“This (historic evidence for Christian faith) was exactly what our youth needed to hear and to see today. Frankly, their parents seem to have enjoyed it just as much. Thank you for making this long trip to Izhevsk this summer. We’ll be counting on you for the next year family camp with your “63 Arguments for the Existence of God” – these were the last words I heard earlier today from the camp leader as I was leaving it for the airport. My clothes still smelling of campfire and my memories still full of the remarks and inquiries from the presentation I finished this morning, I am now waiting for my first flight (out of four) on my way back to Minnesota.
As usual, the summer trip was not as intensive as the ones I do during the school year – 17 events in 21 days including travel back and forth across 14 time zones. I was, however, able to reach with the truth of God some very special audiences – families, parishes, campers, youth and Christian leaders. The most recent addition to my topics portfolio – “Arguments for the Existence of God” – was also recorded by the online platform “Favor” with hundreds of thousands of subscribers and will be released soon after technical processing.
Not uncommon for the summer trips, were also a couple of last-minute cancelations due to people “suddenly” deciding to go on a vacation or to forgetting that their audiences might want to do so. The Lord, however, graciously provided “impromptu” arrangements for me, such as an invitation to the city of Sarapul just an hour away from where I was scheduled to speak. And what a beautiful city it was! Situated on Kama-River, Sarapul used to be the one most advanced merchant centers before the Bolsheviks’ revolution and many of its 100+ year-old buildings astound you with their elegant and yet simple “provincial” Art Nouveau and Pseudo-Russian architecture styles. My Sunday-school and clergy audience there insisted that I come again and continue the training in their city’s schools and churches sometime soon. I will gladly include Sarapul in one of my next teaching trips.
