Packages and Protesters

Armenia Ministry, Part 2

Believe it or not, Armenia is over, and we are now in Romania (again!). Please pray for us as we serve in Romania and minister to Ukrainian refugees there. However, I plan to keep blogging about the remaining time that we got to have in Armenia over the month of May! So stay tuned for what the Lord has done while we are in Armenia!

The week after the wedding took place, we continued to minister at the orphanage and care for the disabled children there. Not a lot changed inside of the ministry itself- yet we continued to walk the children around and get to press in deeper with the staff. We loved visiting the horses, the dogs, and dancing together on Fridays (when they gather people together for a fun activity). This is a beautiful ministry taking place, and my teammates and I continued to have our hearts touched as we served these children. 

As we pressed ahead in Armenia, a couple of interesting developments took place. The first one involved me becoming a “delivery guy”- now getting two packages that I will be taking back to the States in June. Each package has a story behind it! In addition, the second development concerned the significant protests that took place while we were there in Yerevan.

Package #1- One Sunday morning at the international church, I was approached by a girl from Armenia. She told me that she worked with a missionary that spoke when she came to Armenia. This missionary, Siv Ashley, has travelled throughout the world and has a riveting testimony about growing up during the Cambodian genocide which took place in the 1970s. Later in the week, she gave me a care package full of items in Armenia that I plan to deliver to Siv once I’m back in America. I am also very excited to meet her and hear more of her testimony. Her website is available here: http://www.sivashley.com/

Package #2- Throughout the month, it had been my goal to connect with Young Life. Young Life is a very popular ministry in Armenia, engaging many youth for the Gospel. They even have a summer camp they run in the country! During the last weekend I was there, I visited a club that is very close to my apartment in Yerevan. We had terrific spiritual conversations- touching a lot on the work that the Lord had us do in the Middle East. Anyway, they gave me a very sweet gift, and I told them that Young Life is a huge presence in the High Country region of North Carolina. I am looking forward to telling them about Young Life in Armenia, and further cultivating relationships with them. The package is now in my backpack- destined for North Carolina.

Now for a very important point of ministry in Armenia. We came to Armenia as they are grieving over the recent war with Azerbaijan. This war mainly occurred because of disputed land in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. This area is land that is ethnically dominated by Armenians. However, the international community recognizes it as part of Azerbaijan. This led to violent clashes in the 1990s, where Armenia took control of much if that land. It left a lot of hurt and bitterness in Azerbaijan. Atrocities and war crimes were committed on both sides. Azerbaijan took a lot of it back in 2020, but the dispute remains unresolved.

The current prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has been working towards lasting peace with Azerbaijan. Many interpret this as an attempt to give up control of Nagorno-Karabakh entirely for peace with Turkey and Azerbaijan. It is important to note that Turkey (a Turkic state that supports Azerbaijan) closed its land borders with Armenia due to the 1990s war. However, they are beginning efforts to normalize, resuming direct flights this year for the first time in decades (https://www.albawaba.com/news/turkey-plans-fully-normalize-ties-armenia-1475680). This is significant because Armenia is a Christian nation surrounded by Muslim countries. Opening the borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan would allow much easier travel (and thus more Gospel access to unreached people groups). It is also important to mention that one of Armenia’s cultural treasures, Mt. Ararat (where Noah’s Ark supposedly landed), is located in Turkey with access benefited from reopening land borders.

Yes many people of Armenia dislike the current government and the efforts to normalize relations with neighboring countries. During our time there, thousands of protesters descended to Yerevan to march. Many city streets were blocked as opposition groups called for the prime Minister to resign. The main hub of activity is located at France Square, which has been closed to traffic since the beginning of May. Our squad walked through the protest to get to church and other places. At one point, I interceded over the protesters. Many of them are shouting chants and listening to organizers that speak at a massive stage set up in the middle of the city. A Washington Post article highlights the dilemma that Armenia is currently in (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/10/armenia-pashinyan-azerbaijan-turkey-diplomacy/). Please continue to pray over Armenia as they navigate relations with its neighbors. BTW- I felt very safe in the city, with a heavy police presence ensuring that nothing got out of hand.

Please continue to pray over our time in Armenia and that the seeds that were planted will take root. However, pray for us as we fly to Romania and begin our ministry there. We will be working with the same partners in the same city as last time! Also, we quarantined for 2+ weeks in the beginning of the Race (https://bretthaas.theworldrace.org/post/chilling-out-in-quarantine). The Lord has spoken over this experience as being potentially redeeming for some members of the squad that had to quarantine for long periods of time. We are laying this down with open hands, and will see what happens!

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5: 7-9