Knock and the door will be opened to you (Mt 7:7). I did and it was. I simply walked into the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in the center of Chelyabinsk and asked if anybody there would be interested in having me make a presentation on the historical validity of the Bible. It was a cold call but I received a very warm welcome from Fr. Igor. He just happened to be a Historian by training and accidentally the one in charge of the Catechism and Christian Education in their diocese. He made sure that every Catechism teacher in this city was present at my class and received the FaithSearch Discovery CD in their hands. “And please, please, come again soon. I will use all my power to have you teach at the Urals State University and at the Teachers’ Training Centers both in the city and around the region,” he said.
So encouraged, I walked into the local Pedagogical College and asked the secretary if I can speak to the President. She pointed at the door without interrupting her phone conversation. I took it as a good sign and knocked at the door… Ten minutes later I walked out that door with the invitation to teach our curriculum to their students and faculty of all departments next time I am in town. Something tells me that I might see the Ural Mountains covered with snow… very soon.
I was back in Moscow for just one night and for a couple of networking events and visits. My first St. Petersburg presentation at the Teachers’ Training Center started two hours after arrival. History teachers were wonderful and their reaction was encouraging and inspiring! One said: “What a great material! I can teach it at any grade level! And I will! With your permission I will share it with my colleagues who couldn’t be here today.”
