One of my most memorable days in Georgia was a month ago on October 18th when I got to meet the first lady of Georgia, and then I taught my first kids’ Bible lesson in Georgian. Pretty exciting day although full of great extremes to be with the first lady in the morning and then with kids that are considered some of the lowest of Georgia’s society in the afternoon. I already shared a bit about teaching in Georgian in our latest newsletter but have not had a chance to share about meeting the first lady, Sandra Roelofs. Sandra is actually Dutch, and has been the first lady since her Georgian husband, Mikheil Saakashvili, became president in 2004. Sandra wrote a book about her life a few years ago in Dutch which was translated into English last year. I am a member of an international women’s group that organized the gathering for her to share about her book, The Story of an Idealist. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her thoughts and impressions of life in Georgia. Even more so, I enjoyed hearing her speak about these topics and then expanding on them more. She was very open to share many of her thoughts, as well as to take the time to answer all the questions that were asked. Then she signed everyone’s books. Sandra is a very fascinating and talented lady. For many years, she was the breadwinner of the family while her husband pursued a career in politics. She speaks 7 languages, has her own charity, and became a nurse a few years ago. Amazing! She is quite the down to earth kind of person that has not let her position get in the way of who she truly is and what is of most value to her…her family and caring for others. Here are a few photos from the day. Unfortunately, I was unable to actually get my photo taken with her, but trust me, I was there.
One of the security guys holding her purse...looks nice with his suit!
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