Trusting On Christ

YWAM Georgia staff workers are reaching out to refugees from the Georgia-Russia war in their own backyard of Tbilisi, but the lesson they’re learning is to be led by God and not duplicate the efforts of the humanitarian organizations around them. The Georgian government, aid organizations and the Georgian people “are going all out” to meet the physical needs of the 44,000 registered refugees of the conflict, according to Dennis Holt, YWAM Georgia director. As a result, the six full-time YWAM workers and their handful of volunteers decided to focus their efforts on particular families in Tbilisi while they wait for Russian troops to evacuate bombed villages along the South Ossetian border.

“It is a bit overwhelming for our six staff and few volunteers to imagine making a difference,” Holt said. But that is exactly what they’re doing.

On Wednesday, the team went to a Tbilisi kindergarten filled with refugees to do a program for the children. Expecting a room full of children, the team instead found one single family and relatives of that family. Armed with coloring books, some of the staff began entertaining the few children present, while Holt sat with the father and listened to his story. The Georgian man lost everything he owned in South Ossetia—two houses, a car, and all their possessions— when militant anti-Georgian groups forced Georgians to leave the region. Holt said the family fled for their lives with only the clothes they were wearing.

“I just put my arm on his shoulder and listened and let him know that I cared,” said Holt. “One of the biggest needs here is not clothes or food or money, but compassion.”

For every family like the Georgian family just described, there are many more. More than 20,000 Georgian refugees have not yet registered with the government, not counting the thousands of South Ossetians who fled north to Russia during the conflict. YWAM Georgia staff hope to continue sharing the love of Jesus Christ with more displaced families in Tbilisi, while making plans to assist refugees as they return to bombed out villages once Russian troops fully retreat. Maia, a recent YWAM Discipleship Training School student in Tbilisi, will also return to her village with no certainty that her family home still stands.

If you’d like to help YWAM’s war relief work in Georgia, simply write a check payable to “YWAM” and attach a separate note designating the funds to go to YWAM Tbilisi war relief. You can send donations to:

YWAM Accounting
P.O. Box 3000
Garden Valley, TX 75771-3000