In the midst of heavy shelling, all the children were safely evacuated from the village in an operation organised by the mayor – all except Michael (10) and Nver (8), the mayor’s own sons, who were yet to leave the village. A few days after the attack began, both boys were found dead.
When and where did this happen? It was last month, in the village of Sarnakbyoor in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan had invaded on 19 September and seized the whole territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. In barely a week, almost its entire population of 120,000 Armenian Christians fled to Armenia.
What terrible and tragic changes a week can see.
But we at Barnabas Aid are trusting God for positive changes next week … because next week is SCAAW: Barnabas Aid’s annual Suffering Church Action and Awareness Week.
His compassions never fail.
Lamentations 3:22
This year our SCAAW focus is on God’s unfailing compassion for His people.
There are countless faithful brothers and sisters enduring unimaginable hardships because of their love for the Lord Jesus Christ. It is our duty, our joy and our privilege to stand with them, offering prayers to our prayer-answering God.
For SCAAW, and to equip you in your prayers, we have dedicated resources which are free to download – including an 8-day devotional Bible study, prayer diary, sermon outline, small-group Bible study, material for children, suggested songs, new prayer and more. It’s not too late to ask your church leaders to include some of this material in Sunday worship or other meetings in the coming week.
Will you tell others about the plight of poor and persecuted Christians around the world? Their suffering rarely hits the headlines – many people are simply unaware.
Can you or your church take up a special offering during SCAAW?
In addition to your prayers, we ask you to prayerfully consider if you or your church could make a special SCAAW gift for suffering Christians.
Our SCAAW 2023 project will provide practical help for Christians from Nagorno-Karabakh who have fled to Armenia, like the other children of Sarnakbyoor village.
You might also consider donating to our General Fund, enabling us to respond quickly to emergencies that affect our family of believers.
