers but there were others we had met on previous trips to Armenia. A day before, Pastor Joseph wasn’t sure whether he’d be able to physically perform the baptisms (i.e. immersing the people in the water) but was ready to officiate while either Pastor Tigran Muradyan or our missionary-friend Arayik Sardaryan did the baptisms. However, after much prayer (by our supporters as well as by him and Jessie), he felt well in the morning. He says that as soon as he stepped into the pool, his strength was restored and, of course, everyone rejoiced that he was able to proceed with the baptisms–especially those who had waited for him to baptize them!

Day 5 – Doctor’s Orders

This morning (Tuesday), we heard from Pastor Joseph and Jessie and they told us that they were at the hotel and taking it easy. I was a bit surprised as it was still early in the evening but they explained that Pastor had not been feeling very well since the day before so our friend Arayik drove him to the hospital for some tests. Thankfully, his heart was doing well and the blood tests were clear but his blood pressure was quite high. He could have stayed overnight at the hospital for observation but was also given the option to return to the hotel if he promised to rest for a few days and take some medication.

Day 4 – Checking In

The eight-hour difference between Yerevan and Montreal, combined with busy schedules, has presented some challenges in connecting with Pastor Joseph and Jessie to get full reports on their activities but we will try to share some details in an upcoming blog post.

On Sunday, they joined four others for the long drive to Horom, where we helped rebuild the local church last spring. Pastor Joseph preached at the morning service and then their group enjoyed lunch at Pastor Tigran’s home. Photos are on their way… (we’ve had some technological issues there, too).

In an email sent early this morning, they mentioned that they were waiting for a young lady to drop by the hotel to pick up gospel tracts, which she distributes herself and also helps us supply to local groups. At that point their day wasn’t planned but a lot of the mission work we’ve done in Armenia is spontaneous or planned at the last minute. It often depends on what the latest urgent need is. Sometimes a visit to one family will be followed by a prompt to visit another. It’ll be neat to see where the Lord led them today!

Thank you for following our news, though we realize it’s a bit spotty at this point. Your prayers are a great encouragement!

Ann-Margret