Hello dear friends,
Recently I got back home from a weeklong trip in Norway and Finland. I just got to share some things with you about this trip.
First, this was a long-postponed trip, which I was going to take in March. So, this was my second trip after my broken shoulder recovered. About the first one I’ll tell you a bit later. The purpose of the trip was to meet the men in the North of Norway and Finland, and to encourage men to sign up for the Nordic Mens Base Camp.
The first problem I encountered right before the trip was my car condition. I had not been driving for almost 2 months and forgot in what shape it was. A few days before the trip something serious broke in the front suspension and was banging really scary. Right after that it just refused to start. So, the day before the trip my car was absolutely not in shape for a trip like that, not even for a drive to Murmansk. They fixed starter, front suspension, changed oil, did some other minor things, and in the end my car was ready just 3 hours before I had to cross the Norwegian border.
I crossed the border just 15 minutes before it was closed. God is good! I stayed that night at my friend’s place in Kirkenes. We spent some time talking with him about the Base camp. He was really interested in it, but hesitating. In the end, he signed up for it. His friend and neighbor is still thinking.
Next morning I drove to Lakselv, but on the way made a 60 km detour to see my other friend. I had not seen him for a few months, but this time he was home. We had some coffee, and very soon he confessed that he had some serious spiritual problems, even ‘the faith crisis’, as he described it to me. So we had a serious conversation after that. I shared many episodes of my life when I experienced something similar. His wife is praying for him and encouraging him to go to the Base Camp. It looks now that he is going to. I’m praying for him and his family. He was the first Norwegian who attended our meetings here, and he has been a great encouragement for me. Please pray for him, too!
I arrived in Lakselv, Norway that evening and had a conversation with Marius, the man who was organizing this trip. Together we spoke at the meeting at Pentecostal Church that night, and there was some interesting response from the men there. Later we were discussing plans for the trip, and Marius had to cancel the trip to Hammerfest because there were no men there. So we had to decide what to do with the time.
Next morning we both went to Karalaks, the camp where Nordic Mens Base Camp will be, to see what it is and to pray. The place is just awesome. It is perfect for events like that. Far from the road – you hear no traffic. Built in the wilderness – no people, no buildings around. Only rocky hills of granite and tundra. No distractions. Wonderful prayer atmosphere. We prayed almost for a half of the day. I also recorded some short videos there. And God answered!
That evening we were supposed to go to Hammerfest, but didn’t. Instead, there was a guy from southern Norway visiting this town, a kind of TV guy, well known in Norway. Somehow he got to Marius’ house for dinner. We had dinner together, talking and sharing, and suddenly he asked if he could interview me and Marius about the ministry for men. Of course we agreed! So this interview will be on air on one of the most watched channels in Norway before we start the Base Camp. We’ll see what happens. But this encounter was definitely God appointed.
Later in the evening I shared at a youth group, and that was such a blessing! Some of the kids were very interesting to talk with, they expressed some thoughts about God, salvation and eternal life… I was amazed!
On Saturday we went to Alta, a bigger city on the West of Finnmark. We met our friend and partner Steinar, and later went to a church meeting, where we again ran into that TV guy! That was fun. I had some time to share during the service. I was staying in the church, and the TV guy and his friend evangelist Nils were staying there, too. We had long and very interesting conversations during dinner and after it about the ministry for men, about life in Russia, about Christianity in Russia and many other things. Nils later joined our team!
We had a planning meeting next morning, where we were scheduling events for the next year, and he was there already as a team member, coming up with some ideas and corrections, just because he knows the time table of almost all events in the North of Norway for the coming year. So it is very good to have him on board. We scheduled next Base Camp for June 9 – 11, 2017 at the same location, in Karalaks. Also we decided to have a winter meeting in Alta. It will be January, 14. We discussed if we needed to do something else, and made a decision to do:
– Kiting weekends (March – April)
– Ice fishing trips (March – May)
– Hiking (June – September) The 1st hiking trip will be September 8 – 11, 2016. We will hike across Varanger and make a small memorial at the place where Russian/American plane crashed in 1942, hit by a German pilot.
– Skiing trips (February – May)
– Kayaking in the fjords (June – August)
On Monday I went to Muonio, a Finnish village 5 hours drive from Lakselv. In January I met a few guys from there and wanted to visit them now. This is a group of Christian young men, who call themselves “The ways of the wild”. They do all kinds of outdoor activities for living. Their greatest desire is to use their passion to outdoor life for the Kingdom. We spent hours talking and praying for that. Some of them will attend the Base Camp, but we will do things together now. They will be taking active part in those activities as instructors, they will take unsaved men to those trips to be in fellowship with us to help them get to know Jesus.
It was awesome time, filled with God’s glory and guidance. Totally I spent 6 days out of home, drove 2200 kilometers, visited 5 towns and met so many men… God is good!
Thank you for helping me make it possible!
Blessings to all
Yura
