Gospel Expedition

Today is the last day of summer as we reckon it. The fall begins tomorrow. So we imagined we were on vacation and had an extra hour of sleep. The alarm clock woke us up at 6:30 a.m. We washed our faces quickly, and had breakfast at 7:00 a.m. At 8:00 a.m. the escorting cars arrived and we continued our trip. Our distance for today was only 140 km, but we decided to keep a good speed and were right in doing so. [Continue reading Winding Down the Expedition …]

We resumed our trip at 7 the next morning accompanied by the police car that was escorting us. We had enough time to cover 155 kilometers, but our cyclists wheeled along quickly and we covered the first 100 km in 2-1/2 hours. We stopped to have lunch and took an hour. We have not had such a long rest for many days during the Expedition. [Continue reading A Welcoming Town and Children’s Ministry …]

Today is Saturday for us, though it is Wednesday for the rest of the people. The Saturday we have is like the Saturday in the times of Nehemiah, when the restored gates of Jerusalem did not open until the sun warmed the earth. We are to cover only 50 kilometers today. So we started at 10:30 and travelled less than two hours. The way was not difficult though there were some mountain passes. Police cars escorted us and it made our way easier. [Continue reading A Short Journey for a Long Day …]

Today is the last — and the longest — day trip. We are to cover 220 km, and hills with steep grades are awaiting us. We got up at 5:30 a.m., prayed at 6, and started at 7 a.m. As we gathered by the church house, some young people came to see us off despite the early hour. We prayed. Our accompanying police car arrived 15 minutes later and followed us to the outskirts of the city. For the first 140 kilometers, we did not stop. By the town of Vyzemsky, another road inspection car was waiting for us and saw us off to the border with the Bikin district, where two more cars were waiting for us, and followed us to the church in Bikin. A meeting in the square is planned for today. [Continue reading Back at the Chinese Border …]

Khabarovsk was founded about 150 years ago by a battalion of the Russian Army to guard Russia’s border with China. Muraviov-Amursky is the founder of the town. Following the military people, landless peasants went there. The town was called after Yerofey P. Khabarov, a well-known traveler and explorer of Siberia. The current population of the town is 562,000 people. It is one of the most beautiful towns in the Far East. [Continue reading Ministry in Khabarovsk …]