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he road inspection car, which was supposed to escort us, arrived at the house where we spent night at 7:00 a.m. and we resumed our trip. We had enough time to cover 155 kilometers. |
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Today is Saturday for us, though it is Wednesday for the rest of people. The Saturday we have is like the Saturday, which was in the times of Nehemiah, when restored gates of Jerusalem did not open until the sum warmed the earth. |
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Today is the last longest day trip. We are to cover 220 km, and hills and long climbs are expecting us. We got up at 5:30 a.m., prayed at 6:00 a.m. and started at 7-00 a.m. |
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Khabarovsk town was founded about 150 years ago by the 13th maneuver battalion of the Russian Army to protect boundaries with China. Muraviov-Amursky is the founder of the town. |
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It was raining cats and dogs at night. Rain coped with the dust and also left big puddles on the road. We got up at 05:30 a.m. in the morning as usual. It was still dark outside. It was cloudy. But we had to go. |
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At 07:00 a.m. all members of the Expedition came together in the church house. Christian sisters prepared breakfast. We prayer to God and went off. We were to cover almost 200 kilometers, and 70 of them without asphalt. |
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The Road is Still Long. Initial meeting between Baptists and the administration for the Moscow region |
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Five years ago Mike Fisher, a Texan nearly as large as Texas, decided the time had come to begin a side activity as short-term missionary. Dr. Fisher, owner of a dental practice near Rockwall, a suburb of Dallas, then paid his first visit to a congregation of the “Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists” in Naberezhnye Chelny near the Western edge of the Ural Mountains. |
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We said farewell to the leaving members of our Expedition in the morning. It is hard to say good-buy to those with whom we served the Lord together. They became a part of our hearts. |
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Today is really a good morning. Not only because the sun is shining brightly and there is no rain, but because the bikers will wheel on racing bikes again. About 500 km of asphalt road are ahead of us. |
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t was the first airport in Blagoveschensk town after a long period of poor roads. And a new team consisting of Boris Berezhnoi, a soloist and the leader of the folk instruments ensemble «Good News» (Blagovestie) and Albert Redin, the leader and the soloist of the music team «Inheritance», together with me, Leonid Kartavenko, joined the Expedition again. |
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At 7:00 rain stopped and our moods improved. A night rain was a blessing for us. It meant the road without dust, which was very important. We were to wheel 92 kilometers. Lack of road did not threaten us any more. |
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One day of the bike trip “Gospel to the nations of the world” in 100 phrases. |
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When I look at the schedule of our Expedition and our visits to the locations I sometimes ask myself a question – what expects us in a new place? Usually the current events of our schedule are quite similar – wake-up, prayer, breakfast, road, arrival, and evening meetings with people, dinner, prayer and sleep. |
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Today the clock waked us up at 5:30 a.m. Our next day began with the command: «Wake up!». It was sunny outside, bur rather cool in the morning. We wanted to stay in our sleeping bags for a while. |
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Morning 07:00. We came together for a morning prayer and read the Book by Isaiah 40:26, 31: «For that he is strong in power; not one faileth… But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength». We were refreshed by His power to fulfill His tasks. |
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In the course of the many years in which “Protestants were persecuted and repressed, we have earned the right to be regarded as one of Russia`s traditional churches”. Alexander Semchenko (Moscow), a Baptist businessman and philanthropist, made this claim. |
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«When I begin my day I hear you voice…» are the words from the song by Denis Bernaz, which all Christian youth in Russia knows well. Early on Friday we heard the noise of plates and voices of Christian sisters in the kitchen in the church house. So we had to get up earlier than we planned. |
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We started very early in the morning as we had to cover only 40 km to Aksionovo-Zilovsk. There is also a church there. Pastor Anatoly from Zhireken gave us the local Pastor’s phone number. |
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Today it is planned to leave Nerchinsk town at 07:00 a.m. After breakfast we came together for a joint prayer. We read the Scriptures and prayed and started our way. Locations where there are no ECB churches will be on our way. |
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“It is an irrefutable fact, that clericalism is present in our political and social life.” This statement by Pastor Yuri Sipko, President of the RUECB, agrees with a major claim made in an open letter signed by 10 members of the Russian Academy of Sciences. |
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The Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (RUECB) has decided to play an active role in events sponsored by the Prague-based European Baptist Federation (EBF). |
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The next point on the map of the Expedition was Nerchinsk town. This town is located on the left bank of the Nercha river. |
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Our Expedition headed for Chita on Sunday. It was the first Sunday of the month and we tried to do our best to arrive in time at the local ECB church in order to take part in the Lord’s Supper. |
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Forest fires are not rare here in Chita region in summer. This summer Emergency service workers are also busy. Members of the Expedition also have hard time. They are to go through smoky parts of the route. |
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A new point for the visit of the Expedition was Khilok town. It was not difficult for the members of the Expedition to reach it. There was a little rain. Bikers became accustomed to mountainous roads. Climbs were not so very high as before. |
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The Expedition left the Republic of Buriatia and headed for Chita region. It means another one time zone plus from Moscow – one hour forward. The road is still full of climbs and downs as we travel through the Sayan Mountains. |
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Members of the bike Expedition «Gospel to the nations of the world» are in Ulan-Ude city – the capital city of Buriatia. The presence of people of various nationalities catches one’s eye. |
