2025(6) Faith Leap: Chapter 13 - Eating the Elephant (Bite 2: Our Batumi Branch)

 2025(6) Faith Leap: Chapter 13 - Eating the Elephant (Bite 2: Our Batumi Branch)

The question-a-day-challenge that I keep mentioning actually came to me as a prompting while listening to President Christofferson speak during the recent Worldwide Youth Broadcast. (If you haven't had a chance to listen and debrief with your youth, do it! So good!) During this broadcast, I also received insight to a question I have often had about the story of the man healed by Christ at the pool of Bethesda: They were surrounded by a multitude of people also in need of healing, so what was it about this man that made him the recipient of a miracle? I think there is evidence of at least 3 reasons/areas where I can focus when I am seeking miracles of my own:

• He HOPED: 
• John 5:5-7 "And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me" 
• 2 Ne 31:20 - "Wherefore, you must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and all men..." 
• Moroni 7:40"...How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?" 
• It is unclear if the man waited by the pool every day, or if he just "happened" to be there that day. It is clear that he has suffered for nearly 4 decades, and that he knows that he doesn't have a chance of winning the race into the pool. And yet, he is there - at the healing waters. I think this is perhaps what Nephi means by "a perfect brightness of hope." With my own chronic health challenges, there have been times when I have wondered, "What if healing is not in accordance with God's will for me, and I am just too stubborn to accept that? What if it is actually sinful for me to ask/hope for healing?" But then I read these accounts and feel assured that submitting to God's will isn't refraining from asking for the things I desire. Even the Savior asked for the cup to pass from Him. Submission means to hope for what we, in our limited understanding, see would be most beneficial, but then choosing to accept if, in His eternal perspective, the answer is "no" or "not yet". 
• He WITNESSED:
• John 5:8-11: "Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. And the Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed and walk."
• Moses 1:39 "For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."
• I think Jesus must have already known that, upon having his witness of the Savior's divinity, this man would share it boldly. Living in a culture that perpetuated an idea that malady = sin, he was likely an outcast, and maybe yearned to be "normal"/to blend in with the crowd. The Savior's gift of healing could have satisfied that yearning. But, instead of finally blending in, he boldly witnessed of Christ by defying the Jewish law. If Christ's work is to bring to pass the eternal life of all of God's children, then His miracles are to build our testimony, so that we can bring others to Him by sharing it. This man did just that.
• He ENGAGED:
• John 5:14: "Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple"
• D&C 58: 27 "Verily, I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness."
• The man who received the miracle was found in the Temple: where we make covenants with Christ, and engage in His work of salvation. The healing gift enabled this man to do more for building the kingdom. In seeking healing/gifts of my own, will/do I use them for my own gain? Or for going about doing the will of the Giver?

Highlights:

• Richard was called as Branch President - which the Spirit told us was coming before we arrived, but the delay in the call had us questioning what we had felt. We are grateful to now have the reassurance that what we'd felt was truly from the Spirit.
• We feel we are being gifted with vision of what the Branch needs for its next stage of growth, and we are so grateful that our Branch members are cheerfully adapting to the many ways we are shaking things up.
• Learning a little of the history of the Batumi branch is inspiring. Our community and unity is strengthened when we demonstrate faith collectively
• 4 Baptisms!

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray for us to have help to know the right next steps for the Batumi Branch to grow

Details:

Merrilled

A few weeks ago, we received a call from the Mission President, letting us know that he would be in town and to ask if he and his presidency, and their wives, could take our family to dinner. They asked if we could plan to leave our entire afternoon and evening open? We were thinking, either the Mission Presidency is awfully kind and conscientious about meeting members in the mission (and maybe is making several visits but do not yet know their schedule), or we've done something to cause them to feel like they need to check up on us, or we are being "Merrilled". (Shortly before Richard was called to serve as Bishop in our Orem ward, our family was invited over for Sunday dinner by President Merrill of our Stake Presidency. Naively, we thought they were just being nice, had noticed that we have children of similar ages, and wanted to build a friendship. (They are wonderful people, so we do not doubt that these were some of their motives - but clearly he was also studying out options for Bishop 😏. Hopefully President Merrill would appreciate that he has now become a household verb 😄). Once again, we were Merrilled.

The kids had enough of a lingering cough from being sick the week before, that we decided to leave them home, rather than having them coughing where people would be eating. Our visitors asked us for a dinner recommendation and we realized that we haven't ever eaten out in Batumi!  But there is a cafe down the block from the church building that we've wanted try (just because it is adorable - we had no idea what the food would be like 😬). Gratefully, it was good! Richard and I had salmon (our first seafood in this seaside town. Shameful). We would definitely go back. We came to learn that President and Sister Ainian are admitted food connoisseurs, but even they found items on the menu that they enjoyed - though the desserts weren't sweet enough to satisfy their sweet tooth 😅). Dinner, dessert, delightful conversation - things started winding down and nothing had been said about any callings, so we began to think that they really do just choose to treat a different family each time they come to town. But then...

A Mission President, his counselors, and a former Bishop walk into a bar...

President Behunin (who is the Counselor in the Mission Presidency who lives in Georgia - the other two live in Armenia), called across the table, "So President, do we have any business that we are going to be taking care of in the Branch while we are here? Is there anything you were wanting to discuss?..." to which President Ainian replied something rather ambiguous, and then he excused himself to go pay the check. Richard and I started thinking, "Apparently they were planning to extend a calling, but something about us changed President's mind?..." We were all standing and putting on our coats when President returned and asked, "What are you all doing? Sit back down. If I can, I'd like to speak with The Browns and my two counselors in the other room..." So, it was at a small table in the bar of a cafe that Richard was asked to serve as the Branch President in Batumi. 😂🥂

The story we couldn't tell

Now that the calling has been extended, I feel I can finally share a significant part of our Georgia story that, for soon-to-be obvious reasons, I could not share before: In my first post, I shared that, as we sought to figure out where in Georgia God needed us to live, my Mom was inspired to suggest that we call the Mission President. We did so and, from our conversations with him and his counselor, President Behunin, both Richard and I knew that Batumi was where we needed to be. But here is the part of the story that was left out: President Behunin told Richard that there was an immediate need for a Branch President in Batumi because the current Branch President was talking about moving, and the only other eligible branch member at the time (who is amazing and who they would love to call), was supposed to be working on a fishing ship on the Black sea from December through April (the exact months we were going to be in Georgia). The moment he shared this, the Spirit flooded the room - testifying that our stay in Georgia was God's answer to their prayers about what to do about a Branch President in the interim. It was interesting, too, because, for a moment, Richard felt the weight of the mantle of Branch President as he spoke. He recognized it from his service as a Bishop. I was not able to be a part of that meeting so, as Richard filled me in on the conversation later, he only reported what President Behunin had said about the different Branches and their needs. The moment he told me about Batumi, tears poured down my face as the Spirit then testified to me that this was (at least part of) our purpose in Georgia (and then Richard shared his experience with me.) So, strange as it may sound, we came here with the expectation of this calling - not at all that we were seeking it of ourselves, but strictly because we felt God had issued already issued the call.

But then, the Simonenkos talked about loving it here and didn't seem to be making any plans to move, and Temur (the crewman) still hadn't received his call to head out to sea, and we weren't given any callings for two months...so the turmoil over our purpose here was not just because we didn't know what to do with ourselves, but also because we didn't know what to do with those spiritual manifestations we'd had. With some digging, we learned to be grateful that those initial spiritual manifestations had helped us move forward confidently with the decision to move to Batumi. That may have been the sole purpose of what we felt - so, even if we misunderstood, it still got us to where we needed to be. And now, with the gift of hindsight, we can see that we had correctly interpreted the Spirit back in Utah. And we also see that there was great purpose in the calling being delayed: If Richard had been called as Branch President right away, we would have seen that as our only purpose in being here, and we would likely have had blinders on to the other things God wants us to be doing. Because we had two months of earnestly seeking for purpose, we see that Branch President is only part of our mission here.

Shaking things up

God is truly working wonders in Batumi! Since we arrived, we now have several amazing, and eligible men who have recently moved in - so we have no doubt the Lord is preparing a replacement for Richard come May. Richard is working to help the Branch move from being primarily Branch President and Missionary-led, to being Branch-led. He is working hard to understand what Church structuring and programs the Branch is ready for vs what things are not a good fit for this time and place. He is constantly being reminded of the importance of "Simplicity in Christ," as was beautifully taught by Elder Csiesla in the Oct 2025 General Conference. Already, we have experienced people accepting extremely stretching callings, and the blessing that is to them and to the Branch. Members are quickly learning that President Brown is here to shake things up (per God's direction)! And members have been surprisingly receptive to the changes: 

• We started by rearranging the chapel to make space for more chairs and a piano to accompany our hymns, rather than using a bluetooth speaker. We put the piano in the alcove, beneath the windows. It is magical to play the hymns while you look out over the city and see the passersby look up for the source of the music.
• On the topic: We have amazing news! The Church has just officially been recognized as a Religious organization in Georgia! This is mostly beneficial for financial/tax purposes. It also means that The Church can own property, and that we can advertise. We are hopeful that we can receive permission to put a sign on the outside of the building - so that when people look up, they will know that they are welcome to join us. 💖
• We are encouraging Georgian be a prominent language in all of our communications. Even though no one regularly attending needs it, we've noticed that the majority of our members who are not participating are Georgian. Could there be a correlation? We want to make sure that if/when they return, and that as missionaries find Georgian friends, they find a church that honors their nativity. We have requested the Mission purchase translation devices for our Branch so that all talks and lessons can be translated into the most prominent languages, regardless of the speaker's chosen language. Imagine, if you will, how complicated everything becomes when you have to translate it into 3 languages. But it is worth it.
• We have eliminated weekly branch dinner (in its current form at least). This is a big one. The Branch loves Sunday dinner. We have quite a few people who attend dinner on Sunday, even though they do not attend church. And came to be because most people here do not live near family - so it was their own version of family dinner. We also have a number of people without the means to cook - so this is the one home-cooked meal that they get each week. In addition, it is amazing how self-reliant our Branch members are. Most of them do not have steady jobs (with the influx of refugees, the job market is really hard here). Yet, despite that, we function in the black because people are accustomed to working things out on their own. So ensuring one good meal a week is maybe important enough to figure out how to make something work. But, with the recent growth of our attendance, it isn't sustainable on our branch budget, nor do I feel my family has the bandwidth to plan, shop for, and prepare a meal for 40+ people every week. The Branch Presidency is exploring/considering options - some that may involve introducing the church sign-up sheet 😄

History of the Batumi Branch

The Simonenkos moved back to Armenia this week. (I mentioned previously that they fled to Armenia from Russia, and then the Mission President at the time asked them to move here in order to start the Branch.) They were expecting to be here for about a year, but it ended up being closer to 2 years. The Branch will celebrate our 1st Birthday in March, but that is because somehow something broke down in the communication channel, so the Area Authority was not aware of/did not approve the formation of the Branch until March of last year - it was actually functioning as a Branch for much longer than that. The Simonenkos did not want to move. They love the sea, mild weather, long growing season, and people of Batumi. But, suddenly in the last few weeks, the Spirit has been urging them to return to Armenia. We are confident they have been, and will continue to be blessed for their sacrifices here, and for their faith in following the Spirit now. (Fun Fact: Boris Simonenko is a talented soccer player who has several offers to play professionally for a few countries. He is currently weighing his options. We told him our vote is that he choose to play for a team that will compete against Real Salt Lake so that we can come cheer for him).

As I spoke with Luba on her last Sunday here, I realized that her treasure of knowledge is leaving with her. I asked if she has kept a Branch history, and she said, "Oh. It never even occurred to me that I could or should do that. I was actually the Historian in my church unit in Russian several years ago. But then the Law changed and we had to destroy every record of every church thing ever. It has been so ingrained in me that keeping records is illegal, that I brought that mentality here without realizing it." I asked if she would be willing to start a history for us - hopefully, once she is settled from her move, she and I can come up with some good prompts to help her figure out what to record and spur some memories (if you have any good questions, send them my way!).

We at least began a history when we invited Luba and Alexsey to share their final thoughts/testimonies at our Farewell dinner for them. What they shared was remarkable:

Luba shared that, in the beginning, the Branch was their family, a few missionaries, and a couple of others who were not permanent residents either. They recognized that, for the Branch to really stand on its own, they needed at least one Anchor Family. Setting the bar high, they had 3 criteria: an adult who speaks Russian, Georgian and English, a family with children, and staying long-term in Batumi. She shared that they regularly Fasted as a Branch for God to send them this Anchor Family. And then, one day, the Sisters found Temur - whose wife was pregnant with twins, so they would soon fit the prayed-for criteria! Temur was a "Golden" contact. Because of his experience around rough seamen, he loved the teachings of the gospel that promoted sobriety, devotion to wife and family, and, of course, faith in the Savior. Temur's wife, Liana, is very supportive of her husband's decision to join The Church, she loves the influence it has on him, but she is very hesitant to come to anything church related herself. Temur was in the room as Luba shared the story about him being the answer to the Branch's prayers - so he is obviously aware of the hopes people here have for his family. (And, loving his wife and children, he hopes for sealing in the Temple as well). Sometimes our enthusiasm for something we are passionate about can be off-putting to someone who does not share our zeal - I wonder if the pressure of being the prayed-for Anchor family was one of the things that contributed to Liana's hesitancy? (We meet the 2 of the 3 criteria - maybe one reason we are here is to give Liana some time and space - remove some pressure?) We are grateful that we started extending invitations to this sweet couple to get together for dinner before we knew any of this history - they know our motive from the beginning has just been a desire to know them. And we are grateful to now know this history so that we can be careful to make it clear that our interest in friendship has nothing to do with whether or not she joins the church, while being ourselves. Just this week, we finally got to meet Liana! She is so sweet! Liana speaks Russian and Georgian, and understand English but is very timid about trying to speak it, so she was happy to allow her husband to do most of the talking. But I got the impression that she is shy - so she likely prefers he do the talking regardless of language. 

Alexsey shared that, as part of their collective Branch efforts to exercise faith for increased membership, Branch members chose to sacrifice something until the miracle the were praying for was fulfilled. He told of one missionary with a major sweet-tooth who chose to give up sugar. He, himself, chose to give up movies. He has not watched a movie in nearly two years! We are inspired by their example of collective faith and sacrifice. And we are seeing how the Lord is answering their prayers by sending so many to our Branch! - including new move-ins, and new converts!

Baptisms

We had 3 baptisms in the Branch last month, and we have one more scheduled for this month! We were able to attend the baptism of our friend, Martin. Martin is pure sunshine - always happy and watching for ways to help. He comes to every Branch event, arrives early to set up, and stays to clean up - leaving when we leave. He brings several friends along with him. It is impossible to have a rotten day when Martin is around. Martin's baptism was bumped up last minute because transfer news meant that Elder Archibald was leaving before the originally scheduled date, and Martin wanted Elder Archibald to baptize him. We take for granted in Utah how convenient it is to have a font in a building down the street. Here, our baptisms are an all-day event: We meet at the Church to open the Baptismal services and hire taxis to drive everyone to the location of the baptism. After the baptism, we return to the church for the remainder of the meeting. It had been raging storms every day for a week and then, the morning of Martin's baptism, the sun came out. The water was still freezing cold, but we didn't have to break ice - which we understand has been the case before.  And the baptism was performed at a private Bath House - so right after, the wet ment were able to thaw out in the sauna, while the rest of us visited in the pleasant sunshine.