Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Visit to Eastern Georgia


For two years I've been planning to get to Georgia...but it just wasn't happening. That changed last month as I fly to Tiblisi for a great experience. What I found in Eastern Georgia was something that I would call "pure". I meet a group of people who are fully dedicated to reaching the community for Christ. These people live in a place that reminded me of Romania in the early '90's. Eastern Georgia lacks the sophistication of the western world's rat race. Life is simple, unemployment is high, and God is working.


During a meeting we listened to the stories of various people who are thrilled to be used by the Lord to share the Gospel in a region that has just one missionary. Here's one of those stories:


When it rains all week long during your city campaign in Georgia you just flex…and extend the campaign a second week. That’s what happened in Telavi, eastern Georgia. On one of those wet, soaking evenings the women who had permitted the film showing to take place in her courtyard invited everyone inside to escape the downpour. Huddled around a small table, sipping tea…God worked. One woman who thought she would be watching the JESUS Film that evening was deeply touched. For this teacher it was a life changing experience.
Perhaps because she is a teacher, perhaps because of they way God made her, she has a habit of teaching others everything she is learning. Having come to Christ it was the natural step for her to tell her friends. Then in joining NLTC training it was most natural for her to speak to several people each week about what she is learning. She has become a very important part of what God is doing in Telavi.
So great is her passion for the Lord that this fall she threw a birthday party for her son…but her real intention was to create an environment in which she could tell more of her colleagues about the Lord. She is an example of a self-starter who lives out what Paul said in 1 Corinthians “I believe, therefore I speak”.

No comments: