I was lucky this time! Only on my first day in Chita was the temperature near -26°F. It quickly rose to a much more enjoyable -9°F for most of the rest of the week. Surrounded and protected from the winds by rather steep hills, the city was bathed in sunshine with very little snow on the ground. It was not always easy to tell it from the ground due to its grayish color. The city is heated by coal and huge plumes of smoke from the power stations are seen reaching the skies for kilometers around. My hosts from the local Diocese made sure I had at least one presentation outside the city – in colleges, military bases, and monasteries – for the opportunity to enjoy fresh air and deep spiritual conversation on the road.
As always, my audiences varied a lot – from army personnel to clergy, and from schoolteachers to their students. All of them pride themselves in the amazing ability not just to survive, but to thrive – professionally, socially, culturally, etc. – in these rather hard conditions. For many of them, however, my question on the meaning and purpose of life sounded new and sometimes quite challenging. Three generations of atheism and the cultural Buddhist background of the native population in Zabaykalye (Beyound-the-Lake-Baikal) Region developed a rather specific character trait of tough but ultimately meaningless life. I was truly blessed to see many young and not-so-young men and women finding God’s eternal destiny for their very existence for the first time.
Speaking at the Elementary School Parents’ Conference allowed me to help them make a rational choice for Christianity among other “Religious Cultures” courses offered to their children. Many of them requested additional materials (printed and online) for their spouses and other family members not in attendance. “My husband is a non-observing Muslim. I will now be able to make my case with him for Christianity much stronger, and our kids will be learning about Christ at school next year. Thank you for finding time to visit our meeting!” – commented one of the moms copying links to our online materials on her phone.
Each of my three talks at military bases were also very special and meaningful. The first one, for example, was at the army cooks’ training unit where I was challenged by a mixed group of Muslims and Buddhists who, as it turned out, knew very little of the foundations of their own respective faith and could not agree on almost anything between themselves. After I offered them a peaceful solution in the rational and historic foundation of Christianity, both parties decided to continue the conversation in a more constructive manner at their next Bible Class with the chaplain. The radio-communications unit liked my analogy to what they are trained for to the role of religion – restoring the connection of men to God. The things started to make much more sense to them after I mentioned that the relays in their equipment are of the same root as the Latin verb “religare.”
Catching an early flight from Chita and fling five time zones back to Moscow on the last day before leaving for Minnesota (nine more time zones) gave me a chance to present at the Nikolo-Ugreshskaya Theological Seminary Conference and to teach a late class in Apologetics at a city parish school. That was a true Grand Finale for a very intensive and productive trip!
PS. I will actually be teaching one more class online tomorrow from the Istanbul airport for my students at Belgorod Seminary. Hopefully, I can find a silent spot with stable Internet connection.
