Three countries in one week, connecting the Black Sea with Baltic Sea! I finished my Ukrainian journey by training a of group Odessa Preobrazhenskiy Cathedral catechism teachers and missionaries to use the FaithSearch Discovery curriculum in their work in local schools, churches and communities. They absolutely loved it! Due to the conflict 
(actually, a war) between Russia and Ukraine, all direct flights between the two countries are cancelled. I had to make a stop in Minsk, Belarus, on my way up north. It was only supposed to be for a change of planes, but a local youth ministry seized the opportunity and arranged an event for me in their city Cathedral between my flights. I have not seen such a hunger for the truth of God for a long time as they have in Belarus, sometimes called “the last dictatorship in Eastern Europe.” I am so glad the Lord made that presentation possible! [Read more…]
2017 November-December: Ukraine
Week One had me presenting all over Ukraine: in Kiev, Kremenchug, Gorshni Plavni, Poltava, Dnepropetrovsk, and Odessa. I started with a two-day FaithSearch Discovery teaching in Poltava Orthodox Seminary with Missions Emphasis – the only Orthodox school in the country to train missionaries. These young men and women will be using our material in their ministry for many, many years. I did my best to provide them with the most-recent and most-convincing evidence from History, Archeology, and Paleography. [Read more…]
2017 November-December: Ukraine, Belarus, Russia
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.
2017 September-October Teaching Trip: Rostov Velikiy, Kashira, Kamchatka
I am back in MN… one day early than expected. It did not occur to me until I landed in Chicago that I would actually gain a whole extra day of my life if I keep going east from the Far East of Russia all the way back home. Well, I needed that day to recover from a very busy travelling and teaching schedule of the last three weeks.
Two classes in the city of Bryansk – one in the Orthodox Diocese Center and one in a Baptist church – presented an opportunity to try my new material on friendly 
audiences. Most recent archeological findings (first publication in August of 2017) of the rare chalkstone vessel workshop discovered in Israel’s north provided a tantalizing link to the New Testament story of the Wedding at Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle – transforming water held in six stone containers into wine. I loved to see the faces in my audience enthusiastically responding to this new evidence of historicity of the Gospel. [Read more…]
2017 September-October Teaching Trip: Moscow, Omsk, Bryansk
My first presentation at Omsk State University 
started a mere five hours after I landed in this Siberian city eleven time zones away from Minnesota. Changing four planes (SVO-ORD-HEL-SVO-OMS) and five airports made my feet shake, my head spin, and my heart beat faster from excitement. Their Theology Department was opened right after the “perestroika” (openness) era thanks to devotion and enthusiasm of its founders—Orthodox clergy, lay professors, and students. My training in presenting the Gospel with Evidence to their second and third year students gave them a chance to take a fresh look at Christian Theology, from historic perspective and from its practical, evangelistic point of view. [Read more…]
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