Armenia

Armenia is an ancient country and culture. It is speculated by Christian scholars that the Garden of Eden could have been located in Armenia. Genesis 8:4 states after the flood, Noah’s ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. Mount Ararat has historically been located in Armenia but currently rests 5 kilometers inside the Turkish border.

Armenia’s history is rich and troubling. In 301 AD, Armenia was the First Nation to declare themselves a Christian nation. The Armenian alphabet was developed around 405 AD so the Bible could be translated for the Armenian people. One of my new friends said the whole world should be speaking Armenian because it is an ancient language! Throughout the centuries, Armenia was conquered be many different kingdoms who tried to influence their religion but the Armenians never denied Christianity. In 1915, a great genocide was committed against the Armenian people, killing 80% of their population. Less than 500,000 survived.

Knowing this history, fast forward to today. On our second day of work, I met Alena.

Her great-grandmother had fled east to survive the genocide. After WW1, during Soviet occupation, a portion of eastern Armenia was taken and given to Azerbaiyana (according to the history lesson given to me by my new Armenian friends). After the fall of the Soviet Union, this region – which was largely Armenian, voted to be independent and became the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaiyana was not happy about this and wanted the region back. In September 2023, backed by Turkey, they forcefully took control of the area and within a week the Armenian population fled. Eleven months later, many of these refugees are still struggling. Our team worked to show these people that they are not forgotten. God knows their situation. He “sees” them. And He loves them. We provided hygiene kits, held 2 eye glass clinics, 3 days of women’s Bible study, and 5 days of Vacation Bible school for the kids. We also constructed a cinder block wall to expand the kitchen area at the church housing several refugee families.

The construction site is where I met Alena. She is hurting, along with others. They do not understand why God would allow them to have to flee their homes. For their families to be separated (Alena’s husband and son are in Russia working while she and her younger daughter are living in the shelter provided by the church. Her 25th wedding anniversary was one day while we were there.). It can seem shallow to point them to Jesus but He really is our only hope. On our last day at the work site, we prayed over the ladies and I tried to give them some encouragement. I shared the unknown is scary. I have been there under different circumstances, and I can testify that God is faithful and He will provide.

The first day I met Alena and she told me about the Armenian language, I mentioned we had visited the “Alphabet Park” – a sculpture park of the letters of the Armenian alphabet. She stated they have never seen this park. Later in the week, we had the opportunity to take several of the refugee families to this park. Oh the expression on their faces when we invited them. It was priceless! Everyone on our team enjoyed experiencing their joy on the afternoon outing. Our new friends shared some of their history as they pointed out statues, and even shared plant knowledge with me!

We had the privilege of spending two Sundays with our Armenian brothers and sister in Christ. All week, our fellow Christians would address us as “brother” and “sister”. It created a sense of unity, even though we spoke different languages. As we worshipped the first Sunday, even though you don’t understand the words (some Melodies of old hymns were recognizable), you could feel the spirit of worship. You could tell the people were there because they wanted to be there worshipping God. It seems like a foretelling of the scene in Revelations, “a great multitude from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the lamb”