armenia

Hi there. I know that I haven't been writing here very much, which kind of defeats it's purpose (to tell you about my life and what I've been doing). But I can say much of the reason for my lack of writing is because I have to use an internet cafe computer, and I find it hard to be inspired here. But nonetheless, here I am.

Things in Armenia have been very busy! And very hot too. It's only the end of April and it really feels like summer. And the locals are more suprised than we are. It makes me wonder if this whole global warming thing is really true (some say it's not).

During our time here we were able to participate in the memorial day of the Armenian Genocide (it's in memory of the more than a million and a half Armenians that were killed by the Ottoman Empire (basically Turkey) and it's a source of much pain for Armenians even today. I think mostly because some people, namely Turkey, refuses to acknowledge it as a genocide. And so this pain is being passed from generation to generation. For more info see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide). I'm kind of afraid to write so "nonchalantly" about this. I can say it's only from lack of knowledge. So, go ahead and read about it for yourselves.

Anyways, we participated in this memorial day. We met with a Norwegian DTS outreach team and 2 of the staff from the Armenian YWAM base here, and began our walk with thousands (I can't necessarily say that I saw thousands of people, although my estimation skills are not that good, but I've heard that every year more than a million people participate in this event) in the blazing heat (we all came out with various forms of sunburns). We walked a very long distance carrying flowers, some carrying banners or photos, and ended up at a monument commemorating the genocide. In the middle is an eternal flame for the people who died. We took our flowers and put it around that flame, and then continued to walk to the finish. I think it took a couple of hours, although it could of seemed longer because of the heat, but it was still significant.

So yeah. We are here. Sometimes I forget that I'm in Armenia (and sometimes I feel like I grew up here), and then when I realize, I am very grateful to God that I'm here. And that I'm with the people I'm with (our outreach team). And that I'm learning the things I'm learning (a lot).