I am back where I started – in St. Petersburg. Two more days of ministry here and I’ll be on my way home! Honestly, I am ready. This trip was very tiring, with lots of ground to cover, including many days without regular meals and sleep. And it was absolutely worth it!
I can say that with confidence, based on the many testimonies from my different audiences. Teachers thanked me for the training I gave them to use the FaithSearch Discovery materials in their classrooms. University students of History and Humanities departments were grateful to me for returning the key event of human history – the life of Christ on earth – back into their Ancient History courses. Seminarians and clergy can’t have enough of it, receiving practical tools for evangelism and missions. School kids loved discovering and seeing with their own eyes the artifacts and old parchment manuscripts telling the story of Jesus.
Back in Kuzbass Region, I was honored make a presentation at an open audience gathering organized by the local Orthodox Diocese. It seemed all possible walks of life were represented in the audience: factory and mine workers; academia; students, clergy, and artists; housewives and military. Their interest in the evidence-based presentation of the Gospel showed not only in their willingness to stay late but even more so in the never-ending stream of questions at the end. The Certificate of Appreciation signed by the archbishop of Kemerovo and Prokopyevsk will remind me of that wonderful night.
After crossing four time zones and transferring in Moscow, I found myself in the beautiful old Russian city of Tambov. Historically and in folklore, it has always been known as the “criminal heart” of Central Russia. The saying, “Your comrade is the wolf of Tambov,” is meant to express the deepest lack of confidence in a person. There was not one local – from the cab driver to the archbishop – who didn’t try to dissuade me from this by showing how ordered, fine, and safe the city streets are, even at night. Strangely, the more people tried to assure me how safe it is, the more suspicious I got. What did make me feel good about the place was an excellent two-day conference held by the local seminary. I may very well become their regular visiting professor after they had a taste of what our ministry has to offer. I would truly appreciate this, as the city itself seems to be very picturesque. Sadly, my three (!) presentations at the conference did not allow time to walk its streets nor the Tsna riverside.
Besides, I got some kind of a cold/virus back on my half-of-Siberia flight. Russians hate drafts (skvoznyak) and my personal vent was probably the only one blowing fresh air on the whole aircraft. The following week under Moscow rain and wind was quite a challenge for me. Yesterday, for example, I spent a total of seven hours on public transportation, crossing this huge city in all directions and finishing my last training event at 10 pm. My audience was actually willing to stay even longer by bombarding me with questions, but I had a train to catch which brought me back to St. Petersburg this morning. The sun is shining here, but the temps have dropped to 35º F. I have to put on all the layers I brought with me when leaving Minnesota three weeks ago in a t-shirt.
