My six days of video recording and preaching in Kursk will be remembered by the background sound of air-raid sirens which went off multiple times every day and nearly every night. I was probably the only one, however, who paid any attention to them. Life was just going on as usual on the streets of the city. My camera crew didn’t even stop recording my lectures when explosions were heard in the distance. “We’ll just edit it out,” said the sound guy.
All-in-all we recorded eighteen academic hours of classes, plus a few short devotional messages they will offer to audiences in Russia and other countries (with subtitles).
My hosts in Petrozavodsk know me well and made my two-day schedule in Karelia very full. I didn’t see much of the city this time. “You missed the northern lights anyway by a few hours,” comforted me Fr. Stanislav. I enjoyed my university student audiences (Journalism and Foreign Languages Departments) very much, especially for their questions and comments. It was apparent that spiritual matters interested them even more than my excursions into world history and manuscripts studies. Three presentations to the technical college students also demonstrated their openness to questions of faith and the meaning of life. Two Orthodox Church communities in Petrozavodsk and Kondopoga posted very flattering remarks to me in person and on their social media networks after seeing the evidence-based presentations of our faith, like: “Traditions and emotions are great. Facts are perfect.”
My last two days were spent in Bryansk, and they were cold and rainy – again, not a good time for sightseeing but perfect for ministry! Diocese Catechism training requested a two-part presentation on the Historic Foundations of Faith, and an Intro to Missions. I am pretty sure we will continue and develop these relationships in the future.
I am writing this while changing planes in Frankfurt on my way home. My head is still spinning after all this travel and meeting so many wonderful audiences in the last three weeks. I am looking forward to building my next teaching trip in December with even more exciting opportunities to share my faith!
PS. On the last day in Moscow, I picked up my official membership ID with the Russian Writers’ League. It is not a big deal, but will potentially open more doors for the ministry in literary and publishing community.
