Sunday, August 10, 2025
Greetings from Armenia!
We safely landed in Yerevan at about 2 am on Saturday, August 9, and had a pretty quick exit through customs and baggage claim. A pleasant surprise was a group of musicians playing a lively traditional Armenian tune just outside the exit. Pari galust Hayastan!
On our first day here, we settled into our accommodations and spent some time with three of our ministry partners: Arayik Sardaryan, Emma Manukyan, and Samvel Hakobyan.
On Sunday morning we headed to Horom to visit Pastor Tigran Muradyan’s church. It was wonderful to see this tiny congregation again; they have held a special place in our hearts since our first visit in 2013. The service consisted of a few songs and prayers and sharing of testimonies by the four of us (translated by our friend Hakob), followed by a sermon from Pastor Joseph.
After the church service, we were treated to a delicious meal by Pastor Tigran’s wife Valya. We were reluctant to leave their home but we had to travel to Charentsavan for another service, this time at Pastor Suren Shahumyan’s church. On the way there, we stopped at the Gntuniq Bakery to check out the famous “tonir” ovens used to bake lavash bread. The guys working there are quite the acrobats!
We also stopped at the Zoroastrian temple and had a very interesting exchange with the mobad (cleric) on duty there. It was a great opportunity to learn more about this religion, and we pray that Pastor Joseph’s conversation with him planted a seed of truth that will continue to grow into something fruitful in that man’s relationship with God.
Once at the Charentsavan church, we participated in the service in a similar way to the earlier service in Horom. Afterward, we again were treated to a meal (we are being fed very well here so far!)
These two mealtimes were wonderful opportunities to interact with the pastors, their families, and the members of the church who stayed to talk with us. There are so many needs here and it is hard for us to imagine the challenges that some of these people are facing. Our support, through the money we can offer or the medications we distribute, but also and more importantly through the time and encouragement we share, are vital to them, and thus greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your prayers. Here are some photos from our first two days in Armenia. (We had trouble uploading good-quality photos and videos to this blog post so check out our album here.)
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