We are in the midst of getting a shipment ready to send to Armenia. In particular, items that we are working on now will be sent to families in Artsakh (also known as Nagorno-Karabakh). This area of the world in the Caucasus Mountains has become a refuge for persons who have been forced to leave places like Syria and Iraq because of war. Many of the families end up in a particular place where the NC Conference and the Western NC Conference have had a ministry for over 25 years.
Out of the AGAPE center which has been established, NC United Methodists have supported the building of a hospital and several health clinics, a children’s home, an Education Center, and the AGAPE campus itself, which houses work teams that go to that area.
AGAPE is emphasizing long-term sustainable agriculture and education, but it also cannot overlook the humanitarian crisis which has become part of the everyday life in that area of the world. To help raise awareness of this important work, we invite Nara Melkonyan to the US to travel to our churches and other places to make presentations. We solicit and send thousands of boxes to children and youth in that area as Christmas presents. Nara is currently in North Carolina and will be in the east sharing about this vital ministry. On Wednesday, Nov. 6, she will be with us to observe what we do at MERCI to prepare the boxes.
While she works with us, we can learn a lot about what she does (with her family) to represent the love of God in the villages located near the AGAPE Center. We will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 6. We will also be open Saturday, Nov. 9, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the primary purpose of working on AGAPE boxes. If we have a good turn out of volunteers, we will make a huge dent in checking the boxes that are left. I estimate that there are about 800 boxes left to be checked.
Let me know if you have questions. Rev. Bill Haddock 910-262-3831. Check out Nara’s itineration schedule also!