Gospel Expedition

Today is really a good morning. Not only because the sun is shining brightly and there is no rain, but because the cyclists will be able to travel on racing bikes again. About 500 km of asphalt road are ahead of us, then there will be a dirt/gravel road for a period — the last time we face that — and then an asphalt road from Birobidzhan to Vladivostok.

We started at 9:00 a.m. — later than usual. Our trip was successful, and we eventually arrived at Blagoveschensk. A tasty lunch was waiting for us in the church, and bikers went to the sauna. Others were preparing for the service. Today is a farewell service as part of our team is leaving for home. Among them Edward and Natalia from Irkutsk, along with Sergei and Julia from Chita, who will go back via their minibus. New singers will take part in the service.

The town authorities did not allow us to have a meeting in the square, so we decided to have the service in the central church. By 7 p.m. the church hall was full of people. Believers from two more evangelical churches came, as well as from the village churches. There were unbelievers also, but not as many as we wanted.

Pavel Svetlov, the senior pastor for the Amur region, led the service. It was a special service as many of the Expedition men and others shared their testimonies. They shared with the audience what had changed in their lives, and why they decided to travel such a long distance. Boris Berezhnoi and Albert Redin sang, Edward and Natalia sang, as well as the local church choir. Piotr Ryazanov and Leonid Kartavenko preached. At the end of the service, Boris Berezhnoi invited people to pray a prayer of repentance.

Young and elderly people came forward. One elderly lady was the first to come forward. It was her first visit to the church though she does not live far from it. Her native sister from Kaliningrad visited her. She had found Christ there and told her sister about salvation and invited her to the church. The Holy Spirit touched the heart of another elderly lady. Young people who sat on the rear benches of the church also came forward. Albert received a note from a young man who asked him to tell him more about God, as his brother is a believer. And it was hard for him to repent. Albert invited the young man to come forward and prayed together with him to God. In all, six persons came forward. Some persons, who raised their hands, remained in their places, and the Lord heard their sincere requests to forgive them of their sins.

After the service, the young people went to look at China on the opposite side of the river. There are many lights on the riverbank in Blagoveschensk. But the bank on the China side is so bright that it bathes the whole surrounding area in its lights.

Leonid Kartavenko