Georgia – Through a Student’s Eyes
We write this looking out at a view which would humble even the most experienced traveler: mountains, soaring into the sky, snow capped white peaks seeming to reach up into heaven. Cattle grazing on the hills, and villages built in between where the sky meets the earth.
Georgia has been such a wonderful country. We have been here two months, and have been so blessed in our time here. Flying straight from Thailand, we arrived just in time to begin an English teaching program with our hosts. Working in several villages, we were welcomed with an absolutely humbling hospitality. We were ed more than we could possibly fit, and then told that we must take more, with parents and students inviting us into their homes, their communities, and their lives.
Georgia is a passionate country, everything large and all encompassing. The people reflect this. Loving, but with an undeniable strength, they will welcome guests as though they were long lost family. Always with tables covered with every kind of food one could wish for, conversations filled with laughter, and at a volume which verges on alarming. We were loved and welcomed, for no other reason than that we were guests. Ministry can at times be a humanly thankless task, yet in Georgia, we were almost thanked too much! Our student’s families seemed to adopt us, steering us to particular foods, teaching us their language, taking pictures and, then, after, maintaining contact and inviting us to their homes. The love we felt was utterly humbling, reminding us that no matter how far we are from the families we were born into, those that Jesus has given us around the world are only a few steps away.
This is a testimony shared by our team leader, Andre, on our time spent teaching English in some small communities:
The Power of Joy in Teaching: A Lesson from Resilience
Recently, I was deeply enriched by a teaching on Resilience, presented by an organisation called A Deeper Walk. Among the many insights, one stood out to me above all: Dr. Allan Schore, a renowned brain scientist, emphasised that the deepest craving of the human brain is joy. Not just any joy, but joy found in relationships—joy in knowing and being known by others.
This profound truth left a deep impression on me, particularly in light of my recent experiences. Over the past few weeks, I had the privilege of volunteering at an English Program. During this four-week period, I taught English through games, songs, and various fun activities. But what struck me most wasn’t the progress in their English; it was the clear absence of joy in many of the children’s lives.
Many of the children at the program, for a variety of reasons, received little to no joy from their parents or guardians. The lack of joy in their relationships became evident in their behaviour. Their unmet longing manifested itself in attention-seeking actions—rebellion, disrespect, deceit. Faced with such behaviour, I found myself initially reacting as many would: setting firm boundaries and enforcing discipline when necessary.
And while discipline and correction are crucial, especially when done out of love, my experience at the camp reminded me of something even more vital: the power of living out of joy. Being joyful in our interactions, especially with children, can have a profound impact.
By mid-week, I witnessed a transformation in some of the toughest children. Those who had initially been bullies, resistant to rules, gradually became kind and considerate, even offering to help teachers with tasks. This shift wasn’t brought about by stricter rules or harsher consequences. It was the result of consistent, joyful interactions—teaching and engaging with the children from a place of genuine love and joy.
In a broken world where so many children face a lack of joy at home, we as the hands and feet of Jesus can play a vital role in showing them a different way. We can offer them the joy their hearts long for—joy in relationships, joy in knowing and being known. Not because we can do it in our own strength, but because Jesus in us loves to love through us.
After a month spent teaching, we then moved on to the capital city, Tbilisi, to spend three weeks intensely studying, finishing semesters, taking exams, and writing essays with a fury that left our course work quite humbled. This is a funny, yet realistic image of what it is like to be on this team. Balancing our studies with ministry is something that we have had to learn, through trial and error. At times, we will have the mornings to study every week, at others it will be the afternoons. Sometimes we need to get in a bit of extra time to study at night, and at others we can take a whole week’s break. Our workloads – and ministry responsibilities – vary from country to country, but we have slowly learned how to communicate clearly with our hosts. And, after 5 months on journey, we have reached a tentative, yet functional, balance and structure with our university responsibilities. We’ve learned to work faster, focus for the small amount of time we have, plan out coursework and exams, and maximise on the time that we are given. This year has been filled with so much grace, and with the advantage that online studies give us of flexibility and freedom where we wish it.
Three week’s intensive study however, did not seem limit the work that Jesus had planned. Visiting churches, connecting with local contacts, and meeting people from all over the world, we were blessed to have truly incredible hosts, who connected us with communities and friends. This is just a short testimony, about a connection that Asitha was able to have, during our time in the city:
One Sunday afternoon, while I was playing a local basketball game with the Georgians, I noticed a lady sitting nearby with her child. Throughout the game, my attention kept drifting toward her. The Lord gave me an encouragement for her!
After the game ended, I mustered the courage to approach her and strike up a conversation in order to share my encouragement. Unfortunately, she turned me down because she didn’t speak English.
Feeling a bit discouraged, I started to walk away. However, the Holy Spirit urged me to try again.
Despite my initial hesitation, I decided to return. I was able to use Google Translate and shared the message that the Lord placed in my heart for her.
She truly appreciated the message.
It is incredible to see how God provides opportunities even in the most unlikely of places. Whether a basketball court, an English classroom, a phone conversation, or even the silence of an early morning, our Lord is always at work. Whether we can see it or not, He goes ahead to prepare the way, and is with us in walking it.
After a peaceful three weeks in Tbilisi, studying, praying, and enjoying fellowship with other believers in the city, we moved on to the Caucasus mountains, a place which we had looked forward to visiting as a team the entire year. The beauty we had heard about didn’t begin to compare with what we in fact experienced. Mountains, soaring into the sky, diving deep into valleys with ice cold rivers winding their way into little villages nestled in between the hills. Watchtowers built by the ancestors of the Svan people, a thousand years ago, still standing as beautifully as the day they were completed.
To say that we fell in love would be an understatement. The mountains felt like a piece of Heaven that God had let drop to earth, as a taste of what is to come. In an overnight hike, we climbed up to a spot high above everything, and camped beside some small lakes, known as the Koruldi Lakes. Encountering wild horses, dogs that apparently adopted us, and temperatures which nearly broke us, we might have stayed forever had we not known that there were other adventures lying in our future. It would be difficult to explain the beauty up there. Snow capped mountains reaching as far as the eye could see, and a sunset which made it seem wrong to even speak. One could only sit in utter silence, and take in the glory of this Creation which we were given.
After ten days in the mountains, we returned to Tbilisi, to celebrate a birthday, and say our goodbyes to the friends who had hosted us with so much love. After two days, we began the journey down to Armenia, arriving just as the sun went down, on Sunday the 8th of September.
Georgia captured each of our hearts in a different way, and we will not be surprised if somehow, someday, we each find our way back there. Rolling hills and quiet gardens, vineyards covering the countryside and orchards in each family home, if ever we imagine paradise, Georgia may be the word we think of first.
