Come and See what the Lord has Done!
May, 18 – 29, 2023
Dogs, Cats and Mice (or brothers and sisters from a diversity of theological persuasions) actually can work together well when we put Jesus first!
Photograph by Amy Bojo, lovemeow.com
Armenians are warm, friendly people with a deep sense of their history and a strong national identity. Christians in Armenia for years have been praying for God to bring unity to the body of Christ. They are convinced that in the Kingdom of God we are one in Christ and that the Gospel of Jesus is the only thing that can heal and transform their land. We thank the Lord for the opportunity to be a small part of that transformation again last week.
One woman noted that “for years we have been working together to tear down the walls that divide us. The Armenian team has been working here and Shepherds’ Support continues to come and join us. We see the wall coming down and we are experiencing the fruit of this in our ministry!”
One pastor shared that “From the beginning of the conference we noticed that so many of the things that had previously divided us had already been removed and our warm fellowship was simply as brothers and sisters in Christ.”
We were delighted to see the Lord bring together such a special group of pastors and teachers to serve with us for this conference (Will Schraven, Brad and Kay Adams, Mike and Kathi Maggard, Arto and Anna Mikayelyan, and Rick and Diana Lowe). Our diverse Shepherds’ Support team modeled unity as we worked well together and the Lord showed up to weave our unique messages into one coherent theme. His presence was evident every single day!
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1
One of the highlights was worshipping together and sharing communion towards the end of the conference. We were led by a group of 8 pastors, all from different church associations (Evangelical, Conservative Baptists, Assemblies of God, Independent, Pentecostal and Apostolic). It was a small slice of heaven and a reminder of what God’s Kingdom looks like with Jesus at the center.
There is still much work to be done in Armenia and the war continues to create great hardship, especially for those unable to travel in or out of the Artsak region, the current center of the disputed territory. Please continue to pray with us for these pastoral and ministry leaders to remain bold and united in their witness for Christ.
Mbala, Zambia
June 28 – July 10, 2023
Our next training conference is quickly approaching. We leave for northern Zambia at the end of June where we will host a group of 30 pastoral couples along with our partners Chris and Lorrin Kasale.
Ways you can Pray!
- Thank the Lord with us for the unity that we witnessed within the body of Christ in Armenia. May God continue to unite His church and bear fruit for the Kingdom as a result!
- Please continue to pray for wisdom and God’s leading as the people live with the daily tensions of the ongoing boarder dispute and try to support those who are isolated in the Artsak region. May the Lord peacefully re-unite this region with Armenia!
- Pray for the Lord’s spirit to lead our team (Rick and Diana, Don and Claudia Erickson, Arlie and Noemi Francis, Chris and Lorrin Kasale) as we continue to prepare for the training in northern Zambia at the end of June.
The pastoral couples of Armenia want to thank you for making their time together possible. You have blessed them tremendously!
We praise God for you and your partnership with us!
