A Little Introduction

Michael & Barbara
Zachary & Jude

“Gamarjoba!” A hearty hello from the European country of Georgia! My name is Barbara, and I would like to introduce you to myself, my family and the work we are doing here in this country.

I grew up on a little farm on the backside of nowhere in Eastern Montana, the second of 4 children. I raised goats, joined 4-H, kept up the house in the summer time, and in general, did what any other country kid did. My parents taught us to do the hard things, do them right, and not quit. They taught us to try food we didn’t know if we would like. They taught us to love and honor the Lord and required church attendance. Their faithfulness to go to church (it was an hour and ten minutes away) really showed their dedication to the Lord. All these things gave me an excellent background to ministering in this country.

From the day I could talk, I knew I was called to missions. I heard the call to reach orphans and abused in Mexico. My parents, though they knew this would mean I would eventually move a world away, always encouraged this dream. It kept me focused. I learned Spanish, attended teacher training classes, gained experience teaching junior church, and planned vacation Bible schools. When I reached college age, I took online classes at home for a psychology/Christian counselling degree, and continued to teach at church and in the public schools. I took several mission trips, about one a year, starting when I was fifteen. I received Christ and was baptized in July 2015.

The second trip to Mexico (I was then 22), I received the clear message that God had closed the door for me to go to Mexico. Feeling confused and a little disheartened, I talked it over with my mom. She very wisely advised, “God may have given you that vision to keep you focused through high school and college (Lord knows you needed that!) and now He has something special in mind.” So true were the words, for 6 months later I met the wonderful man who is now my husband- on his way to the country of Georgia. A year after meeting, we were married. Yay!

After a honeymoon and about a month break, Michael and I plunged right back into deputation ministry (he had started before we met), to raise funding to go overseas. I learned a LOT about God and faith those first few months. We really had very little, but the Lord provided our needs. We completed our deputation and arrived in Tbilisi (the capitol of) Georgia in May of 2017.

The Lord has blessed us with two children: Jude, turning three shortly, and Zachary, roughly a year and a half. They do keep me on my toes, but they are a great joy and help us so much meeting people in this country. Jude is into all things boy: rocket ships, Spider man (how, I don’t know!), dragons, and Patch the Pirate. Zachary is our lovable, happy, mischievous  and daring child who doesn’t know danger and hates to hear the word no.

Right now, we are digging the trenches in the Lord’s battle. (We are learning the language.) The trenches are deep, and the work is long and hard, but it is necessary before we can engage in the Spiritual warfare in this country. The Georgian language is among the hardest for English speakers to learn, having an immense vocabulary and complicated verb structure. The people here are greatly loyal to their Georgian Orthodox church, and are "good" people, but they are totally lost! They are told not to read the Bible and know more about tradition and superstition than about Christ. We look forward to knowing the language well enough to share the gospel with our friends.

I’m looking forward to sharing with you how God works in and through our family.