Monday, August 18
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.
English