Gospel Expedition

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 …]

It rained cats and dogs at night. The rain dealt with the dust but also left big puddles on the road. We got up at 5:30 and it was still dark outside, but we had to go. Our KAMAZ truck lit the way with its head lamps until we reached the highway. After five kilometers the highway ended and we had to travel along gravel and clay. It rained sometimes and our bikes became very dirty. It was a very hard trip. [Continue reading Stopping in Russia’s Jewish Region …]

After breakfast, we set off again on the road. We were to cover almost 200 kilometers, and 70 of them without asphalt. It is hard to travel along such road by cars to say nothing about bicycles. Praise God for providing us with special bikes with wide tires. God blessed us with the weather. I would like to thank all of you! God answers your prayers! There is a saying, “Do not ask God to give rain, but ask for harvest.” It seemed to me that we needed only sunny and dry weather. But God gave us drizzle. What a blessing drizzle is! I never liked such weather, but we needed it, and here’s why. [Continue reading Gravel, Dust and a New Time Zone …]

We said farewell to the departing members of our Expedition in the morning. It is hard to say goodbye as they have become a part of our hearts. The service awaits us. There are 172 kilometers to a town with the interesting name of Raichikhinsk. There is an asphalt road for once, but we still had some flat tires, and at lunch time we arrived at the town. [Continue reading Ministry in “Paradise” …]