Gospel Expedition

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.

The town of Luchegorsk is the first location we visited in the Primorie area, the last region to be visited by the Expedition. The population here is over 20,000. There are two big water power stations and a mine, clean beautiful streets, and many multi-story apartment houses.

The church here was founded not long ago. There are no men in the church, only 11 middle-aged ladies. They have a one-room flat where they come together for worship services. At a minimum of once a month, a church minister visits the sisters to have the Lord’s Supper.

Our evangelistic meeting was planned for the central park in Luchegorsk. Right after lunch, our men went out to invite people to the meeting. They visited the office of the local road inspection and militia, meeting the commanders who said they would send servicemen to keep order at the meeting. It was good for them to listen to the Good News also.

The meeting began at 5 p.m. We were concerned whether people would come as it was a working day. But people came. At the beginning of the meeting, the vice-chairman of the local administration greeted the people and the Expedition. After that we presented our program. Boris Berezhnoi and Albert Redin sang. Vladimir Skovpen, our chief cyclist, told the people about his way to God. Our tallest biker, Yuri from Belgorod, also shared his testimony. Constantine Petrov, the pastor from Ussuriisk, preached. He also coordinates Russian UECB youth work in the Primorie area.

People stayed after the service and our conversations continued. A meeting with believers was planned for 8 p.m. We thought we’d have about an hour’s service but the singing, preaching, and prayer continued without limits. We could have continued all night long, but we had to get up early next morning. We decided to continue our fellowship in Heavenly Jerusalem when we meet there. There will be a lot of time there and we will not be in a hurry. After the service we noticed that someone stole a Russian flag from our car. We felt sorry and then prayed to God.

It turned out that there were not enough sleeping places for everyone. So all spare places were occupied in the kitchen and in the corridor. God blessed our sleep regardless, and at 5:30 a.m. we got up and a new day of ministry began.