I will be leaving for Russia again tomorrow and I am very excited, especially by the variety of my audiences and the topics I will be presenting on through the trip:
- Four classes for school children (“Validity of the Bible” to fourth graders, and “Historic Foundations of Christian Faith” to Seniors)
- Eight teachers’ trainings (FaithSearch Discovery and Intro to Christian Pedagogy)
- Five church service messages (in four different denominations)
- Two seminary (Masters level) lectures on “Historic Foundations of Christian Faith”
- Three theology conference talks (on Missions, on Christian Pedagogy, and on Teaching Teachers)
At least, this is how it looks on my teaching schedule as of today. I am very prepared, however, for about 10% of it not to happen because: “Oh, I am sorry but we’ve just learned that that your training date falls a national holiday and there will be no classes”; or “Oh, we’ve completely forgotten that we already arranged another speaker for that day.”
I am, on the other hand, completely ready for about 20% of additional speaking opportunities presenting themselves because: “Oh, we were just looking for somebody to fill in on that day”; or “Oh, while you are in town why wouldn’t you also teach in our place?”
Only a couple of days ago, one of my ministry partners suddenly called off three days of my teaching in Volgograd because he “has just found out” that in September the schools and universities do not have solid class schedules yet. I panicked. I prayed. And I sent out a dozen E-mails to the people whom the Lord brought to my mind at the moment. In less than a day my teaching schedule was overflowing, and I have just received a confirmation from somebody offering me to stay in their family home instead of a hotel. God is good. All the time. Every time.
Please keep me you in your prayers as I travel to Moscow, Volgograd, Rostov-na-Donu, Pyatigorsk, Elista, back to Moscow, Belgorod, and Kolomna. Please also pray for my family in MN, TX, and AK/UT while I am away.
