Crossing the “continental divide” four times in one day is my all-times record! I left Europe in the morning and took a picture of the border to Asia at around noon time… only to cross another one twenty minutes later. The first one turned out to date back to the year 1838, whereas the second was recent and more geographically accurate. Locals only accept the old marker and my driver categorically rejected the idea of stopping at the second one for pictures. Later that evening we passed them again in reverse order on our way back to Yekaterinburg.

Quick stats:

• 16 hours (three flights) in the air
• 11 time zones away from home
• 4 countries on 3 continents
• 6 presentations on the first 2 days
• 68 heartbeats/min

I just realized that I traveled from the northwestern border of Russia to its southeastern edge—in less than a week! Vyborg lies only about twenty miles from the Finnish border, while Vladivostok sits across the sea from Japan.

This time, I was welcomed by the Catholic Church community in Vladivostok for the Russia’s Far East Regional Continuing Catechism Formation Conference, and also spoke to a group of international students from the Far Eastern Federal University. It truly felt as though I had circled half the globe, with participants in my audience representing nearly every continent, culture, race, language, and background.

The road to St. Petersburg took much longer than expected. Each of the connecting legs—two flights and a bus—was delayed anywhere from one to four hours. Thankfully, I was able to return my train ticket and catch a last-minute flight. In God’s perfect timing, I began my first presentation at a youth conference at St. Peter Orthodox Church merely two hours after completing a two-day journey from Minnesota. From then on, each day brought a new group of students in a different setting: the State Pedagogical University, St. Petersburg Bible College, public schools, and more. Each audience presented unique challenges for sharing the Gospel with evidence (also known as “FaithSearch Discovery”), requiring adjustments for age group, educational background, and academic context. I am never bored by teaching the same material, because every group—and every individual—is unique, special, and worthy of my full respect and attention to their personality, interests, and expectations.

Happy New (School) Year! What a joy it is to meet with a fresh classroom of students and to share faith in Christ with their inquisitive minds and hearts!

On this trip, I will be doing that in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vladivostok, and Rybinsk, covering eight of the eleven time-zones of Russia and all three historical Church traditions – Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant. Nearly half of my audiences will, however, be non-religious – university students, schoolteachers, and general public. My local ministry partners did a very good job of setting up my events on each day of my three-weeks-long travel – up to three presentations per day! While on the road, I will also continue teaching my regular online apologetics class at Belgorod Seminary (not having to get up at 5 am due to the eight-time-zone difference from Minnesota!) – to my first- and second-year groups of MDiv students.