“This (historic evidence for Christian faith) was exactly what our youth needed to hear and to see today. Frankly, their parents seem to have enjoyed it just as much. Thank you for making this long trip to Izhevsk this summer. We’ll be counting on you for the next year family camp with your “63 Arguments for the Existence of God” – these were the last words I heard earlier today from the camp leader as I was leaving it for the airport. My clothes still smelling of campfire and my memories still full of the remarks and inquiries from the presentation I finished this morning, I am now waiting for my first flight (out of four) on my way back to Minnesota.

Math, Russian style. My Moscow event hosts at Favor (Mount Tabor) Center closed online registration when it reached 150 for the hall which seats 80, and then looked truly disappointed when only 40 or so people showed up. I was not – this is pretty normal for: 1) free registration; and 2) summertime. For the upcoming two sessions, however, administrators want to make registrants to pay a nominal fee of 300 rubles (~$3.50) and, I was told, are already way overbooked. Also, they gave me exactly ninety minutes but then simply added another hour – upon the audience demand. I was happy to oblige, but my poor feet were shaking after the forty-eight-hour trip from Minnesota, including two mostly sleepless nights and crossing eight time zones. That trip was extended by an unexpected five hours of standing in the line at the border crossing from Estonia over the Narva River bridge. Admiring two gorgeous Middle Age castles on both sides of the border partially sweetened the delay and the frustration from missing my train.

My first three days in and around Moscow allowed for some rest after the long flight via Amsterdam and Istanbul, and crossing eight time zones. As occasionally happens with my Russian ministry partners, they “suddenly remembered” that one of my presentations fell on the same date they had already reserved for another event. Mine was automatically canceled, which I only learned upon arrival at Sheremetyevo airport.

My May trips have to fit between the “mayskie prazdniki” (days-off, from May 1 through May 9) when most of the people are working in their gardens or dachas (cabins), and the schools’ finals when my student audience are totally incapable of receiving any new information. This year, I had to also wait for after the Holy Week when my Orthodox church audiences are still too tired from celebrating Pascha. I will be leaving for three weeks of ministry in Russia and Belarus tomorrow afternoon, and will start by teaching a class at Moscow Baptist Theological Seminary, twelve hours after arriving to my Moscow living quarters. I will, however, not be staying there for more than one night at a time as most of my ministry will be happening elsewhere: one week – in Southern Siberia; the next week – in Belarus; and the rest of the trip – between Bryansk and Moscow regions.

I cannot believe it has already been ten days since my last blog entry – so full they were with events and travel!

First, I flew over to the city of Izhevsk where I taught twice almost a decade ago to the local teachers’ community and at a church summer camp. This time the invitation came from one of those campers who wanted the “Gospel with Evidence” to be proclaimed to a wider circle of her family, friends, and to the general public. The Orthodox Diocese did their part by providing an excellent venue for the events – three presentations on Saturday and two more on Sunday. Passing a Museum of Kalashnikov and a huge ammunition plant on our way to that place every morning added a certain thrill to the whole project.