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.

Some may say: bad timing – look what is going on in Ukraine! To this I will repeat the words of an Evangelical pastor in North Osetia six years ago when the war broke there on the next day after my arrival and I expressed my concerns about, yes, timing: “We need to hear this affirmation of our faith today. We need to be reminded that our faith stands not on our emotions and traditions, but on the unshakable facts of the Bible. These high emotions will come and will go. These tough times will also pass. The historical, factual foundation of our faith is what will keep it strong.”

I believe in God’s perfect timing. As always, my own part is rather simple – to show up. He will bring the audiences and He will give me the words for them – in Kiev, in Komsomolsk, in Dnepropetrovsk, in Cherkassy, in Moscow and in Kirov.

Please pray for His perfect will to be done in Ukraine as it is in Heaven. Please also remember me as I travel and for my family back home while I am away. One specific prayer request: for the Russian bureaucracy to eventually release my PhD Diploma without taking too much of my time and energy in Moscow.

Some may say: bad timing – look what is going on in Ukraine! To this I will repeat the words of an Evangelical pastor in North Osetia six years ago when the war broke there on the next day after my arrival and I expressed my concerns about, yes, timing: “We need to hear this affirmation of our faith today. We need to be reminded that our faith stands not on our emotions and traditions, but on the unshakable facts of the Bible. These high emotions will come and will go. These tough times will also pass. The historical, factual foundation of our faith is what will keep it strong.”

I believe in God’s perfect timing. As always, my own part is rather simple – to show up. He will bring the audiences and He will give me the words for them – in Kiev, in Komsomolsk, in Dnepropetrovsk, in Cherkassy, in Moscow and in Kirov.

Please pray for His perfect will to be done in Ukraine as it is in Heaven. Please also remember me as I travel and for my family back home while I am away. One specific prayer request: for the Russian bureaucracy to eventually release my PhD Diploma without taking too much of my time and energy in Moscow.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I am back in MN with my family, safe and sound, thanks to your prayers.

My hopes for squeezing at least half-a-day of downhill skiing in Northern Caucuses never materialized. All three days in Pyatigorsk were packed with events and presentations at teachers’ conferences and a local Bible college. Besides, the Caucasians are known for their hospitality and their excellent cuisine: pastor Ruslan made sure I was always safe, well rested and well fed. Glad they only weighed my luggage and not me at the airport–otherwise the difference between the flight there and the flight back would have been too embarrassing. Speaking of safety, they pray for it at every occasion–before and after meals, before and during church services, before and after every trip, etc. I only realized the true meaning of that “routine” when I read in the newspapers about a terrorist car bomb that went off only two blocks away from the church I taught in. It happened on the highway I rode on a dozen times while being in Pyatigorsk two weeks before that sad date.

It is hard to believe that it occurred in the same town where I met with the school teachers and church lay leaders who were so joyous, so excited to hear that the Good News of Christ is true and the New Testament is actually a reliable record of history. The word of a young man from one of those conferences still rings in my ears:

I have been looking for this kind of material all my life! Instinctively, I always knew that something like that has to exist, that somebody has to have developed such a curriculum and today I found it! This is truly a very special day in my life. What a gift for upcoming Christmas and New Year! I am so, so happy!

To be sure, not always are the feelings expressed so openly and straightforwardly. The further East you go in Russia the more reserved people are and life is slower paced in general. Speaking at teachers’ conferences in Perm and in Osa didn’t bring up any emotional “Caucasian style” outbursts. Audiences there are usually quiet, calm, serious, and very business like. Smiling and, God forbid, joking are completely

inappropriate and impossible. Their comments and responses are usually brief and to the point. Which makes their subtle expressions and signs of gratitude and appreciation ever more precious. For example, in Perm the audience didn’t want to go home until almost 11 pm–two hours after the official closing time of the conference! To be exact, there were only four or five of us left at that time as other people were one by one and very reluctantly dropping from the conversation and leaving the room so that they can catch the bus or the train home. After a late improvised supper they insisted that I cancel my hotel booking and stay in their dorm (in fact, a medical unit) so that we could continue our discussion just a little longer. I noticed that one of them was also very intensively texting all evening. By the time we were at last saying our good-byes he proudly announced–expecting no objections on my part–that he just set up another teachers’ conference for me for the very next morning. Sure enough, at 10 am on Saturday morning the room was full to the capacity even though most of the city streets were still only half cleared from all-night snow storm.

Travelling by air (paid for by the Russian parties) allowed me to cover lots of ground this time, but also made the trip somewhat hectic and a bit unpredictable: two of the flights were canceled and almost all of them were badly delayed. On my next trip in January (Ukraine and Central Russia) I will try to stay closer to the ground.

It was snowing in Moscow. White was immediately turning wet as it touched the ground.

There was no snow in Saratov. It was the chilling wind from the Volga that reminded me of it was winter.

There was plenty of snow in Kostroma, both on the ground and in the air.

Winter is also in full swing in Chelyabinsk and Kurgan.

So far, all my presentations to students, teachers, and general audiences in all these cities took place on schedule, except for one event in Saratov when my flight was cancelled and the airplane returned to the airport from the runway. Praise God they found that something was wrong with it before we took off the ground! Luckily, my audience that day was able to come to my other three events in that city.

I definitely prefer traveling by train in Russia and last night in the train to Kurgan was actually one of the chances for me to catch upon  some rest and sleep. Of course, I am always energized and empowered by the responses of my audiences even if it is just one or two people who have a chance to express their thoughts and feelings after the event. It was indeed one person who came down the aisle last night at Chelyabinsk Word of Life Church to pray her first prayer to accept Christ as her Savior and Lord when their pastor made the altar call. It was just one person today at Kurgan Teachers’ Conference who wanted to tell me after everybody left the auditorium that this was the most important day in her life: “I was not supposed to attend this conference which is for the Intro to the Christian Culture teachers only (which I am not). I didn’t want to but my school principal made me. Now I know why I am here. I was asking myself these very questions that you discussed today for the last several days. I was asking God to reveal Himself to me, to show me that He is real and true. And today He did.”

Two other teachers almost forcefully took me across town to meet their supervisor and to insure that they will be allowed to use the training and the material they received today in their classroom: “Please talk to our boss and let her know that that this is indeed a reliable and trustworthy historic data, and that it was reviewed and approved by Moscow.” I certainly obliged.

Four cities down–Saratov, Kostroma, Chelyabinsk, and Kurgan. Two more to go–Pyatigorsk and Perm. Please continue your prayers for my travel and for my family back home.