Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! To all who prayed for this trip and who sacrificially contributed to it – “spa-si-bo!” Without you it would not have been possible. Every little bit helped and every prayer was answered. Special thanks to those who also prayed for my health and quick recovery from a day-surgery I had to undergo only a week before the takeoff.

My doctor this morning at the post-op visit was very satisfied with the recovery progress. I just need to be extra careful not to lift anything over ten pounds, and to give myself extra time and extra rest during this whole journey. Somebody also suggested that I always have small bills handy for tips, and not to hesitate to ask for assistance with my luggage. This will be a slow-paced journey and I am mentally preparing myself for some humbling experiences on the road. (I need them from time to time.)

Having said that, I will have to cover quite a lot of ground: thirteen cities and towns in three countries, starting and ending in Kiev, Ukraine. I will be presenting the Historic Foundations of Christian Faith (FaithSearch Discovery) in seminaries, Bible colleges, churches, and also in state universities and teachers’ training centers. Some of them have been our ministry partners for a number of years and some will be opening their doors for us for the first time. As always, the audiences will also vary a lot – from regular church-goers to staunch skeptics, and from fourth graders to philosophy professors.

I am looking forward to meeting them all and ask for your continued prayers for their hearts and minds to be prepared by the Holy Spirit to receive the seeds of God’s Word.

This upcoming teaching trip will be very different from any other I have done before. First of all, it will be to a different country than the one I left in April of this year. Politically our two countries are now moving in exactly the opposite directions from where they seemed to be going only six months ago. There was so much hope and almost an expectation that the sanctions soon would be lifted, and that we would become good trade partners again. I am prepared to face some difficult questions from my audiences.

Secondly, I will not be traveling all alone. For the first week, a ministry partner from Grace Church will come along to teach in churches and (hopefully) in schools in Omsk and Bryansk. She will then take a train for Karelia while I will dive into a four-day in-depth course on Biblical History and Archeology at the World Of Life Church school in Moscow.

Thirdly, for my last week I will travel to the farthest point on the Russian map I have ever been before – to Kamchatka. I hope that teaching in their schools, churches… and prisons will leave me with some time to enjoy the natural wonders of this absolutely unique place on the planet.

I will then keep going East and will arrive to the USA from the other end – taking the Gospel With Evidence message all around the globe. Literally.

Thank you to all of you who contributed to this trip – in prayer and financially!