Two days of intensive networking and PR at the National Orthodox Church forum yielded dozens of new contacts from all around the country for future ministry partnership. My two next teaching trips’ schedules filled in just a few hours! It was also great to reconnect with some good old friends and to share many blessed memories of working together in the fields of the Lord. By the way, one of them reminded me that we first introduced the “FaithSearch Discovery” in Russia in 2006 – twenty years ago!
After the comfort of staying with friends after landing in Moscow, the next three nights’ lodging was very… dynamic. It also saved me a few dollars on hotels as I was taking the overnight trains from Moscow-to-St. Petersburg and back (and back again) to satisfy the scheduling demands of churches, schools, and conferences in both cities. I wish I could say I travelled light, but I had to carry loads of books in my luggage. A new (double the size and updated) edition of my “Foundations of Faith” book just came out in Russia that serves as an excellent “business card” for introducing our ministry to new potential audiences in colleges and universities.
Back in St. Petersburg, I have taught two graduate level classes today: at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and at Belgorod Seminary (online). My next audiences will be much younger but nevertheless just as demanding – three fourth-grade back-to-back classes at a public school. Their lead teacher will decide if she wants me to teach the fourth hour as well, depending on how firm I will be standing on my feet after the first three.
