Mission: Armenia 2019 – Friday, August 30, 2019

It’s hard to believe our team is approaching the last days of this year’s mission trip. This week had a slightly lighter pace than last week but we have continued our visitations and our outreach to those we meet along the way. There have been a few occasions when Jessie Hovsepian did not join our team for visitations (we’ve had some transportation challenges this year, but also a couple of other helpers coming along with us). But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t still on duty – she has used her time to talk to several hotel employees about faith and has given tracts whenever the opportunity has presented itself. What a blessing and inspiration to have such a faithful follower of Christ on our team!

On Tuesday we took some time off during the day to do some necessary shopping and then went to a local pastor’s family for supper. The warm fellowship was an encouragement to us and kept our spirits high as we talked about how we may be able to continue to serve the Lord in Armenia.

On Wednesday we drove to the town of Sayat Nova to visit a family we try to see every year. While we greatly enjoyed the fellowship there, there was an unexpected outreach opportunity that we also rejoice about. On the way to Sayat Nova, we noticed fields of okra crops and then a group of workers harvesting enormous eggplants. We stopped the car and two from our group got out to talk to the reapers, most of them older men and women, who were working with hand tools. We gave them tracts and then continued on our way. Please pray that they will read and respond to the gospel message they received!

And on Thursday we made the long trip to Vanadzor (about 2.5 hours north of Yerevan) where we visited our dear sister Susanna. She is one of our helpers in Armenia and has been effective in distributing Bibles, tracts and devotional books in her region. She also has a Facebook group where she daily posts a chapter from the Armenian translation of Pastor Joseph’s book, God’s Workshop. While we visited Susanna, a few people stopped by and we gave literature to two of them. We left a box of Bibles with Susanna to give out as the Lord leads her.