A major cancellation of the whole city-segment of my trip arrived on a very short notice. I was not going to Nizhniy Novgorod because three things happened on the same week: the local university dean passed away; the provost of the seminary resigned; and my host/facilitator got stuck 2,000 miles away on a family vacation with a broken car. Once again, I was reminded that in Russia your arrangements and schedules only hold as long as the people you set them up with.

Three extra days in St. Petersburg were not too difficult to fill thanks to the local ministry partners and, because most of the schools were open for in-person classes. An International Academy with students from fifteen different countries allowed me to teach a lesson on the Validity of the Bible in their IT department’s graphic design class. After a great discussion on the subject matter we had in class, each of them will also have to develop their own design of the PowerPoint® presentation of the topic. I am looking forward to applying some of their ideas in my future events!

As always, the last days of the trip were most intense in teaching and travel. I had to literally run from one to another of my teachers’ conferences in different ends of Samara and in St. Petersburg. I was truly blessed by their interest in and in their response to the material, which keeps arriving to me in their E-mails and their facilitators’ feedback. Nearly one third of my next trip to Russia is already filled with follow-up events in and around the cities I taught in this time.

Almost ten days in one city! Not just any city – in Saint-Petersburg! It does not happen very often on my trips that I am able to book myself for such a long time in the same area. I was truly blessed with the most beautiful weather – not a drop of rain! The Dostoevsky-style of gloomy, wet, and windy Saint-Petersburg-in-the-fall weather has not arrived yet and I have been enjoying my long walks to my event locations instead of hiding away on the subway or in cabs.

Can one travel in Russia for three weeks without ever crossing a single time zone line? While planning my next teaching trip I attempted to do exactly that: by traveling along the meridians from North to South and back. I actually tried to concentrate on the two most populated areas – around Moscow and St. Petersburg – with only one quick trip down the Volga River to Nizhniy Novgorod and Samara. Yes, technically I will peak into the next time zone for a couple of days before flying back to Severnaya Stolitsa a.k.a. St. Petersburg.

“We will all remember this year’s summer camp! Not just for the fun and fellowship but, most importantly, for the two days of ‘discoveries’ that impacted everybody here so much. Evidence based faith in God is so cool!” This was shared with me the small group leader in the Evangelical Christian Camp near Novokuznetsk.

Frankly, I was a little concerned that the historic and manuscript evidence material would be difficult for the younger part of the 150-strong youth audience gathered under the white-and-blue striped tent. The audience ranged in age from 11 to 20 years. I had to constantly scan and monitor their attention level to make sure they are neither bored nor overwhelmed. It seemed to have worked perfectly well and the Q&A session demonstrated that both ends of the spectrum stayed interested and engaged.

As is usually the case for my summer trips, on this one I will cover a lot of ground across the vast territory of Russia. Due to the most severe sanitary restrictions in Moscow now, I will only be changing planes and trains there. As the schools and universities are out for summer break, I will devote my time to the audiences and venues often neglected during the busy academic year: churches, family camps, libraries, and museums; also prisons and military bases, etc. Those events are extremely hard to put into a nice sequence with a reasonable travel distance between them, and my route map reflects that. On some of the days I will be presenting at two or three different settings. Some other days will all be spent in the air, or on trains and buses. Most of my events on this trip will not be trainings of teachers and church leaders but outreach events to audiences from very different backgrounds and walks of life. I cannot thank my ministry partners in Siberia and in Central Russia enough for allowing me to present at their camps, conferences, and mission events.