Armenia - Day 7

It was hard to say goodbye last night to this lovely group of students. They were a joy to teach and I was blessed to spend a week with them. They are overflowing with questions and they have an almost inexhaustibly appetite for learning in order to be equipped to minister to the children and teens of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Iran.
Classes continue until the 26 August 2009 when they will complete the first ever 12 week CMLC in Armenia. Some will go back to a children's ministry in their own church, others will be applying to CEF. Pray for God to raise up new workers out of this group and that they will be able to raise the necessary support. Praise God that we are also provisionally planning a JYC Instructor Course for January 2011.

Armenia - Day 6

Tomorrow is my last day in Armenia so I was glad for the opportunity following my classes today to spend the afternoon with Terenik and Hasmik getting various things in Yerevan. Below are some of the photographs of things that you can see about the city. For example it is very common at this time of year on almost every main street to see sellers of water melons. These are often piled up in rows or displayed on specially made shelves. Fruit and vegetables, soft drinks, eggs and coffee (ground while you wait) can also be purchased.
To a westerner as a passenger in a car, there seem to be near misses at almost every junction but amazingly we always seem to make it - just!

Armenia - Day 5

The Manoukians came today to visit the CMLC and meet the students. It is a dream come true for them, after pioneering the work here in 1991 to live to see the moment, 18 years later, when Armenia has its own 'leadership training institute'. It was a pleasure to have them present while teaching and also to have lunch with them.

Last night I was continuing to read in John Piper's book, Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions. I read something on prayer that I found very challenging and well worth sharing:

“Prayer is the walkie-talkie of the church on the battlefield of the world in the service of the Word. It is not a domestic intercom to increase the temporal comforts of the saints. It malfunctions in the hands of soldiers who have gone AWOL. It is for those on active duty. And in their hands it proves the supremacy of God in the pursuit of the nations. When missions moves forward by prayer, it magnifies the power of God. When it moves by human management, it magnifies man.”

Armenia - Day 4

A little cloud cover brought some welcome relief from the high temperatures of recent days. It also gave me the needed stimulation to venture outside this afternoon and to climb the mountain across the valley. The scenery is magnificent and I am constantly reminded that these were some of the first mountain peeks to appear following the great Flood.
The second day of classes went very well. I have now discovered that about five of the students speak English well enough to hold a conversation and many of the rest understand some. When in different countries, I have found that a good way of getting to know people is to simply say, “tell me how you became a Christian”. Then I try to listen attentively remembering the key events. It’s true that behind every face – there’s a story. I’m looking forward to hearing many more such conversation stories this week.
I don’t know what the architect was thinking when he designed the centre we are staying in. It has quite a unique shape (one set of stairs with no corners leading from a huge lobby up 5 floors). Also for the past 3 weeks another organisation has been staying in the same centre. They are a fairly large group of teenagers and as you can imagine they bring their own ‘extra loud noise level’ with them. It has been difficult for the CMLC students to study in the evenings and to get enough sleep, as it is seldom quiet in the house before midnight. CEF did not know about this when hiring the facility but things should be back to normal this weekend. Thank you for continuing to pray for us.

Armenia - Day 3

Today I taught my first classes. It was refreshing to stand in front of a group of 20 students, were the average age would appear to be in the mid 20's! I was really humbled by a sense of the awesome potential there is for God to use this group of people to raise up a new generation of Armenian children who will know and love their God. What a privilege it is to be here for a week and to be able to make such a valuable investment.

Armenia - Day 2

Today I was in the capital city Yerevan and it was 40ºc! I was the guest of Pastor Levon Bardakjian at the Evangelical Church of Yerevan. Two of our CMLC students come from his church. It was a wonderful service, the Pastor was so very supportive. He interviewed the two girls gave me 15 minutes to share about the work of CEF and another 30 minutes to preach (maybe it was longer - probably it was longer)! It was one of those messages were I left my manuscript and really sensed God the Holy Spirit carrying me along and prompting my mind with the things I should say. I consider occasions like these to be among the greatest blessings of the ministry. The service will probably be televised on the local Christian TV station.
I myself was blessed to meet so many beautiful saints and to listen to their stories. I even met Armine and George Manoukian who first started the work of CEF in Armenia back in 1991 (their son-in-law is the Pastor!). They attended the first ever Leadership Training Institute at Kilchzimmer in 1973! They now live in USA but they were on one of their many trips to this country. Over lunch they shared some of their amazing story of how God has kept them and used them to His glory to see a work established among the children of Armenia. I could have listened to them all day.
Later we drove around the city picking up students, and my interpreter, before driving back to the centre. Now we are ready for the week of teaching to begin.

Armenia - Day 1

I arrived in the early hours of this morning and was met at the airport by the CEF leader for Armenia and brought to our centre. The 20 students have just finished their practical week and they have been given the weekend off. In the afternoon, Terenik took me, his family and those of us who were around to see a nearby lake and the orthodox church at the top of the hill.
Tomorrow I will share about the work and preach in a church in the centre of Yerevan (Armenia's capital city). Then from Monday to Friday I will be teaching in the CMLC (Children's Ministry Leadership Course).

Happy 500th Birthday Jean Caulvin *10 July 1509

John Calvin
(Born 10 July 1509)

Read more about the signifigance of John Calvin in this online version of Tabletalk Magazine
This issue celebrates the 500th birthday of John Calvin by looking at his legacy. Contributors include R.C. Sproul, Thabiti Anyabwile, Richard Gamble, David Hall, Keith Mathison, Iain Murray, David Powlison, Gordon Reed, Philip Graham Ryken, R.C. Sproul Jr., Derek Thomas, and Gene Edward Veith.