It will be my last trip this school year and I am trying to make as much impact as I can on it. The Russian political situation gets more and more tense and unpredictable – who knows how long this door of opportunity will stay open for us. In fact, some of our ministry friends are already saying that the country changed drastically even in those six weeks passed since my last teaching trip in Russia in February. And not only politically but something is changing in peoples’ morale as they are getting used to live under a dictatorship that annexes neighboring territories at will.  

Please keep me in your prayers as I travel across half of the country to celebrate Pascha with our ministry friends in Krasnoyarsk and hopefully make this year celebration even more meaningful for many of them by presenting the Gospel with Evidence to teachers, students, clergy, and lay leaders there. Please also remember my family in your prayers: Oksana and Yulia in MN, Vanya in ND and Anya en route from MT to AK.

It will be my last trip this school year and I am trying to make as much impact as I can on it. The Russian political situation gets more and more tense and unpredictable – who knows how long this door of opportunity will stay open for us. In fact, some of our ministry friends are already saying that the country changed drastically even in those six weeks passed since my last teaching trip in Russia in February. And not only politically but something is changing in peoples’ morale as they are getting used to live under a dictatorship that annexes neighboring territories at will.  

Please keep me in your prayers as I travel across half of the country to celebrate Pascha with our ministry friends in Krasnoyarsk and hopefully make this year celebration even more meaningful for many of them by presenting the Gospel with Evidence to teachers, students, clergy, and lay leaders there. Please also remember my family in your prayers: Oksana and Yulia in MN, Vanya in ND and Anya en route from MT to AK.

The second part of the trip, in Russia, was a little more comfortable but just as intensive as the first ten days in Ukraine. I got used to rest and sleep on the train but not on a minivan that is shaking and jumping for six hours on icy and bumpy highways.

Most of my presentations in Moscow on this trip happened to be in the Orthodox Churches and at Catechism Classes and were received by these communities with great interest and appreciation. “I have to be honest with you – we have been given today much, much more than we expected. This is something we will all remember and will be using in our classes and Sunday schools” – said Fr. Aleksander. From some experience, I can tell how hard it is to surprise a Moscovite but his feedback showed that our material can do if that.

In Kirov, a large provincial city an overnight train away from Moscow, on the other hand, they do not see many visiting speakers and they wanted to take a full advantage of my two days there. Right off the train terminal, I was taken to the Central City Library, and then – to the Orthodox Seminary, and then – to the Youth Discussion Club! They brought me back to my hotel room half past midnight and woke me up at 7:30 am on the next morning – it was already time to go to the city-wide History Teachers’ Conference! There, at least, I didn’t have to worry about time as they gave me a full day to present the historic, archeological and paleographical evidence for validity of the Gospel in every detail. This was an opportunity I was looking for for some time – to try some of my most recently added teaching material on the audience of professionals and skeptics. And many in my audience were initially very skeptical and even suspicious of what this half-Russian, half-American, half-teacher and half preacher is going to present. Praise the Lord for giving the right words and right answers to their questions and inquires! Many of them expressed their gratitude and how challenged they were in their beliefs by the facts and the evidence they saw for the first time in their life.

I am now back in Minnesota, recovered from a bad cold I picked up on my last day in Moscow and already preparing for my next teaching trip in April.

The second part of the trip, in Russia, was a little more comfortable but just as intensive as the first ten days in Ukraine. I got used to rest and sleep on the train but not on a minivan that is shaking and jumping for six hours on icy and bumpy highways.

Most of my presentations in Moscow on this trip happened to be in the Orthodox Churches and at Catechism Classes and were received by these communities with great interest and appreciation. “I have to be honest with you – we have been given today much, much more than we expected. This is something we will all remember and will be using in our classes and Sunday schools” – said Fr. Aleksander. From some experience, I can tell how hard it is to surprise a Moscovite but his feedback showed that our material can do if that.

In Kirov, a large provincial city an overnight train away from Moscow, on the other hand, they do not see many visiting speakers and they wanted to take a full advantage of my two days there. Right off the train terminal, I was taken to the Central City Library, and then – to the Orthodox Seminary, and then – to the Youth Discussion Club! They brought me back to my hotel room half past midnight and woke me up at 7:30 am on the next morning – it was already time to go to the city-wide History Teachers’ Conference! There, at least, I didn’t have to worry about time as they gave me a full day to present the historic, archeological and paleographical evidence for validity of the Gospel in every detail. This was an opportunity I was looking for for some time – to try some of my most recently added teaching material on the audience of professionals and skeptics. And many in my audience were initially very skeptical and even suspicious of what this half-Russian, half-American, half-teacher and half preacher is going to present. Praise the Lord for giving the right words and right answers to their questions and inquires! Many of them expressed their gratitude and how challenged they were in their beliefs by the facts and the evidence they saw for the first time in their life.

I am now back in Minnesota, recovered from a bad cold I picked up on my last day in Moscow and already preparing for my next teaching trip in April.

En route from Kiev to Moscow after ten days of teaching and preaching in Ukraine. Here are but a few highlights of that part of my journey:

– Young men and women at the Orthodox Church Youth Conference in Kiev on day one listened intensely to the FaithSearch Discovery presentation in the darkness of the church with icons and frescoes looking down from the walls as silent witnesses of God’s presence in human history and spirituality. My own heart was trembling from realization of the fact that I was teaching the Gospel in the same city where it was first proclaimed to Russians more than a millennium ago!

– Day two brought to my event in Sobornaya Gallery on Kiev Orthodox Cathedral campus slightly different crowd – intelligentsia, teachers, lay leaders and clergy. Most of my material was already familiar to them but the inner logic and clarity of presentation was so much valued and appreciated that I was immediately invited to their own churches, schools, Bible study groups, etc. on my future visits to Ukraine. I had to switch to the training mode and to encourage them to take the matter in their own hands. I reminded them that I was giving out FSDiscovery presentation CDs not just as a nice souvenir but as tool for their own evangelism and missions work.

– On the next two days I taught and preached to the Baptist Church audiences that especially valued cultural and artistic aspect of the presentation. Most of their own evangelism materials are translations from the Western sources and that distinct foreign “flavor” is usually strongly present in their way of proclaiming the Gospel. Ours is definitely and distinctly Russian, Ukrainian, local, rooted in and referenced to the sources, that look and feel very familiar and, thus, trustworthy.

– Teaching in Poltava Orthodox Seminary (with Missions emphasis) has always been a special treat! Their Academic Dean Fr. Veniamin makes sure that his graduates are equipped with the best missionary tools and invites me once in three years to train them in how to use our material in their future labor in the fields of the Lord.

– My first time in the city of Dnepropetrovsk was, naturally, the time of meeting new people and connecting with new ministries. It was marked by two wonderful presentations, both organized with a blessing of local Orthodox Church Bishop who has a heart for missions and open-minded towards new forms and formats of evangelism. The city was hit by a terrible snow storm one day before and public transportation was still very limited on my first night there. I had to begin the event with only a few people present but the room was completely full with extra chairs brought in by the time we passed Discovery #2. City-wide History Teachers’ Conference on the next day allowed me to also connect with a local chapter of Christian Teachers’ Association members who will be now using our materials in their trainings and conferences all over Ukraine.

– Two more trainings in the city of Cherkassy in the last two days (one in the church and one at the city teachers’ conference) made a nice finale to my Ukrainian part of the trip.

Yes, I missed Sochi Olympics opening ceremony and have not seen any of the competitions yet but playing hockey with my host family’s kids in Cherkassy was just as much exciting and fun.

Thanks to your prayers, I have never felt myself in any danger or under any threat from the political unrest that is still very much present in the country. Taking people’s minds off that bitter subject actually seemed to have helped many of them – emotionally and spiritually. “Thank you for coming and for reminding us of the reality of the Lord’s presence in our lives!” – was a leading motif of many responses.