Click to enlarge - click here for more pictures.
We are back home now. It's great to sleep in one's own bed again after days of tiring travel. Just wanted to give a quick update about our last days in Moscow.
On Sabbath I preached in the Moscow Central Church (above). As you might be able to guess, this church was originally built as a Presbyterian Church (balcony runs along three side and the pulpit is very high, as you can see). For someone who never preaches from a pulpit in the first place, this was a very unique experience. The church is now shared by the Adventists and a Baptist Church. This congregation has been meeting continually for 103 years. Elysabeth and I were so moved by this experience. The members were so warm and friendly and this history of the place was palpable.
That afternoon we went to the Pastor's apartment just outside the city limits of Moscow for supper. Then we drove to an incredible place in the village of Butovo called the Butovo Ordinance Yard, where the KGB secretly held and killed over 20,000 people from 1937-1938. Among those killed was the grandfather of Mike Pilkh, who graciously showed us the place and drove around Moscow on our final night. The entire site was a well-kept secret until very recently. It is sometimes known as the Russian Golgotha.
The opporunity to see this place, and the hospitality of Mike, Pastor Paul and so many others including our continual companion, Yaroslav, will remain in our hearts and our memories forever.
All our pictures are now online at Flickr.
Looks like a neat trip. Preaching from that pulpit almost looks like fun.
Posted by: Hanan Merrill | October 21, 2008 at 12:13 PM