After flying to Helsinki and taking the train to St Petersburg, we spent the first week 25 miles east of the city out in ‘the sticks’. We stayed in a newly constructed log building, which is going to be used for Christian outreach and YWAM training. We had no electricity or running water and we slept on the floor under mosquito nets. Our job was to treat the house timbers and the unending fences around the two acre plot and insulate the walls.

Having completed our building work we visited a Christian run Pregnancy Crisis Centre in St Petersburg. There is a very high rate of abortions in the city and the Church is supporting women facing unplanned pregnancies. We also spent a day at an orphanage and I gained my first experience coaxing young children to eat. I picked up a tummy bug at the orphanage so my 6 hour train journey to Helsinki the next day was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Our visit to Helsinki coincided with the Athletics World Championships and the city was bursting with visitors. We focused on street evangelism. This took the form of mime acts, drama and songs. I was apprehensive at first as I had never done anything like this before, but it is wonderful what we can do with God’s help. On our last three days we ran children’s sports camps.

I experienced striking contrasts in the living conditions in St Petersburg and Helsinki but in both places we found God’s Word well received. I want to thank the church for its financial support.