Gospel Expedition

Today is Sunday — the Lord’s Day, which is a special day for Christians all over the world, as believers attend church and worship God. Today was also a special day for the Expedition, as we were able to present the Gospel to people who do not normally attend church. It was also special because new records were set by the cyclists, and not intentionally.

When we left the town of Naberezhnie Chelny, our KAMAZ stopped at the gas station to fuel up, and also to send the latest information about the ministry that had taken place in Naberezhnie Chelny. We cycled along the Chelny-Izhevsk highway, and went through the town of Agryz together with the Jeep. For some time we used the walkie-talkies to communicate with the KAMAZ. About 30 minutes later, we received an urgent call from the KAMAZ crew. “Where are you? We can not find you!” It turned out that we had been talking via the radios thinking that the truck was behind us. But instead, we were driving along parallel roads. We finally met up with one another 157 km later, but it was by God’s grace that we ended up taking a different road.

The truck driver informed us that the highway he had taken was full of cars, and the road was very poor. It would not have been good for the cyclists. The way the cyclists took was better and there were not many cars there. As a result, the cyclists covered the record distance for this team without any stop and snack. The highest speed was also recorded — 62 km per hour. Thus

Ministry in the “Backyard”

The pastor of the local UECB church in Izhevsk met us at the entrance of the city along with a police car, which followed us to the church where we had an evening of fellowship with local residents. Afterward, we got ready for the evening meeting. It was held in a sports field adjacent to multi-story apartment buildings. It was a kind of “backyard evangelism.” People gradually came together and peered at the cars with the Expedition logos. Kids hanged on our cars and looked with wonder at these people in their special uniform, and asked what was going to happen. When we told them about the planned concert, kids ran home and invited their parents to come. Some parents came, while others preferred to remain at home.

The time finally arrived for the event to begin, and our music team began with a short music introduction. Then we spoke about the goals of the Expedition, and the need for a better physical and spiritual life, which is not evident in many people today. A good spiritual condition could hardly be seen in Izhevsk either. Even the yard we were in revealed a low level of culture — empty and broken bottles, with pieces of paper everywhere. People nodded their heads and agreed.

A small distance from the stage, Christian sisters attended to the children with a special program. They played games, told stories and gave out prizes. Each child received a gift — a small book and a balloon to help them remember the visit of the Expedition team.

In some ways, this meeting in Izhevsk was like many of the others, but also important in its own way. Each attending person was able to take something spiritual with him. People from other homes came by in order to listen to what was happening. Other people were leaning out of the windows of their apartments. Praise God, His Word was proclaimed to them that evening.

Sergei Sipko preached about how God says people are to live their lives. He invited people to hear His teaching, which is in the Word of God. Then the evening was over, and the last song about hope was sung. After the meeting was over some people remained there for about 30 minutes, and we talked to them. It seemed to us that some were indeed touched by what they had seen. Some just talked to us, and others took the New Testaments or a booklet. The consciences of some people were awakened although no one repented publicly.

Later, when we went out to the field together with the local church’s youth group to play volleyball, we saw a young lady cleaning the yard, picking up the bottles and pieces of paper. We did not ask anyone to clean up the site, but one person was responding in this manner to what we had said. We pray that others will respond to their need to clean up their lives through the power of the Gospel.

Denis Neshkov