Gospel Expedition

On the morning of June 14, the Expedition left Yaroslavl for Kostroma. Just before we started, one of the accompanying minibuses got a flat tire. We formed two groups and continued our way to Kostroma. One group consisted of a Jeep and the cyclists. The minibus remained in Yaroslavl to put on new tires. But we met all together again before we entered Kostroma. Brothers and sisters from Kostroma met us at the outskirts along with two police escorts, who accompanied us to our destination.

Kostroma - An Ancient City in Need of the Gospel

We arrived at the house of a Christian man where other brothers and sisters were waiting for us. We had a wonderful lunch there. Kostroma is a very old town — 850 years old — and it has about 300,000 people. There are some 20 Orthodox churches in the town and only one Baptist church, which is about 90 years old. The congregation is building a new church building now as the old building has become too run down for services.

After lunch and a short rest, we got ready for the planned evangelistic meeting arranged by the church pastor, who had obtained permission of the city authorities. It was a nice, warm evening and we saw only some clouds off in the distance.

Ministry Through Art

Living Water and our cyclists quickly set up the music equipment. We began to arrange the meeting to begin it even earlier than planned. We invited people walking along the embankment that evening to join us in 15 minutes. We also decided it was a good time to reach people with the help of paints. And Maxim Pavluchenko began his ministry. The story was interesting and colorful, and used a “rebus,” or puzzle in the picture he was painting. The rebus, which he “guessed” on his easel, turned out not to be a rebus but the Gospel, which he depicted in an easy and clear manner.

A Sudden Cloudburst

After a while we began our main ministry. It began to rain briefly, but praise God, it stopped before it really began. Living Water sang, while the Expedition cyclists shared their testimonies. We had also organized a children’s playground. But when the preaching began, the heavens opened and there was a downpour — people became wet from head to toe instantly. Despite the rain, no one in a hurry to leave, and they listened to the message till the end.

At the end, we headed to the homes of church families for the night. We were expected in Ivanovo tomorrow and we needed the rest.