Archives for 2015

Goodbye Finland! Hello Russia! The trees and the snow piles streaming left to right through my window haven’t changed at all once my train crossed the border, but something tells me that this is a completely different world. Oh, yes, there is a metal fence now running along the railroad trails. And the three ladies in border guard uniforms checking our passports are not smiling as were the three ladies in border guard uniforms just fifteen minutes ago. Those were also accompanied by a smiling (or it seemed that way) dog. When the officer accidentally dropped my papers on the floor and kneeled to pick it up the dog was here to happily lick all over her face which made all of us smile. No dogs any more, no smiles, serious business. I am glad they are mentally preparing me for the mood and the picture I will encounter only an hour later when I arrive to St. Petersburg. Right off the train, I will rush to my first presentation to the teachers of Viborgskiy School District two subway stops away from Filnlyandskiy train terminal. I will then have to figure out where I want to stay this night, as my host family just sent me a note that they got some kind of a stomach flu in the last two days. Hopefully, they feel better by now. My backup lodging option has not returned my E-mails yet, so…

Back in Finland, my ministry time was very extensive and very challenging. All but one presentation were held in English, and my audiences ranged from Finish sixth-graders to international seminary students. I did two events per day except for the day of my arrival when it was only (!) one – right off the plane. I actually liked it that way. It kept me so busy and so tired that I didn’t miss sightseeing in Helsinki that much. Those two brief occasions when I walked the city center made me really want to come there again in a warmer season. My feet got wet from snow slush and my hands and ears got cold from the freezing Baltic breeze. It reminded me of my childhood impression of St. Petersburg where we would always travel with parents during the winter break. I absolutely hated that city until much later when I came to visit it in July – it was a completely different St. Petersburg! So beautiful, so comfortable, so inviting! I guess, some of these childhood memories are about to meet me in less than an hour…

How in the world have I ended up going to Finland? I just cannot say “no” to a child when her mom wrote to me:

“Christina is in the sixth grade and they have a class on Religion. Christina has had conversations with several of her classmates about God and faith.  Many of them have asked her things like, ‘Doesn’t science prove that God doesn’t exist?’ and so on, even though they have chosen to be in the ‘Christian’ religion class.  I asked the teacher about you visiting the class as a guest speaker.  She has agreed to the idea.”

Seriously, my four days in Helsinki had already been booked with events and presentations arranged by an American missionary couple I met earlier in Russia. That one particular morning just “happened” to be free.

After teaching and sharing in both Russian-speaking and English-speaking audiences in Finland, I will travel to St. Petersburg for four days of teachers’ conferences and university lectures there, and then I’m off to Kaliningrad for mostly Orthodox Church trainings and outreaches. My initial plan for this trip also included a visit to Karelia, which would have been a logical extension of the Northern Russia route if you look on the map. Apparently, the Holy Spirit’s geography is different from ours as I kept receiving persistent calls from ministries and churches in Northern Caucasus to partner with them in their outreaches in the predominantly Muslim regions of the country. I have been preparing for this opportunity in the course of the whole last year!

The final week of this trip will be one of trainings and outreaches in Moscow with a quick one-day travel to Bryansk.

As always, I will be focusing on my three target audiences: teachers, students and clergy/lay leaders in Evangelical, Orthodox, and secular settings. Please pray for me as I travel and for my family back in MN, ND, and UT.