After all was said and done—with delayed flights and an unscheduled overnight stay in Tokyo—it did not take that much less time flying over the Pacific Ocean than it would have over the Atlantic. Praise the Lord, I still made it to Kamchatka on time—two hours before I was scheduled to speak at the Conference opening ceremony. I am glad they let me change my clothes right in the City Hall Director’s office, as all other speakers kindly looked the other way. I am also glad my laptop battery lasted through my whole presentation and died seconds after I finished (there were no electric outlets anywhere near the lectern to plug it in). After spending the whole night changing planes in the Vladivostok airport and then in flight to Petropavlovsk (loosing two time zones in the process), I was too tired and very disoriented to realize how low the battery charge was. Praise the Lord for taking care of these little things for me when I am not able to!

I am also grateful to Him for my hosts here! I have a very comfortable private “cell” to stay in their church-house, with three meals provided and somebody always willing to give me a ride to my next venue—whether the State University, the Teacher’s Continuing Training Center, the Medical College, Army base, or Penitentiary Department, etc., etc.

Speaking of which, I just cannot believe how interested and engaged my audience was—prison guards, security officers, and other penitentiary staff—when I presented FaithSearch Discovery at their training conference! My hosts were extremely worried and warned me many times about this “tough crowd”: that they might be difficult and even offensive to the message of God’s love and mercy.

I was reminded that what they see everyday does not necessarily represent the best of humanity but that most of them are well trained professionals and officers who value professionalism in others very highly. That turned out to be the key. My appeal to their rationality and logical thinking got them on the track of making discoveries—step by step, one after another. “Tough crowd,” eh? If God is for us, who can be against us?

My last two days in Kamchatka were divided among an Evangelical church, a Medical college, a military base and an Orthodox group—totally different audiences within fifty miles around Petropavlovsk. There was, however, also something the same in the audience each time: a sense of surprise and joy of discovering a new and important aspect of life: life with God. The title of one of C.S. Lewis’ books which contained these two words kept coming back to me as I looked in the eyes of the people in the audience: cadets and officers; students and teachers; lay leaders and clergy.

Praise God, who is able still to surprise us—and those who hear His Gospel—with His joy and with faith in His truth! 

It felt almost like traveling in a time machine when my plane landed in Murmansk. Most of the city center architecture goes back to Stalin’s times, which is characterized by a contrast of the grandeur of the main street fronts and wooden barracks of the back streets. Both are still very much present here, as well as a good measure of pride for the heroic past of this land during and after the WWII.

It sure takes some special human character to live in this land of forty-days-long polar nights, high humidity, and almost constant oceanic winds. The city itself is squeezed in what looks like a canyon made by the mouth of the Kola River, but is in fact a long and deep Barents Sea harbor.
So far, I have been presenting twice a day, every day while I am here. I did not plan that, but each presentation opens yet another opportunity – participants would come up to me after the event and invite me to teach at their own place: a church, a school, a conference, etc. – sometimes on that very same day! Grabbing a snack on the go and having only one normal meal per day has become a pattern here. My hosts at Pilgrimage Center of St. Tikhon always leave some great food for me on the stove and I absolutely love their cuisine, which consists of the whole variety of fresh fish products.

My absolute favorite audience so far was a class of fifth-year History students at Murmansk Arctic State University. They were so confident that they know it all and that nothing would ever make them even consider changing their firm atheist/gnostic positions. It was so much fun to see their faces, their eyes, and even their postures gradually change in the course of the presentation! I wish I had taken more pictures during the whole event. Their professor later shared with me how much her students liked the presentation, which connected so many dots in their understanding of history and in their own lives: They knew History very well but now they also understand it once its key event takes its proper place and significance. Of course, she said, they were “too cool” to tell me about it but they liked the presentation very much and would like me to come back sometime soon for more conversation and Q&A.
I am leaving Murmansk tonight for the last four days of presentations in and around Moscow before heading back to MN. A memorial to the American and British convoys of the WWII times in one of the central parks of this city made me feel a little homesick.

No time for jetlag! I started my first FaithSearch Discovery presentation only four hours after landing in Moscow. Needless to say, I was dead tired afterwards, and immediately fell asleep in the car that drove me to my place of rest. I still feel sorry for the driver who was trying to keep me awake by his stories and inquiries – I was only able to nod in agreement.

Most of my days in Moscow on the first week consisted of a couple-of-hours-long train ride to Kolomna, Dmirov, Chekhov, or some other town within a 100 km radius of the city;  a three-to-four-hour-long presentation; and then train ride back. The fall colors were streaming in front of my window from left to right, and then from right to left. My hosts would usually meet me at the station, take me to a café for lunch, and then bring me to the “House of Culture” or a conference hall right before the presentation. They showed their hospitality by trying to put me on the earliest train back to Moscow straight from the event. The assumption was always that there is not much to see in their small town and that I would rather spend the evening in Moscow. Only once was I able to arrive to their place (Dmitrov) early and to enjoy walking the old streets and to do some sightseeing on my own before they plugged me into their program.

So far my audiences in Moscow have been mostly seminarians, clergy, and lay leaders. Thanks to the Moscow Region (oblast) Orthodox Church networking, I was speaking at their deanery conferences almost every day.

I am in St. Petersburg now and my days are mostly devoted to training school teachers as I am catching them on their fall school break. In both cities, the weather has been very unusual for this time of year – sunny and warm! The windows in my classrooms are usually open wide and I’ve just made a notice that instead of the crows and pigeons of Moscow, I see and hear seagulls under the skies of St. Petersburg. Three more days in St. Pete and I off for Murmansk with its Arctic climate and natural habitat. What kind of birds do they have over there?

I am typing this while changing flights at JFK International Airport and still adding more events to my travel calendar. I should have probably stopped accepting invitations a long time ago, but how can I say no to the Lord opening the door for His truth to be proclaimed in yet another school, university, church, or (just half an hour ago!) a prison?! At least, I will not be traveling that much – only three big cities are on my map: Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Murmansk.

That last one is new territory for our ministry and needs some special prayers – not only for its location way above the Arctic Circle but also for being one of Russia’s Navy bases which is rarely visited by a foreigner, especially, in this rather cold political climate between our two countries. I hope, however, to be able to build on the memories of the WWII when Murmansk was the Russian seaport receiving most of the allies’ convoys of food, arms, and ammunition for the front lines.

May the Lord provide me with all of that: physical energy, spiritual weapons, and intellectual ammunition to fight my battle. Please pray for my ear infection to heal quickly, and for my lower back not to give me any trouble on the road. May He sharpen the minds and soften the hearts of those teachers, students, clergy, and lay-leaders who will come to my presentations and lectures to receive and to accept His message of love and the evidence for His truth. Pray also for my family back in MN, TX, and UT while I am away.

…I continued praying as I ran between the terminals and made it to the registration desk in forty-five minutes—only to hear that they cannot allow me on board because the luggage latch has already been closed and my suitcase was too heavy to qualify for a carry-on. My plane was still at the gate and still boarding but apparently I did not look like somebody they would be willing to bend their rules for. One last prayer and… I am re-booked to the flight that leaves twenty-four hours later. There is no agreement between carriers and once you bought a ticket you are stuck with that one company’s flight schedule. Oh, my dear teachers in Sargatka, I am so sorry but I cannot make it to your conference and the Omsk diocese will have to find somebody in Omsk early in the morning to travel 100 kilometers north to cover for me! [Read more…]