THE SIBEREA EXPEDITION 1

THERE ARE 162 TOTAL PEOPLE GROUPS IN RUSSIA. OF THOSE 162, SEVENTY SIX OF THEM ARE LABELED AS UNREACHED. UNREACHED MEANS THAT THERE 2% OR LESS Evangelical Christian and less than 5% Christian Adherents. IN RUSSIA MOST OF THOSE PEOPLES ARE IN SIBEREA, EAST OF THE URALS. ONE OF OUR GOALS IS TO LOCATE AND SEARCH FOR WAYS TO WORK TO EVANGELIZE THOSE GROUPS.

FOR THAT REASON, WE SENT JEFF AND COLYA ON THE SIBEREA EXPEDITION. OUR FIRST THOUGHT WAS TO GO ALL THE WAY OUT TO YAKUTIA IN THE MIDDLE OF SIBEREA. HOWEVER, AS WE THOUGHT AND MEDITATED ON IT, THE THOUGHT BEGAN TO DEVELOP THAT MAYBE THAT WAS A GIANT LEAP WHERE A TINY STEP WAS NEEDED. IT SEEMS LOGICAL TO GO IN THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR THAN TO BEGIN KITCHEN.

EKATERINBURG IS ONE OF THE FIRST CITIES YOU GO COME TO AS YOU ENTER SIBEREA.....THUS, THE FRONT DOOR. MUCH LIKE SMOLENSK, IT IS THE GATEWAY TO SIBEREA. IF WE WANT TO FIND UNREACHED GROUPS IN THE EAST, EKATERINBURG SEEMS TO BE A GOOD PLACE TO START.

JEFF AND COLYA LEFT LAST WEEK TO SPEND A COUPLE OF DAYS THERE. OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, WE WANT TO SHARE WHAT THEY LEARNED AND WHAT WE SENSE IS OUR DIRECTION RIGHT NOW FOR THERE.

THE PHOTOS YOU WILL SEE OVER THE NEXT FEW BLOGS WILL BE FROM THAT TRIP.

YESTERDAY HERE IN SMOLENSK, JEB AND SERGEI AND I SPENT THE DAY GATHERING FURNITURE FOR THE CENTER AT KASPLI. (YESTERDAY, I SPELLED IT KAPLI AND NO ONE SAID ANYTHING. EITHER YOU DIDN'T READ IT OR YOU DEPEND ON JEFF TO BE OUR SPELLING/GRAMMAR POLICEMAN). WE WERE ABLE TO GET IT ALL DONE BY ABOUT 6 AND THEN WE HEADED BACK TO SMOLENSK. JEB AND I TOOK TIA (COLYA'S DAUGHTER) TO THE PARK AND SPENT A COUPLE OF HOURS WITH HER. OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS I HAD BEEN COLLECTING ALL MY RUSSIAN CHANGE(COINS). WHEN I COME HOME AT NIGHT, I JUST THROW THEM IN A BASKET. OVER TIME I HAD COLLECTED 15 KILOGRAMS OF COINS. LAST NIGHT I GAVE IT ALL TO TIA. SHE IS 5 YEARS OLD AND THE COINS WEIGHED MORE THAN HER! IT WAS NEAT TO WATCH HER TRY TO PICK IT UP! IT WAS FUN.

T'S IN TAIWAN!! NEAT BLOG. IT WILL BE FUN TO FOLLOW HIM OVER THE NEXT MONTHS OF ADVENTURE. http://thetpot.blogspot.com/

PRAYERS FOR ALL OF YOU!! HOW YOU DOING??

LOVE YA'LL. YA'LL LOVE EACH OTHER.