Welcome to 4Shans4Armenia

Welcome to 4Shans4Armenia!
We are going to use this blog site to keep you posted on our lives and our ministries here in Armenia. GOD BLESS YOU! HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

Katy with her small group during the conference.

Katy is pictured here with those in her small group.

My Lovely Katy did a wonderful job presenting at the conference!

Verse Woman shows up to train at the conference!

Who tries to hide the Word of the Lord in her heart most every day?
Verse Woman!
Whose one mission in life is to teach boys and girls to hide the word of God in their hearts?
Verse Woman!!
Who flies around in an old blue and white table cloth and a nifty blue eyed mask just because its silly??
Verse Woman!!!

Many were trained to reach children for Jesus!

Our guest children's Pastors did a great job!!

Pictured here are Jaime and Sandy who are presenting at the conference. Jaime is from Apple Valley, MN. and Sandy is from AZ! GREAT JOB!!

Great Job Nikki!

Nikki Wagner, our missionary Colleague, does a great job of demonstrating how everyday ordinary things can be used to teach children's ministry.

Great Job Olivia!

Olivia Puccini pictured here with Rita, did a great job organizing the conference!

Puppets given to children's workers

THE PIT

While our Children's ministers were here, we snuck away one day to Khor Virap, and I took this picture of Nikki (my missionary colleague), Sandy, Ashli, Erin, and Jaime. They are in the pit, the one that Gregory the Illuminator, from the 3rd century spent 13 years in being persecuted for his Christian faith.

Ancient 4th Century Monastery complete with caves!

This 4th century monastery called Geghard, or the place of the lance ( for it is believed that the lance that was thrust into the side of Jesus while on the cross came to Armenia at that time) is a fascinating place.

Successful Kids Outreach

Here is the Altar call from one of four kids outreaches that is taking place this weekend. Ashli, a children's minister from AZ (shown with her translator Rita and Aaron and Sarah) did a great job reaching these kids and Katy did a great job hosting Ashli and working with the local minister to facilitate this event.

College ministry leaders

I recently met with a group to college ministry leaders to encourage and exhort them in their ministries!

An Ancient Armenian Ecclesiastical Manuscript

This manuscript is made of goat skin and is over 400 years old. The oldest manuscript in the Matanadaran is an Armenian manuscript from the Gospel of John from the 5th century.

Mesrop Mashtots Monument

This is the monument that sits in front of the Manuscript museum. This is Mesrop Mashtots, the man who penned the Armenian Alphabet millenia ago.
(You can see some of the 39 letter to the left of Mesrop.) Among other things, this museum has a handwritten manuscript of Copernicus, the man who informed the world that the universe didn't revolve around the Earth but actually the sun!

Someone painted a quick picture of me while I was pouring over ancient manuscripts... um... not really...

This picture is located in the Matanadaran ( The Manuscript Museum) here in Yerevan. The museum has numerous biblical manuscripts from antiquity. It is very interesting.

A common roadside occurance here in Armenia

All over Armenia, when the weather is nice, there are elderly men who hang out on the road side playing chess and backgammon.

Young Poets Society?

Aaron's Language Arts Class recently completed a Poetry unit and after their presentation, had a breakfast for all the parents. Aaron is pictured with friends from India, Armenia, Denmark, Japan, and Switzerland and oh, there's Mom too.

After Service Hospitality

This is a typical scene after a service. We were "hospitated" (Armenian word which doesn't exist in English) after the kids service with a hearty Armenian meal. Dolma (a cabbage roll of sorts), Armenian goat cheese, bread, olives, and salads.

Sarah's school room play, Charlotte's Web

Happy 10th Birthday to Aaron!

Its hard to believe but our lil' pumpkin just turned 10! Happy Birthday kid!!

Aaron: Our Chess Champ!

Aaron’s chess skills were highlighted this past week on Armenian TV as he was the first foreigner to be on this station. He beat his opponent, checkmating her in 30 minutes. Way to go Aaron!!!

Katy's letter

The story you are about to read was written by Katy to give you an idea of what kind of ministry she and her friend Ella have been doing. This past week, they gave kids hats, scarves and mittens, and we bought a load of wood to distribute to those who are “freezing to death” out there.



It’s hard for me to write down my experiences at the island because I just don’t like to dwell on it for too long. Maybe that sounds terrible but it’s very emotionally draining for me. It feels like a hopeless situation. I want to do something but the need is so great it overwhelms me. I want to help but I realize that my help is only temporary.

Today I cried when we left. We visited a family that lives in horrid conditions. Upon entering we were immediately accosted with a thick cloud of smoke from their tiny little wood burning stove. They were trying to get it lit to no avail as they didn’t have much wood left. The woman told me they go out and cut trees after dark as it is illegal to do so. They don’t have money to buy fire wood.

Her youngest child was shaking from the cold but I also think he is quite ill. He, like all of them, is malnourished and perhaps not potty trained yet. I’m not quite sure of his age but I think he is at least three.

Their only source of water is frozen so the mother can’t wash herself or their clothing so they are filthy.

None of them had coats on and the mother wore summer flip flops with socks. I was wearing my long underwear, layers of clothing, a hat and gloves and two pair of socks, one being heavy wool and my winter boots. I was very cold by the time we left and my feet were freezing. I can’t imagine how they must feel.

We brought some fun things for the children like crayons and coloring books but also some much needed house slippers, hats, gloves and scarves. We intend to bring some more clothing items, food stuffs and fire wood the next time we visit.

Last Tuesday we visited a “family” of five with one on the way. I put family in quotes because the man is the woman’s third “husband”. I put husband in quotes because I’m not sure there is a legal situation there. They were all in bed upon our arrival. I think they remain there all day. It’s just too cold to come out.

People are burning shoes, rubber and even clothing. The woman that cuts trees after dark was caught by a man and beat because of her attempt. This forced her to burn clothing. She is the one that needs clothing for her small son that isn’t potty trained yet.

We visited a family whose electricity was shut off. The man has a job but wasn’t going to be paid for 15 days. He was going to try to sell his cell phone but the grandma started to cry and said he wouldn’t get what it was worth. Ella and I paid for their need.

We visited another family and it wasn’t so unpleasant. The man has a job in a flour factory. It was obvious that they were better off than the others because the mother was feeding the little ones eggs with some meat. I have never seen anyone else eating anything out there. The little ones were very happy to get the gift bags we brought. The little three year old has terribly bowed legs. He put on the little green hat and scarf and was bouncing around. He looked like a little elf he was so cute!
Please pray with us that God will help us help these people!

Snow, snow and more... snow!

Previously I wrote that we had a weekend in Munich due to bad weather here in Yerevan.
What I didn’t know was that in the days since we have arrived, Armenia is recording its worst winter in 100 years! Cultural differences show up in the way we do things. Although Armenia gets a fair amount of snow each winter, the main difference between “back where I’m from” and here is that here, they don’t have the means to remove the snow. (On the very main roads they do, but that becomes a minority of roads in the city). So, instead of removing the snow away from the roads to clear the way for vehicles to drive, people actually throw the snow into the road to clear their walks. Consequently, the roads become very packed and slippery. I am so thankful for my 4 wheel drive STL vehicle but even that got stuck for a good hour the other night as we had to drive in a driveway/backyard that was full of snow with ice underneath that. (This took 2 of my Armenian friends along with another 3 good Samaritans and a great deal of “horse sense” in order to get out of that massive quantity of snow.)
I have to use 4-wheel drive to drive down my road each day as I live off a narrow alley, and this alley hasn’t been touched by “snow removal devices” due to the “topography” of the area (it’s a bit hilly). Pushing people out of our alley has become a daily occurrence, and those without 4-wheel drive have consigned themselves temporarily to a life of walking. My neighbor the other day asked me to take him and his wife to the hospital as even the Taxi’s won’t venture into our snow filled alley.
Let’s just say that we are very anxious for Spring to come.