Gospel Expedition

We started very early in the morning as we had to cover 40 km to Aksionovo-Zilovsk, where there is also a church. Pastor Anatoly from Zhireken gave us the local pastor’s phone number.

The Expedition cyclists wheeled along on new bikes. Over 1,000 kilometers are ahead of us and most of the road is poor. We will find out how bad the road is in reality, as we have only heard about it from other people.

Our departure from Zhireken was not easy. The road was covered with small pits and our bikers had to really show their skills. Our KAMAZ truck went rolling from one side to another. At last we reached the federal highway, which was covered with sand and gravel. Pits and ditches accompanied us all the way as an inseparable part of the road. The situation with the roads has remained the same, and we can recall many examples from books in which this theme was discussed by many authors.

Our trip was not long and we arrived at Aksionovo-Zilovsk at lunch time. The population of this village is 4,500 hundred people. Alexei, the pastor of the local evangelical church, met us. We also met the mayor of the village by the church house. He was not against our evening meeting with villagers. We appreciated the hospitality of our Christian brothers and sisters at lunch.

The central place of the village is the railroad station. We had a meeting with villagers, whom we invited with the help of a loudspeaker.

When we came back to the place of the meeting, a big group of kids was waiting for us. There could hardly be a person able to answer all the questions they have. We sang hymns. Alexei Nozdrachev led the meeting. Vladimir Skovpen and Yuri Golozubov shared their testimonies, telling people about their life before and after their encounter with Christ. Sergei Stepantsov preached. A young couple from Irkutsk — Eduard and Natasha — inspiringly sang about God’s love and the forgiveness we have in Christ.

The visit of the Expedition to a small town is always a special event. That is why many people came. Eighty minutes of inspired testimonies did not leave people indifferent. As usual, we had long personal conversations with people who had questions.

Many children came, of course. It was impossible to count them as they moved around so quickly. Kate and Marina organized them into two lines and presented a program for kids. We always heard the cheerful voices of the children despite the distance from the general meeting. Amazement, joy and high spirits always accompany meetings with kids.

After the meeting, we had dinner and fellowship with local Christians until late at night. Another blessed day of the Expedition was over. Tomorrow the trip awaits us again, meetings with new people and new opportunities to tell people about God’s love, His mercy and forgiveness for everyone.

Piotr Ryazanov, TransWorld radio