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Mission trip to Georgia and Azerbaijan
Since the passing of Brother Hugo Janzen and Alexander Konradi, close contact with our brothers and sisters in Azerbaijan has diminished. But that was about to change. A Christmas campaign was launched to revive contact with our brothers and sisters in Georgia and Azerbaijan and to support them.
Fleeing poverty
Georgia is a Eurasian state located in the South Caucasus, east of the Black Sea and south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. It is bordered by Russia to the north, Turkey and Armenia to the south, and Azerbaijan to the east. The regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are occupied by Russian forces and are not under the control of the Georgian government.
With approximately 3.7 million inhabitants (2020) in an area of 57,215 km² (excluding occupied territories), Georgia is rather sparsely populated. More than a quarter of the population lives in the capital region around Tbilisi. Other major cities include Batumi, Kutaisi, and Rustavi.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, pensioners and families with many children have been particularly hard hit by shortages of basic necessities, as they receive no state support. Food prices are comparable to those in Germany, while the average monthly income for those on average wages is only €330. Retirees receive a mere €100 per month. This has led, and continues to lead, to a large-scale emigration of young people and workers to the West.
The packages were packed with the food items shown here.
A heart for the poor and forgotten
Our week-long trip began on November 28, 2022. Our first destination was the city of Tbilisi. We received a very warm welcome from Brother Fedja Kaluzki (community leader in Tbilisi) and his family. There, we distributed the first Christmas packages, which were filled with food items such as flour, sugar, oil, tea, pasta, butter, condensed milk, and sweets.
We also visited Brother Kharam's congregation, which is mainly attended by Georgians, Armenians, and the Yazidi ethnic minority. We were very surprised to find that their services were very similar to ours. We also delivered some Christmas packages there.
On Wednesday, we traveled to Batumi, a city on the Black Sea. There we met Brother Iordan Bikov, the local church leader. He owns a restaurant. His story fascinated us: Iordan's restaurant is known throughout the city. Visitors and tourists from abroad (especially Israeli tourists) come to enjoy his fresh fish. He derives his motto for success from our Lord Jesus Christ. "Keep his commandments and you will lack nothing," he told us with his warmhearted manner. He himself lives very modestly, supports the poor and "forgotten" of the city, and cares wholeheartedly for his congregation.
The food parcels have been prepared for the communities.
Support via indirect routes
Our trip was actually supposed to continue to Azerbaijan. However, both the ongoing conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the pandemic prevented us from visiting the communities there.
Despite the circumstances, we were able to arrange for Brother Fuad from Ganja (a city in Azerbaijan) to fly to Tbilisi, where we spent a blessed time together and presented him with financial aid and support for small communities throughout Azerbaijan. This money was to be used to purchase food locally and distribute it within the communities.
In total, we handed over 1500 packages to various communities during the trip.
On December 5, 2022, we returned to Germany filled with gratitude and a sense of accomplishment. Although we hadn't known our brothers and sisters from Georgia and Azerbaijan personally before, we were once again amazed at how faith in Jesus unites churches and fellow believers worldwide.
Johannes Buling
Municipality of Speyer
Further information about the Christmas campaign and the opportunity to donate: