Three days in Moscow passed like one. Seeing and teaching to the same group of Kolomna Theological Seminary students whom I first met last October was very special. With my traveling schedule covering vast distances of Russia, I rarely see the same audience twice. This time my students met me as a good old friend and were not shy about asking personal and challenging questions. They wanted to see not only the historic and archeological evidence of the validity of the Bible, but also how it effected my own personal faith journey.

Crossing half of the world West to East was not nearly as challenging as travelling across most of Russia from North to South. Surprisingly, following strict international travel regulations was not very difficult: they were clear and actually doable. It almost seemed like the Russian quarantine and sanitary policies, on the other hand, were designed to be confusing and, consequently, broken left and right. For example, the voice from the loudspeakers at every subway station in Moscow was continuously repeating that no one can travel without a mask and gloves, while a stream of passengers was passing the officers at the door with masks below their chin and not even the officers themselves wearing gloves. Trying my best to blend in and yet taking reasonable sanitary precautions has not been an easy task, especially when the local ratio of following/ignoring federal regulations vary so widely depending on the longitude and, especially, the distance from Moscow.

Not having COVID symptoms consistently for a week after the quarantine and receiving a “clear to travel” letter from my doctor is more than I can wish for as a sign of the Lord’s blessings on my next teaching trip to Russia.

Back in Minnesota, alive and well! Actually, my test results for the virus are due tomorrow but I feel fine and have no symptoms. Praise the Lord!

My ten-days-long stay in Moscow is almost over and I am taking a bullet-train back to St. Petersburg tomorrow night. Only three out of my seven events here were held in front of live audiences. The live events were also broadcast live to those who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) come for the risk of the pandemic. Most were wearing masks and even gloves, trying to keep a safe, sanitary distance between themselves.