Reflections...

 It is early days to  know all of the implications of my time in Sakartvelo (the ancient name for Georgia). Differences rise for me first.  A sense of tension as I walk among residents of the city.  A recognition of different ethnicities - Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian and the confluence of multiple languages.  People seem just a bit less at ease, just a bit less helpful and open.  There is so much need for peacemaking in the midst of this.

I had hoped to find the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) continuing to thrive as it had been when I left twelve years ago.  This kind of work for personal and community peace is so important in this environment.  Unfortunately, I did not find a thriving AVP community.  Instead, I learned that many of the facilitators stopped due to family commitments,  or jobs and some of the AVP facilitators were again asking for financial compensation to do workshops.  There are so many reasons why paying facilitators can't work.  The work of AVP needs to come from the heart - that changes when facilitators are paid.  Also,  AVP workshops are based on all participants being equals.  If someone is paid to be there than clearly they are not equal to those who are unpaid.  It is a great sorrow for me to find this.

I began a conversation with Inga Shumagia, the Executive Director at the Act for Transformation Caucuses office around the possibility of sending Young Friends from Baltimore Yearly Meeting and possibly New York Yearly Meeting to Georgia as interns and to possibly do an exchange with Georgian interns.  We were both excited about this possibility and I committed to starting the process by writing up my thoughts of how this might work.  After our conversation I found that Act for Transformation Caucuses office is struggling financially and I'm feeling that this sort of internship is not viable.

As I sit today.  It feels as if my work in Sakartvelo has come to an end.  I have been blessed by the many experiences and friends that have come my way in Sakartvelo.   Friends that I will continue to carry in my heart and in relationship.  I remind myself that, as this blog is called "Journey to Peace", the work is not only about the work in Sakartvelo.  The path to peace winds throughout our own communities, cities, states, country.  Long before this trip to Sakartvelo, I had been planning work in collaboration with the McKim School in Baltimore and I'm hoping to open conversations with local AVP facilitators to do community workshops.  But there is so much more to do beyond the work of AVP.

AVP is an incredible tool to help us to meet violence nonviolently.  Nonetheless, it feels almost more important at this time, to lift up our faith, the faith of Quakers everywhere, as an immersive faith.  As a way of being in the world for one and all.