“…thanks be to God, who always gives us the power to triumph in Christ, and the fragrance of our knowledge of Himself spreads us in every place” (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Dear brothers and sisters, we are so excited to greet you again!
After having such a blessed day-camp for the Yazidi children in the north of Armenia, we came to realize that there is a very great need to conduct the same camp, but only a stationary one. We were desperately praying during this time, and the Lord answered our prayers and blessed us to run a camp for the Yazidi children.
The camp was held on the shore of Lake Sevan. We spent there 5 wonderful and blessed days, which were brimmed with many activities. There were 100 children from more than 20 different Yazidi settlements, as well as our team. Brother Chris (a missionary from the USA) has blessed our campers with special T-shirts.
Many of the Yazidi children saw the Lake Sevan for the first time. It seems strange on the one hand, because Armenia is a very Ssmall country and Sevan is located only about 100 km away from the place where they live, but on the other hand, it is very common for the Yazidis to keep everyone in reservations, so that, as sheikhs say, “Their eyes would not have opened.”
The motto of the camp was “Must Learn In Order to Teach Others” (2 Tim 2:2). And of course, except for games and needlework, we tried to convey to these children the most precious thing – Jesus Christ and His Good News, which they were supposed to pass on to others. I just want to stress the fact that most of the mentors themselves were recently converted and we were a little worried if they could pull it off… You know what? Thank God, these guys were able to bring this off, and they’ve done a really good job, which I rank very highly. So, I’d say that it was just way beyond our expectations! For example, I’m glad about brother A. He is from the Yazidi settlement M., and his father is the supervisor in this village and they are very rich people (they even have servants in their own house). Brother J. and I were just stoked to see, as this, once proud guy was so transformed into a new person that he literally washed feet to these little guys. When you see this, you realize that what you do is not for nothing.
We praise the Lord that He gives us an opportunity to enjoy with the fruits of our labor. This is all grace! But we understand that it is also very important not to lose sight of these “fruits” just leaving them behind, but “to collect and sort’em all out.” That’s why we’ve decided to visit the family of every camper right after the camp. And there are about 100 families. Dear friends, believe me, this is a great opportunity for our ministry and we need your prayer support so that we could bring it off and not to lose anyone along the way.
Every time we come to one of the villages, we do not grow weary in thanking God for brother J. his wife S. When we had our first camp, they put up our entire team in their small, unfinished and modest house. This family lives in extremely difficult and harsh conditions, but, despite of all this, they are serving for 38 children in their village, in a derelict, run-down house.
In the same settlement, there are 26 people regularly coming together in J.’s father house for the worship services. Besides his native settlement, the work is being carried out in many other settlements. Previously, they were all closed to outsiders, but now, by the grace of the Lord, there are 200 children in total gather there.
After the camp we were invited in the village of brother J. This village is located on the hills, the height of which is more than 4000 m above sea level… But, that’s not actually what we had in mind. In this village lived three families, or rather, three brothers with their wives and children, there were 30 of them altogether. The Lord gave us a very good time of sharing with them about Christ and about what they can gain in Jesus Christ. They listened quietly and then asked questions. Please pray for them to get saved!
I just want to back up a little and say about brother Roman, who also served with us, when we were in the camps. At the moment, Roman’s family is recovering from a very difficult financial crisis, so he has to work part-time at least, and when he’s off work or other duties, he travels with us to distant mountain settlements to visit people. Roman has a dream to teach sports disciplines the Kurdish people, and using this as a tool he wants to lead children and youth to Christ. Twice a month he goes with a team of ministers to different villages in the mountains. This summer, Roman participated in a children’s day camp, and it worth mentioning that he has a way with young people and children. That’s a real gift! In addition, Roman also is an excellent singer. Almost every Sunday, Roman and his wife come to Yerevan for worship service, where they can serve with it, too. Pray that the Lord will take care of everything, so that he could devote more time to the ministry.
We have already shared with you about the camps that were held during this summer time. I guess that you already know some of the children, who were in the camp. Pray for them, so that the Word they’ve heard will bring an abundant fruit. It’s really amazing that the children often may serve as a bridge to reach out to their families. And now, we can come to these children’s settlements, and get acquainted with their parents.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are very grateful to everyone who prays and take part in the ministry in Armenia. Please, trust me, that you are also being a part of what the Lord does here in Armenia. It’s a contribution in the eternal. “…and may our Lord fulfill your every need out of His riches.” Philip. 4:19
Lovingly, Your brother from Armenia, Arthur Marandyan
