Gospel Expedition

The next point on the route of the Expedition was the town of Nerchinsk. This town is located on the left bank of the Nercha River. It was founded in 1653 by A. Pashkov, a military leader, and he called the place the Nerchinsk Fort. In 1689 an agreement was signed with China. In earlier centuries, Nerchinsk was also a place of political exile. [Continue reading Nerchinsk …]

Forest fires are not rare here in Russia’s Chita region during the summer. This summer, the emergency service workers are busy. The Expedition team also had to traverse the smoky parts of the route, but it was good that the wind blew away much of smoke, making it easier to cover this part of the road. [Continue reading Through a Forest Fire …]

A new point for our journey was the town of Khilok. It was not difficult for the members of the Expedition to reach it. There was a little rain, but the cyclists have become accustomed to mountainous roads. The grades were not as steep as before.

Khilok is a railroad junction along the Trans-Siberian railroad. Most of its inhabitants work there. There is no UECB church. There is only one Christian man there, [Continue reading A Stop Along the Trans-Siberian Railroad …]

The Expedition left the Republic of Buryatia and headed for the Chita region. It means yet another time zone from Moscow — one hour forward. The road is still full of steep climbs and downgrades as we travel through the Sayan Mountains. The cyclists get tired, but they overcome their weariness and, even after long distances, they continue to smile and rejoice at the results of their ministry. Once during our trip we came up on a big herd of cows. Only the skillful actions of the cowboy helped us to resume our way very quickly. [Continue reading Off to Chita …]

On July 31, members of the Expedition were tested in their endurance and limits of strength. There is over 300 km between Baikalsk and Ulan-Ude. Because of that distance, we decided to divide this part of the road into two parts. Unfortunately there are no Baptist churches between these two towns where we could stay overnight. The small towns on the shores of Lake Baikal still wait for the missionaries. The leaders of the Expedition decided to cover this big portion of the way during one day. The previous teams had managed to cover 315 km a day, so they thought that it would be possible to do it again. [Continue reading Another Distance Record …]