A knock on a door opened a new friendship in the Caucasus. Hospitality comes with large expectations in this region, and it is not always easy to connect with neighbours. Yet that did not stop Juan and Sophia from trying. When they took a risk for the Kingdom, God met them with a plan already in motion.
In some cultures, extending or receiving a simple invitation for tea or coffee is no small thing. It’s not about quickly brewing a cup – it’s about preparing a feast. In the country of Georgia within the Greater Caucasus, hosting is sacred, often reserved for special occasions when one is fully prepared to offer a banquet that could cost more than $100 USD and take half a day to prepare – and just as long to enjoy. Hospitality in this context is beautiful, but weighty. Homes are private, cherished spaces that are rarely opened.
In this kind of culture, when a person cannot easily say, “Let’s grab a coffee,” how can Jesus followers plant spiritual seeds, build trust and live out biblical truths among their neighbours?
Juan* and Sofia,* part of the OM team in the Caucasus, decided to try something quietly radical for Georgia: they just showed up.
With a tray of cookies and fruit, the couple knocked on the door of a family for whom they had long been praying – Georgian Orthodox neighbours who had remained just out of reach. That day, to their surprise and joy, Giorgi* and Tekla,* as well as their eldest daughter Lika,* were at home. Soon they were all seated in their garden, laughing and getting to know one another for the first time.
While talking, Juan and Sofia were praying and asking: Is there spiritual hunger here? Is God already stirring?
They shared their own story – how they had seen God work in their daughter’s life and how miracles had sustained them. Then they turned the conversation toward Giorgi and Tekla and asked, “Have you ever seen a miracle in your life? We believe everyone has at least one.”
Giorgi and Tekla’s faces softened with wonder as they began to recall their own journey: trials overcome, doors closed and opened by divine timing, grace that had carried them. With sincere excitement, they affirmed their shared faith in God. They saw Juan and Sofia not only as visitors, but also as spiritual family.
One act of courage – a knock on a door – opened something sacred. Since then, Giorgi has knocked on Juan and Sofia’s door two other times, bringing harvest from his land as gifts. And while they are still waiting to be invited back to his house and deepen that friendship, Juan and Sofia have learnt a vital truth: God moves when we’re ready to move. When we take a risk for the Kingdom, He meets us with a plan already in motion. He’s simply waiting for us to knock.
Please pray for believers in the Caucasus to keep knocking, praying and sowing. Because behind every unopened door might be a family ready to remember the miracles in their own lives – and to meet the God who made them possible.
*name changed