It is a cultural thing: When an American sets up a date and does not cancel it, it will happen. When a Russian sets up a time and does not confirm it, it is cancelled. Guess what I have been doing for these last days before my next trip? That’s right: sending out confirmation messages for each event of my upcoming, very busy teaching schedule in Russia.

First I am flying two time zones east of Moscow to the city of Ufa, the capital of a mostly Muslim enclave within Russia called Bashkortostan. There I will present the FaithSearch Discovery curriculum in the state universities and in local churches. I will then be moving around the Ural Mountains region for five more days, teaching in Sibay, Magnitogorsk and Chelyabinsk, before flying back to Moscow and then on to St. Petersburg for the second half of the trip. I am presenting every single day, and even twice a day on a couple of occasions.

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Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

I have seen it for myself happening in the hearts of hundreds of Russians who filled the church for the overnight service in St. Petersburg. It began at 10 pm on Saturday night and ended at 3.30 am on Sunday morning with a candlelight procession around the church at midnight. Then a group of close friends and families walked (no public transportation at this hour) to a place where the Great Lent was broken by a real feast that lasted until… I am not sure when it ended because I started to feel a little tired and left as soon as the subway system opened at around 6.30 am. These people really know how to celebrate!

Sure enough, the celebration continued in a less formal way by inviting non-believers to the outdoor event in the park this same afternoon. Great time of sharing the real meaning of Easter with people who only think they are Orthodox Christians because they were born in Russia (sounds familiar?).

Please continue to pray for my last two days of ministry here. One more early morning radio presentation was just added to my already packed schedule for tomorrow. It’s going to be a long day.

My three days in Bryansk were both the time of sadness and the time of joy.

Sadness – as the family members were saying the last good-bye to my father-in-law and prayed that the Lord will have mercy on his soul.

Joy – seeing how the truth of Christ shines back to me in the eyes of History Teachers, Public School Principles, Highschoolers and their parents! By the way, I couldn’t help noticing how much more excited, focused and grateful were my audiences in Bryansk than those in Moscow. They were also much more inclined to take it very personally which even showed in their questions, like: “My fiancée is not a believer. Will it be OK if I share this material with him?” Frankly, I missed it yesterday while teaching the same class to the Theology majors at the Moscow Baptist Seminary. Hope my State Pedagogical University students tomorrow will bring some of that joy back to me.

I will greatly appreciate your prayers for travel mercies as I am departing for St. Petersburg tomorrow night to celebrate Easter with our ministry friends and parters before the last two days of teaching events over there. What a privilege to present the historic evidence for the Resurrection event during this very special season!

Greetings from Moscow, the most beautiful city in the world!

Oh, maybe not necessarily in early April when the snow is still seen here and there, when the people are confused about what clothes to put on in the morning and the only bright color on the street are the freshly and brightly painted fences all over the city. Even the Kremlin wall looks like it has just been painted over.

My first two presentations here were also very much “colored” – by the upcoming Easter! What are we about to celebrate: a beautiful dream? an ancient myth? or maybe a nice folklore tradition? I had a chance to present the evidence for the historic event of the life of Jesus to the students and teachers at the St. John the Theologian Gymnasia (High School) and to the open audience at the Pokrovskie Vorota Center (Catholic resource center). Both audiences emphasized the need for this material especially now when Easter spirit is in the air.

I am leaving for Bryansk tonight. It is a day earlier than planned but is necessary for me to help with my father-in-law’s funeral. Please continue praying for my family back in MN.

Let me share just a couple of stories from the last few days in Latvia.

First, please see the Certificate of Recognition they gave me at the end of the Teachers’ Conference on Sunday. I accepted it on your behalf, my dear supporters, prayer warriors and, of course, the FaithSearch team. However, the real recognition came in a day later when I talked to Dzintars and his wife Ina who translated the FaithSearch Discovery presentation into Latvian. Dzintars called to tell me that the Surprised by Faith book translation is also finished and he is talking to a local Christian book publisher about printing it even this year. He also shared what happened yesterday at the school where Ina is a teacher.

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