Gospel Expedition

Winter in the middle of summer. No, nothing extraordinary happened! We just arrived in the town of Zima, which in Russian means “winter,” but in the Bashkir language means “pit.” The town is located on the left bank of the Oka River230 km northwest of Irkutsk. As we entered town, an elderly lady watched us and crossed herself. [Continue reading Young People Searching for Answers …]

Kuitun is a small village in the Irkutsk region. We arrived there at 10 sharp. We were not afraid of the lack of roads, having become accustomed to them. But today we encountered a new obstacle new fact for us — wind-driven dust. I advise you, who does not know about this phenomenon, to visit the Irkutsk region and cycle there, or walk the 190 km from Nizhnevartovsk to Kuitun. You will remember this experience forever! [Continue reading Dust in the Wind …]

We are in Nizhneudinsk, a town in the Irkutsk region. 200 km of federal highway М53 are behind us, with 40 km of them traveled over gravel. Some parts of the road (or lack of one) demanded great efforts from our side. Upon arrival at the town, we were met by journalists from the local TV station who told us that Nizhneudinsk was no longer a town, but is now a village. The town lost its status in 2006 as well as 300 million rubles from its budget. Limited financing will create new social problems. Nizhneudinsk is not alone in disappearing from the map of Russia. During the last 15 years, 11,000 villages and 290 towns disappeared in Siberia. The reasons why the town lost its status are not known to its inhabitants. [Continue reading Difficult Roads, Wonderful Ministry …]

Thus far, our Expedition has never met such tests as we are now. We can’t believe this is called a “federal highway,” the M53. There is no road. We are heading toward Irkutsk. We see a lot of road signs along the “highway.” The speed limit here is 40 km/h. The next road sign we see — “Passing Forbidden.” We think the highway engineers must be joking. Our speed is 5 km/h, and no drivers ever attempt to pass other cars. We kept cycling on to Taishet. [Continue reading The Roads Get Worse …]

On July 21, we arrived in downtown Kansk. We preached and gave out New Testaments to all the people who came by. The inhabitants of Kansk who did not know anything about God came together in the square by the Spassk church. They came to see the official “holiday of healthy living,” not knowing that the real healthy life begins with repentance and acceptance of God, church attendance, Bible reading and Gospel preaching! We told them about it. Only the Lord knows if our words reached the hearts of the people. [Continue reading The Real Healthy Life …]