I love planning things.
At just twelve years old, Sargis Vardanyan (pictured above, right) has already lived through plenty of traumatic events, so it’s no wonder that he would find joy in the comfort of forming a solid plan.
Sargis and his family live in Armenia. In 2020, Sargis lost his father in the armed conflict that broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The death of his father was devastating for Sargis, but it wasn’t the last of his hardships.
Over the next two years, Sargis’ mother struggled to provide for her boys on her own before making the difficult decision to relocate the family to Yerevan. Sargis had to leave everything he knew and start over at a new school.
Also living with them in Yerevan is Sargis’s grandmother, who watches his youngest brother while Sargis and his brother Aren are in school. Sargis’ mother works, but her income is very small, making it difficult to meet her children’s needs, especially during the school year. In addition, Aren recently developed a mysterious skin disorder that has required additional medical attention beyond what her budget allows.
Sargis and his family met members from Noah’s Ark Baptist Church when volunteers visited his home with Food Paks. One of these volunteers was a woman by the name of Gina, who has visited Sargis’ family several times and established a close relationship with the family.
Sargis and his family were experiencing a deep need for physical resources like food, clothing, and furniture, which the church was able to meet. But even greater than that, Sargis and his family needed spiritual healing, which comes from the gospel.
Gina, along with other members of the church, have provided the Vardanyan family with the support and comfort they needed to move forward with their lives. Sargis and his family began attending church. His mother became a member and accepted Christ as her Savior.
Sargis still struggles with understanding God’s plans for his life, but the members of Noah’s Ark Baptist Church have been working with him to see that God is able to make good things happen even in life’s most difficult situations.
Across Armenia, churches just like Noah’s Ark Baptist Church are not only faithfully serving children like Sargis, but are now diligently working to identify refugee families fleeing from Nagorno-Karabakh following the September 2023 attack by Azerbaijan. With every family they meet, their goal remains the same: to provide food for families in need and to share the hope of the gospel.
