Gospel Expedition

When we awakened in the morning, we decided on an early start. The border was waiting for us and we didn’t know what awaited us there. The highway patrol accompanied us again, and our Belarussian brother Dmitri was with us. He knows the local roads very well and guided us along the shortest ways.

Two hours later, we arrived at the border of Belarus and Ukraine. The border guards and custom officers met us in a friendly manner, but it took about two hours to process our papers. As we passed the last point — passport control — the officer discovered that the Ukrainian members of the Expedition were not registered in Belarus. Their permission to be in Belarus expired the previous night, and they had been violating migration rules for several hours already. At first the border guard threatened to deport our people, but then he changed his mind and gave us an oral warning. We passed over the Ukrainian border in an hour, where we were met with streams of blessings from heaven.

A Cloudburst Yields Praises

Traveling for about an hour under a hot sun, we were glad to see a small cloud, as small as was described by Elijah. But a few minutes later, it had grown into a big cloud and soon, the sky was covered with dark clouds. The first drops of rain filled us with hope that the rain would not last long, but the sky gradually became gloomier and gloomier. The team cycled three hours under a heavy rain.

In the vehicle, our windshield wipers worked on high speed and still it was not enough to wipe away the water from the glass. But the team continued to wheel along. Through the closed window of the car, we heard music as if the angels were singing. We opened the window to hear the cyclists singing the hymn, “Streams of abundance, O Lord, send us from above.” Angels on bikes sang it. And God answered them with new streams of rain.

Evangelism in Roznychi

Wet from head to foot, but spiritually encouraged, we reached the village of Roznychi where Christian men were expecting us. A meal had been prepared, and after a warm bath, the team put on dry clothes.

After lunch we headed for the neighboring village of Kolki where an evangelistic event had been planned at a stadium. We found the stadium at capacity — standing room only! We had some technical difficulties with the sound, but God made something good happen out of it. It made people come closer together to hear.

Our musicians sang, Vladimir Skovpen shared his testimony, telling the crowd about how God had given him an award more valuable than any sporting medal he achieved — eternal life. Brother Gennady shared his testimony, and his way to the Lord recalled the example of the leper whom Christ healed.

After that it was my turn to preach, but it began to rain hard and we had to switch off the equipment. Undaunted, kids ran after the cyclists asking for autographs. Older people came up to the Pastor Valery, while other unsaved men talked to Vladimir Skovpen. It was already very dark when we stopped and went to our shelter for the night. Several local believers opened up their homes to us, for which we were thankful.

Leonid Kartavenko