Knock and the door will be opened to you (Mt 7:7). I did and it was. I simply walked into the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in the center of Chelyabinsk and asked if anybody there would be interested in having me make a presentation on the historical validity of the Bible. It was a cold call but I received a very warm welcome from Fr. Igor. He just happened to be a Historian by training and accidentally the one in charge of the Catechism and Christian Education in their diocese. He made sure that every Catechism teacher in this city was present at my class and received the FaithSearch Discovery CD in their hands. “And please, please, come again soon. I will use all my power to have you teach at the Urals State University and at the Teachers’ Training Centers both in the city and around the region,” he said.
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Knock and the door will be opened to you (Mt 7:7). I did and it was. I simply walked into the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in the center of Chelyabinsk and asked if anybody there would be interested in having me make a presentation on the historical validity of the Bible. It was a cold call but I received a very warm welcome from Fr. Igor. He just happened to be a Historian by training and accidentally the one in charge of the Catechism and Christian Education in their diocese. He made sure that every Catechism teacher in this city was present at my class and received the FaithSearch Discovery CD in their hands. “And please, please, come again soon. I will use all my power to have you teach at the Urals State University and at the Teachers’ Training Centers both in the city and around the region,” he said.
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Bashkortostan literally means “head-land” and is populated by a Turkic people group known to be not very tall. I should have remembered it as I hurried following pastor Renat (5’3”) down the dimmed hallway in his apartment building. Bang!!! I hope I am a true Bashkort now – at least the top of my head is wearing a visible sign of visiting this otherwise very hospitable and beautiful land.  [Read more…]

After a short delay due to my sutcases’ sudden decision to spend an extra night in Paris (who will blame them?) I am now in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Two presentations in the local Evangelical Churches was as a very good start for the trip. “We are so grateful for your training! What a tool for our Christian leaders to reach out to the next generation of youth!” — said one of the facilitators.

It is a cultural thing: When an American sets up a date and does not cancel it, it will happen. When a Russian sets up a time and does not confirm it, it is cancelled. Guess what I have been doing for these last days before my next trip? That’s right: sending out confirmation messages for each event of my upcoming, very busy teaching schedule in Russia.

First I am flying two time zones east of Moscow to the city of Ufa, the capital of a mostly Muslim enclave within Russia called Bashkortostan. There I will present the FaithSearch Discovery curriculum in the state universities and in local churches. I will then be moving around the Ural Mountains region for five more days, teaching in Sibay, Magnitogorsk and Chelyabinsk, before flying back to Moscow and then on to St. Petersburg for the second half of the trip. I am presenting every single day, and even twice a day on a couple of occasions.

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