A few weeks before leaving on this trip I received a kind letter from Tatiana Gorbocheva, a long-time friend who coordinated my visit to the Eurasian Theological Seminary here in Moscow.
She reminded me that while I was one of many westerners that have been invited to participate in the ministry here, I was the first to "volunteer" to come in January. There was little doubt what she meant when I stepped off the airplane at Moscow's new international airport and felt what -15 (Celsius) was like in this amazing city of 15 million.
As cold as it was outside was the warmth of fellowship of dear Christian friends. Today began with breakfast followed by an all-day session with many of the leaders of Christian ministries throughout Russia. Many of them I had met during a training program here in October. This was the follow-up session that included reports on how they had achieved some preliminary success in their work that only confirmed their desire to learn more and to go deeper.
After a day of review and diving more deeply into core concepts I will meet with each organization independently and begin to set a development agenda for the rest of this year. This is so much what I love to do and it is even more fulfilling when you experience the deep appreciation shared for helping another. Here's the group!!
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