T b i l i s i / V i e n n a  – Children and young adults between 12 and 23 have been able to spend eight days learning German during their vacation in the Caucasus Mountains. A joint project done by the Baptist churches of Georgia and Austria made this possible. Holding a language camp in Lagodechi in the eastern part of the country had been agreed upon during the visit of two Georgian Baptist leaders, Bishop Merab Gaphrindashvili and Bishop Ilia Osephashvili, to Vienna in early 2010. Four Baptist students from the University of Vienna then agreed to spend their vacation as language teachers.

Georgia’s Baptist Church hand-picked the participants for the unusual project. Twenty-seven children and young adults also learning German in school were eventually chosen. Since language instruction in Georgia has been strictly teacher-centred-learning in a traditional classroom setting, these language instructors launched forth into new frontiers with their camp in a recreational zone at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. The instructors – all women – sang German songs with their pupils, played with them and engaged in conversation. Bishop Osephashvili reported to European Baptist Press Service that participants reacted to such “interactive learning” with great enthusiasm. He noted that not only Baptists had been invited to the camp – 12 young people without any previous contact with Baptist congregations also attended. They too took part in meditations and worship services during the course of the camp and showed interest in matters relating to the Christian faith.

The enthusiasm indeed was so great that participants pleaded with the instructors to return in a year and resume their teaching.

The instructors’ travel costs were covered by the Baptist convention of Virgina/USA; the costs on location were covered by the Georgian Baptist Church. The project was also supported by the inter-confessional “Christus-Treff” in the German university city of Marburg, which has had close ties with the Georgian church for years.

The Baptist Church of Georgia consists of 72 congregations with approximately 5.000 members. Austria’s Baptist Union has 25 congregations and 1.400 members.