Gospel Expedition

We had a little more time for our morning devotions than usual, so we were able to read several Psalms and meditate on the meaning of spirituality. Can spirituality be measured by regular Bible reading, prayer time, or by something else? Praise God, we have a source of wisdom in God’s Word. Bible reading, prayer or even righteous thoughts and deeds are not what makes up the spirituality of a person, but are the result of his spirituality. Spirituality itself is the inner state of a person, when there is permanent, regular contact with God, and each moment of life a person lives and walks before God, like Enoch. We had a wonderful breakfast after prayer, after which we cordially thanked the Lord and local Christian sisters who welcomed us hospitably and cared for us.

The first part of our route from Leipzig to Wittenberg was only 70 km long. However, part of the road was under repair and the posted detour directed us to the Autobahn where where bicycling was forbidden. We looked for alternate routes for about an hour and did not find any. Reaching another dead-end, brother William (our navigator) came up to an elderly man who was working in his yard. He asked us to give him time to change his clothes and then he would show us the right way. Praise God for kind people who live on earth.

We came to Wittenberg an hour later. We came to the church, that very famous church, on the doors of which Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 theses. This is a well-known historical place in Germany and we saw many tourists in the square. The theses of Martin Luther were written on the door of the church. Tourists were coming in and out of the church to see the inner beauty of the structure. Our singing group began to sing quietly. Wonderful acoustics, like modern music equipment, made our voices sound loud enough.

Tourists began to come in to hear the singing. Workers of the church also came in and asked us who we were. Then they also sat down on benches together with the tourists to listen to the singing. We began to sing louder, accompanied by our musical instruments, and many people began to come into the church. We sang for about an hour in the church and the hall filled with tourists. Brother William talked to the people. Expatriate Russians came up to us and we talked to them. But we could not remain there for a long time as more than 135 km remained on the day’s journey. The Larionovs brought food and we had lunch right in the street near the church and then continued on our way.

Along the way, we could see the remains of the Communist past in East Germany, with its Soviet attributes — pits and potholes on the roads. As we passed the former military bases of the Soviet Army, we saw complete devastation. Perhaps it will take us ages to reach Berlin along such roads. We eventually arrived at Berlin late at night. We were accommodated in a huge Lutheran church where no worship services are held as no people attend. The church is now rented by the German Baptist Union for youth work. We had a little snack and then fell on the floor to sleep. Tomorrow is a new day and new services are awaiting us.

Leonid Kartavenko