What seemed to be just a little sore throat back in Colorado, quickly developed into a full blown cold in Minnesota further aggravated by hours of sitting in a “flying incubator” on my way to Moscow. With ears plugged, eyes tearing, cough thundering and a killing headache from almost completely sleepless flight (I usually sleep all the way from boarding in MSP and passport control at SVO) I had to quickly recover and get my strength back before my first presentation at the outreach event set up by the Sts. Kosma and Damian Orthodox Church on 
the next night. I cannot thank enough all of your who were praying for me at that time for an absolutely miraculous healing that took place during that first day in Moscow. I was able to lead a group of tough sceptics through logical steps towards trust in the Bible and faith in Christ that evening. One of them left me with a note on a piece of paper: “I was especially impressed by the fact that you took the most difficult route: not simply appealing to my emotions or my cultural background but addressing the very foundation of my belief system as a scholar and as a researcher. Thank you for freeing me from many prejudices and misconceptions about the Christian faith I somehow took for facts without proper examination and testing.”
My talk at the Christian Teachers’ Conference on the next day was, of course, a much easier task. I did not have to overcome those barriers of superstition and presuppositions against faith that I faced a night before. My goal was to train them in integrating the FaithSearch Discovery material in their classroom experience and to provide this powerful tool of evangelism for their ministry. “As teachers, we all know how much time and labor, research and talent had to have been put into this material to make it so effective and beautiful.” – said one of the Conference participants. I am happy to pass this compliment to the whole FaithSearch International crew, volunteers and supporters who have made it possible.
A five-hour flight to Krasnoyarsk and then an hour drive deep into Siberian taiga changed the scenery quite dramatically. For three days I was presenting at a Christian Camp to about forty families and young men and women of very different faith experiences and backgrounds – from 
life-long committed Christians to seeker and very new believers. My events would usually begin after little kids went to bed and continue way over midnight with millions of stars shining and billions of mosquitos buzzing over our heads. There was also plenty of 
time around the campfire and on the river during the day to ask questions, to discuss difficult issues and to share faith 
stories.
As it is usually the case in Russia, “life” makes corrections to my teaching schedule. The city of Kansk fell 
through and was replaced by two extra days in Krasnoyarsk speaking on local and regional radio (twice) and TV as well as giving half a dozen interviews to local newspapers and news agencies. It is not every day that they had a school textbook 
author (“Intro to Christian Culture”) from Moscow visiting their city! Giving a good word for local churches and Christian ministries to the general public and media was the least I could do to show my gratitude for their hospitality.
