I will not stop saying that the works of the Lord are marvelous. I want to share another amazing and beautiful testimony about how the Lord takes care of His children.
Renovation of “Go and See…” Social Ministry Centre building is in process. Before we started, the Lord gave me a word from Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” This word from Him was the reason why we boldly started the renovation work, which would cost millions of Armenian Drams. And each time, the Lord provided funding in an amazing and beautiful way. This time, He surprised and amazed us again.
I received an unexpected email, “Dear Gayane, we want to fulfill the desire of our hearts, to give an offering of €1.000 to the Children Project of the Social Ministry. Of course, we could do it secretly, but we knew that you would be very glad to learn that the money came from one of your former alumni, who already has an opportunity to give for other children.”
The sender was Emma, who had been one of the children enrolled in one of the projects of the Mercy Ministry 13 years ago. With her consent, I want to share some episodes of her life, past and present.
Emma was a little girl who lived in one of the districts of the city of Yerevan, called “Settlement of Hope.” Her father was in prison, and her mother left home abandoning her six children. Five of the children were enrolled in the Mercy Ministry of the Word of Life Church. Not only the Ministry supported them materially, but also, through the multidisciplinary team (psychologists, social workers and pedagogues) tried to help them to come out of their stress, return to normal life and restore their education in the public school.
At another home visit, the psychologist of Mercy Ministry met the father of the children, who was just out of prison. With a knife in his hand and a terrifying expression of his face, he was coming out of his home to find and kill his wife. Through prayer and her professional skills, the psychologist managed to convince him to return home, to calm down and to consider the situation. The long conversation of the psychologist and the father of the children ended with peace. During the conversation, the man acknowledged that bloodshed, unforgiveness and revenge would not only destroy his family, but also make the lives of his children miserable and send him back to prison. The father also agreed to visit the Mercy Ministry Office and participate in Parenting Classes.
It is interesting that when he first visited the Mercy Ministry Office, he was surprised, when he saw the main entrance decorated with flowers, the large and beautifully furnished hall, and the food served during breaks. He was so impressed that he told the psychologist that he started to feel like a valuable person. He was so moved that someone like him, who had spent long years in prison, was honored with such reception.
And what happened to Emma’s mother?
Years passed. One of the faithful volunteers of Mercy Ministry, Gor, proposed to Emma. They got married and started to serve orphaned and socially deprived children together. Unfortunately, the first two pregnancies of Emma ended with miscarriages. It seemed strange to me, but I did not interfere, because I thought that they would not understand me correctly. Besides, Emma was under the supervision of a physician. However, when she had the third miscarriage, I suggested them to meet and talk about it. I asked them to take time, to pray to the Lord and to ask Him why their children were not born. I am so grateful that they understood me correctly and acted according to my advice. Praise be to our God for His mercy and love! The Lord led them to visit Emma’s mother and reconcile with her. Her mother left home and married another man. Gor and Emma visited them. Emma forgave her mother and, after so many years, called her ‘Mom’ again. Her mother confessed that she was so angry with her former husband and all her children, especially with Emma, that she declared that Emma would not become a mother, unless she called her ‘Mom’. In a short time, Emma was pregnant again. Praise God, she gave birth to a healthy child! Today Gor and Emma have three sons. The Lord Who created the universe is glorified in and through their lives. It is appropriate to remember the words of the Psalmist, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121.1-2). Truly, “Do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Hebrews 10.35-36).
Dear Emma, this photo will remind you of the wonderful day when we organized a clothes show, and you were one of our models.
And these photos will take you to your childhood, when you, with the volunteers of Mercy Ministry, went to the Water World, the Children’s Railway and the Zoo.
Dear Gor and Emma, your gift will make it possible to renovate more rooms for the children that attend the Development Centre.
