Gospel Expedition

We are in Nizhneudinsk, a town in the Irkutsk region. 200 km of federal highway М53 are behind us, with 40 km of them traveled over gravel. Some parts of the road (or lack of one) demanded great efforts from our side. Upon arrival at the town, we were met by journalists from the local TV station who told us that Nizhneudinsk was no longer a town, but is now a village. The town lost its status in 2006 as well as 300 million rubles from its budget. Limited financing will create new social problems. Nizhneudinsk is not alone in disappearing from the map of Russia. During the last 15 years, 11,000 villages and 290 towns disappeared in Siberia. The reasons why the town lost its status are not known to its inhabitants.

Our Expedition arrived at Nizhneudinsk with only one purpose — to proclaim the Good News to the inhabitants. The local UECB had received permission for the evangelistic event, and they had been diligently handing out invitations. About 150 persons came to the meeting in the Central park with the members of the bike trip. The group Eden’s Heaven sang, and the Gospel was proclaimed.

Several persons responded to the altar call. The local pastor prayed for them and invited them to come to the church. All who repented received Bibles. We have fulfilled our mission! The New Testaments were given out and people heard about Christ! There is a chance for Nizhneudinsk to become a town again!

A Bit of Local History

On a spring day in 1648, one could hear the sound of axes cutting trees for the first prison-fortress. Udinsky Prison appeared on the river bank. The Mongol Hoardes intruded into this place through a pass in the Sayan Mountains, robbed local people and threatened neighboring lands. But thanks to the fort, the indigenous people who lived in the west Baikal area received protection and support. Thanks to it, the process of joining local lands to the Russian State was facilitated. Relations between the indigenous people and the Russians were not always peaceful. From the very beginning of their arrival there, Krasnoyarsk Kazaks had constant conflicts with the Buryat people who opposed newcomers in their lands. In 1700 Udinsky Prison was named Nizhneudinsk Prison — a small Russian village near the Uda River.

Eventually, Nizhneudinsk went beyond the boundaries of the fort walls and its population grew. But it developed very slowly and in the middle of the 18th century, there were only a dozen houses. Nizhneudinsk remained a craft and agricultural village, not having economic and geographical conditions like other Siberian prison-forts, which became large industrial centers.