We have been in Armenia for two weeks now and it has been a very good time and me and Amy have been so blessed seeing God move in people’s lives here. Armenia is a small country that borders Turkey, Georgia, Russia and Azerbaijan. It was the first country to declare Christianity as an official religion and even today 93% of Armenia people claim to be part of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The country has been through a number of hardships including the Armenian Genocide also called the Armenian Holocaust when 1.5 million Armenian’s were massacred. We visited the Genocide memorial at the start of the week and prayed for this nation, for peace, hope and freedom. We have both felt really touched as we have walked around the capital to see such peaceful, caring people always willing to help.
Our time has been spent between visiting underprivileged families, working with refugees and a lot of Kings Kids Ministries. It has been a great time and we have seen God really move as we were able to pray for the different families we visited and show them something of the love of God. God has been doing amazing things and we have been so blessed to be a part of it.
This week we had an amazing day visiting some of the sites in Armenia. We got to see the main Armenian Apostolic Church and the Yeghipatrush Church. Christianity has an amazing history in Armenia and started with a Christian called Gregory returning to his homeland to help in the new established government. However his refusal to enlist in the pagan ritual of the government and his families history led him to be imprisoned in a hole for a number of years. The story goes that an old lady had a dream that she should find him and feed him daily. Years later the king of Armenia went insane simmlar to what is described in Daniel 4 about Nebuchadnezzar. The King’s sister had a dream that Gregory was still alive, they retrieved him from the pit and he prayed and fasted and the king regained his mind. From this point Christianity was declared a state religion.
Visiting these Churches was a great experience they were very plain and mainly focus on Jesus rather than other saints. While at the Yeghipatrush Church our guided point out the stone crosses that covered the church building. Armenia stone cross are very similar to the Celtic stone cross but always have some distinct points.
The cross is always empty – This is to show that Jesus no longer remains there that He has risen.
The cross is living – As you look at the stone cross it looks like it is made out of a tree or vines this is to show that Christianity is active
Cross bears fruit – The cross would normally be a symbol of death but because of Jesus’ sacrifice it will always bare new life
During our prayer time we really wanted to create something that could be left in the house we are staying. We decided to pray and write down some of the things God has been saying to us as we have seen since arriving here and some encouragements for the people living in the city.
Here are some of the prayer points….
- Psalm 46 can be found on the wall of the house we are staying in ‘Be still and know that I am God’ we really have been getting the sense that God has had His hand upon this nation, despite all of the persecution from surrounding areas.
- We are declring peace over this nation and for new life to blossom where there has been death and destruction.
- Pray for Armenia, for this nation that has been through much suffering. Pray for peace and freedom of fear among the people
- Pray that forgiveness between Armenia and Turkey will be achieved as well as finding a solution with Azerbaijan that will allow both sides of the conflict to find peace and reconciliation through the grace of Christ (see Armenian history and news for more details)
- Pray for those in Karabah, for safety and for peace at the border
- Pray for the refugee families, for comfort, supporters and provision for their needs
- Please pray for our YWAM dts team. We are in our final 5 weeks now and want to receive everything God wants to do in us and through us during this season.