I’m writing from Baku, Azerbaijan. This is our third night here, and our 5th day of travel (and we’re only halfway through!):
So far:
– Day 1: Pack & clean, night train from Yerevan to Tbilisi
– Day 2: We arrive in Tbilisi in the morning and stay there until the night train bringing us to Baku
– Day 3: We arrive in Baku, walk with our heavy packs to the hostel and immediately shower.
– Day 4: a cargo ship that was supposed to leave was delayed due to high winds. Baku means “wind” and I can see why it’s named that!
– Day 5: today
– Tomorrow we will pack and possibly get on a cargo ship to Kazakhstan. It may take 12 hours or 36 hours depending on the winds. Then we need to catch the next train (it leaves every other day) to our next city way up north. It will be a 33 hour ride. So we are only halfway through our travel week. ??
About our last week and a half of Armenia:
One day, on a Friday, Tamara and I are at the vegetable market and we happen to meet a fellow American. We didn’t get to chat long due to having a guest over for dinner but briefly explained why we were in Armenia and exchanged Facebook information. The next day, Saturday, he messages us asking if we wanted to get connected with an orphanage. Yes!
That day we meet up and go to the orphanage. It is run by sisters and only disabled orphans. We meet one of the sisters and stay there for 2 hours. We play with the children and feed them. It was beautiful to love on them but also sad to see their physical and mental limitations. There were a few children with tubes inside their necks and heads. A child blind in one eye and also missing an esophagus. One with an oblong head. Another with scaly skin. Others with shriveled up body parts. We arrived the day after a 14 year old boy had passed away.
The orphanage was cheery and bright. There were nurses and volunteers. It was clean and homey. It was the first time I’ve stepped into an orphanage. My heart was full of love for these beautiful children. When we were about to leave, the sister asked us when we would come next and we said we couldn’t the next day, because we were going to Spitak, but we could the following day. She said great! And also did you know we also have an orphanage in Spitak?
The next day, Sunday, we met up with Linda who we went with to Spitak the week before. We put on Sunday school for the disabled children and children of prostitutes. We taught on Zacchaeus and how he was small and despised so climbed the tree to see Jesus. Jesus saw him and went to his house for dinner. Zacchaeus said he would give half his wealth to the poor and repay back anyone he defrauded four times. Jesus said salvation has come to this house and that he had come to seek the lost! We then shared the verse of Jesus being the vine and we are his branches. In between the two classes, we asked Linda did you know there was an orphanage in Spitak? She did!
We visited it in between our two classes that we put on. It was run by the same sisters as the one we visited on Saturday. It was for disabled orphans. But this one was all adult disabled orphans. The first place, they were babies and young children. This one in Spitak was full of adults. Many of them older than me. Some with gray hair. They had matured from childhood to adulthood and had grown up as a family of orphans. They had interacted with volunteers and the sisters and knew English. We talked to them a while and they were so interesting and joyful.
Then they had prayer time. It was thought provoking. They were devout, recited the Lord’s prayer. They asked for forgiveness. I thought, what sin have they committed, what consciousness do they have, with the minds of children? Jesus must love these people so much; they have kept such a joy and innocence that fades in many other adults as they age.
In the poorest areas and people with less than us, there is a joy and a resilience that is unmatchable.
Here is a picture of two of the girls’ in the Sunday school’s home.
Our last week we also attended a burnout seminar, hosted by a lady who experienced burnout personally and as a result created a safehouse for burned out missionaries. I learned a lot and also realized the importance of taking care or ourselves, to care physically, emotionally and spiritually.
One day we also visited this retirement center in Yerevan. We talked to and prayed for people there. Linda, went with us and helped translate. There was a hospital behind it for the seniors and we prayed and talked to people there as well. This made me think, when people age, there is not much importance to material possessions but much importance of relationships and experiences. When we talked to people, we talked about their life and not as much about their jobs or their things. People talked about their families, their past mistakes and their heartaches and their current conditions and how they wanted to improve it.
What a contrast to see how God works in both the young and the old. How he loves us when we are weak and when we are strong. I love how our church in Yerevan was on fire for God and I know he is doing a good work there. There are so many people passionate for him. I’m glad to have been a part of it.
