Gospel Expedition

We left Warsaw early Friday morning and God blessed us with good progress. It was still daylight when the Expedition entered the border city of Brest, Belarus. Local Christians invited the members of the Expedition to their homes for the night. Our minibus went straight to Moscow to get equipment, additional bikes, and books.

On Saturday, the cyclists rested and went on an excursion to the Brest kremlin, or fortress. The minibus returned at night bringing equipment and new team members for the Expedition.

Now we will have another music group with us on the next leg of the journey from Brest to Bryansk. The group is called “Living Water.” For those who regularly pray for our various expeditions, there is no need to introduce this group as they participate in almost all of them in Russia, as well as in Belarus. Most recently, they took part in our car rally, “Belarus for Christ.”

Reaching the Deaf for Christ

A new brother joined the expedition in Brest – Viktor Kabachevsky. He took part in last year’s bicycle trip from Bryansk to Omsk. This time he will be with the Expedition all the way to Vladivostok. He had planned to be with us in Germany but did not receive a visa, so he missed the first two weeks.

Viktor graduated from Moscow Seminary this year and is ready to continue his unique ministry. The church he attends is designed for deaf people and those who are hearing-impaired. Victor can hear with the help of a special unit, but he can live without it as he is able to read lips very well. During the last Expedition, Victor successfully talked to people and shared the Gospel with deaf people. We hope that churches along the way will invite deaf people to their services so Victor can communicate with them.

Bringing Young Friends to Church

On Sunday the Lord blessed us with a rich service at the Brest church. We were happy to see a man repent and recommit his life to God. The two-hour service passed very quickly and despite the sanctuary being a bit stuffy, no one was in a hurry to leave. People continued to talk to each other in the church yard.

We had to leave for another worship service planned that evening in a small regional village called Zhabinka. The population is about 15,000. The church there was planted in 1995 and they have about 100 members. The seats were filled with unsaved people who came to the church after seeing advertisements in the town. During the first part of the service, several young people left the church. We felt badly about it and couldn’t understand why they left, but soon we had our answer. The youngsters came back bringing their friends with them! Praise God! After the service, dear Christian sisters prepared a nice dinner for us. Afterward, we returned to Brest to spend the night.

Monday morning, we again came to the Brest church. Despite it being a work day, the church sanctuary was full. This time the seats were occupied mainly by kids and elderly people. We showed a presentation about the Expedition with photos, and the reaction was positive. The elderly sisters diligently prayed for us at the end of the service. We believe that the Lord will do great things through their simple but ardent prayers!

Leonid Kartavenko
Andrew Kaplin