Making Progress!

Shirley has been working on developing an orientation manual (within Assemblies of God World Missions) that will serve the entire CIS/Baltic region.  There is a lot of useful information ‘out there’, but it has not been put together in one place yet.  That is what Shirley is doing.  Once completed this manual will be a useful resource for all current and new A/G workers in the region.  In addition to meeting an administrative need, it serves an important and practical purpose.  It will include information such as our Mission Statement, Core Values and Contingency plans for each country in the region.  It needs to be completed by December.  Shirley enjoys using her computer skills and has made much progress creating the design and layout of the manual.  Now it’s a matter of making sure all the pieces of the puzzle fit!    She just sent the first draft to be reviewed by the Country Coordinators in December.  It has been neat to be a part of something that everyone is our region will benefit from.  We pray that there are good suggestions made at this meeting so the manual is just what it needs to be! 

 

Ayanna's World...

Ayanna, even at 1 year old, experienced some culture shock of her own.  Little ones are not immune to the difficulties of changing surroundings and moving to another country.  For her, oddly enough, it showed itself strongest in the nursery at the International Fellowship we attend.  There are 3 Georgian ladies that take care of the youngsters in the nursery.  And Ayanna came face to face with an aspect of culture that she was not used to—Georgians like to get close! 

 

The ladies in the nursery absolutely adore Ayanna (and all children) and could not wait to get their hands on her, to pinch her and give her kisses.  Well, it was hard for Ayanna to adjust to at first.  She was not accustomed to the Georgians’ different approach to ‘personal space’.

 

Shirley (most of the time) missed many of the meetings trying to comfort Ayanna and help her settle in.  Eventually, we took a DVD from home for her to watch in the nursery, which proved to be the ticket—it has worked great ever since!  Now, Ayanna knows the ladies well and loves being with them.  She’s doing wonderfully—with a few regressions from time to timeJ.  And we as parents are SO thankful for this very important ministry to our daughter. 

 

Actually, this points out one of the endearing aspects of Georgian culture.  Georgians are so friendly and affectionate with others, especially those they are close to, like family and close friends.  Personal touch when conversing or meeting is second nature and very significant in relations with others.  They always greet with a kiss and handshake or hug—even among acquaintances.  So, no matter the gender of the person you are greeting, you can count on being welcomed in Georgian fashion, with a kiss on the cheek and a warm smile!

Georgian Language Study...

Someone told me not to get discouraged when Shirley picks up the language faster than me—women are just better listeners!  And as predicted, Shirley is farther along than I am, but I wouldn’t want any other study partner!  We are both enjoying our studies and get excited when we can understand a native speaker or communicate something we need to say.  The Georgians really like when we speak Georgian—though their first response is to assume that we are speaking Russian.  We must always explain that we don’t know Russian, but a little Georgian.

 

Currently we have lessons twice a week with a Georgian tutor.  We have learned the alphabet, which has 33 letters and we’re studying conversational Georgian.  It’s a difficult language but very interesting.  There are some sounds that we’re required to make that are just very difficult—which have given us some good laughs!  Being able to converse at the market and describe things we need or want, and getting around in a taxi wherever we need to go, are 2 successes we’ve had to date.  We’re glad for the progress that we’ve made so far!  Our tutor has a bubbly personality and she is a great help to us.  Not to mention we have a lot of fun in our lessons.  

Mom in Tbilisi...

We had such an incredible time with my mom. She was here for 11 days and the time went by so quickly. We kept her days very busy mainly staying in Tbilisi, though one day we did go to Djavari Monestary and Mtskheta, the former capital of Georgia. In Tbilisi, we enjoyed walking through the ‘Old City’, poking through shops and cafes, making our way (sometimes pushing our way) through the markets, and doing lots of shopping for gifts and souvenirs. We also decorated Ayanna’s room one evening, walked around our neighborhood and went to a local park. We even got to enjoy beautiful fall weather and we celebrated that one day by walking around Turtle Lake. It is a very nice location above the city with lots of trees and fresh air.
We put my mom to work a couple times babysitting Ayanna but she didn’t put up a fight :) I asked her when she left that whenever did I get to have 11 days with her all to myself!?! It was really wonderful. And Ayanna did great with her and took to her right away. Seeing her on the video camera with Skype has really made a difference!
My mom took the time to help Ayanna learn how to go up and down steps and she gets better at it all the time! She said she would definitely come back again because she had a great time as well!

The Bazroba

Going to the bazroba (market) is a very necessary part of life in Georgia—and something we really enjoy doing. There are many markets all over the city, but only one huge, central market. You can find ANYTHING you want (we are convinced) at the bazroba—if you’re willing to walk and hunt. It seems like an endless maze of tables, stands, and vendors selling a wide variety of goods. It can be quite interesting to see the mix of items that you’ll find side by side.
We took Shirley’s Mom to the market so she could smell the smells and see what the ‘bazroba’ is all about. The vendors can be very creative in their efforts to draw customers over to their stand. It’s neat to see how they display their goods, like these colorful piles of dried fruits and nuts, and the seemingly endless rows/displays of fruits, vegetables…It’s quite a sight to take in. And there are many sections of the market to explore and experience—the fresh fruits and vegetables, dry goods, flowers, spices, clothing, fish—and still there are more.
Most interesting (in my opinion) is the meat market. There you will see rows and rows of chickens and piglets on tables; hearts and livers strung up for sale; pigs feet and heads, different cuts of beef—and all the other animal parts for sale that we don’t recognize. The smells can be very strong—especially the cheeses—which is all part of the ‘market’ experience.

We enjoy going to the market and we often go the the same vendors who now recognize us when we come. Many times they give some little treat to Ayanna, like yogurt, candy or a bracelet. The Georgians have a soft spot for children.