Ongoing Russian Trip!

 Izhevsk, Kazan, Cheboksary

Brian Niemitalo preaching in a university in Russia

The last time I had any chance to sit and write a post to you was on the train to Izhevsk over a week ago. We left that night from a rainy Moscow and woke to a sparkling, snowy, subzero, Udmurtian winter wonderland. Over the last days, Brian, Shane and I have since covered hundreds of miles and visited three major Russian cities and many small villages. In each place the Lord has been opening wonderful opportunities for us to encourage brothers and sisters, but also to share the gospel with many who have not known or heard of His wonderful grace and salvation.

In Izhevsk, the capital city of Udmurtia, we were met at the train station by sister Oksana Makarova, (in picture with Brian and Shane) who was very instrumental in planning and organizing our time in Udmurtia. Oksana took us straight to the home of sister Diana Chetvertnikn, who had graciously offered us her home to use as our base for the time we were there in the city.


With Diana we visited and shared the gospel with many students and teachers at the university where she has taught English. We also visited the university English club with Oksana, who is a member of the club, and on Sunday we held a afternoon service in the city centre in a book store called, Slova, or “Word” in English. For our time in Udmurtia, Brother Kolya Fedash came from his home in Samara to serve as a translator for us.


Sunday evening Brother Marat Fazloulline, who serves as a pastor in the villages around Izhevsk, picked us up in his van and we spent the next two days visiting villages, holding services, and meeting with different Christian groups and denominations to share and encourage them in their faith.


On Tuesday morning we left in Marat’s van for Kazan, a 1000 plus year old city, where we hooked up with Brother Misha Ustjuzhanin who came from Ekaterinburg to provide translation for us, and then we spend the evening in fellowshipped with the Kazan Lutheran congregation and lodged the night at the home of Lutheran Pastor Anatoly Pegassi. In the morning we loaded the van once again and Marat has brought us to Cheboksary where we are now.


Here in Cheboksary we have spend one day already visiting and fellowshipping in the main language university. We are visiting the English students in these universities and so we are able to work without a translator for the most part. Yesterday we spent the evening with sister Lena Mihaylova and Anna Pavlova and one of their small cell groups. I met Lena and Anya last spring when I came to speak to the students. (Lena found faith in Jesus Christ this summer while living with the family of Mark and Suzy Beal in the USA!)


We were going to stay in a hotel here in Cheboksary, then decided we would save money and travel back and forth between here and the Yoshkar Ola mission church, which is about 80K distance, but when we met with, Larisa Nikitinskya, the Dean of the Language Department yesterday, who I met and became friends with last summer, she and her husband, Val, invited us to lodge in their home while we are here. It’s so amazing how graciously people are helping us along the way.


So now I will ask Val if I can send this note via his Internet. Thank you so very much for your prayers and please continue to intercede on our behalf while we are here. Today we will meet with more students, then on Friday evening we will leave here for Yoshkar Ola, the capital city of the Mari El Republic, and the surrounding villages. Hopefully I will be able to post to you from there.


May His love, which is ever gracious and true, be ever near to our hearts,

Gregory... With Shane, Brian, Misha and Marat in Cheboksary:)..