CAROL&CALEB’S... RUSSIA..(Round the World in 80 Day’s..

Carol’s Diary continues..

Flying from Calcutta to Moscow March 10 1966.... Was unforgettable...Looking down on Everest and the tallest mountains in the World was almost breathtaking...Our Plane was Russian..solid..few services... Caviar with tough toast..black coffee& little glass of orange juice.. for breakfast... and... almost 14 hours of sitting...Very noisy plane....dirty toilet..

Russia has 150 nationalities...6 time zones....1400 Deputies in Parliament; a little over one half Communist in control...29% are women....St Basil’s Cathedral is beautiful like Taj Mahal....Ivan The Terrible, they say destroyed the eyes of the Architect, after he finished the amazing cupulo design of the Cathedral... So he would never make again anything so beautiful.

There are 500,000 people ,mostly youth in Performance Groups... Ballet, Music Actors,

Even in the Factories they have “Palaces of Excellence” for developing the spirit of the people..

After the working day ..Volunteer teachers help the people develop their skills. The Red granite

of Red Square was brought by Hitler to celebrate his coming victory over Russia... but he tragically failed. Everywhere we saw arm-bands on young people who help the police keep order...I felt we were always being watched. Our guide Leanna took us by car throughout the City. She said if a student misbehaves.. The parents are warned by their fellow workmen to straighten out the child....even deducting his pay. One cannot choose his apartment. The Party assigns Housing...Moscow’s 4 Universities, which we drove by, have 40,000 students; 3000 professors ,over 3,000 foreign students. ..Amazed at so many black young people. Young people below equivalent of 6th grade .. They wear red handkerchiefs in their Pioneer Clubs and have extensive athletic. Camping. And training in the arts.. The first Astronaut , Gagorian, was speaking to a huge Assembly of young people while Leano showed us through the “Palace.”.... The Gold gleaming Cupolo’s red,green& white symbolize the number of children born to Nicholas , the MiracleWorker....

There are 50 churches in Moscow which are crowded as Christmas & Easter for the Music..Most attendees at worship are middle aged or older. But I will never forget our Evangelical Baptist Church where Elroy & I spoke at a Youth Service with abut 75 young people singing “I give my heart to Jesus while I am Young, that I may serve Him all my Days....”Church young people cannot be School Teachers...There were about 1500 present In the morning service: a Russian Pastor who sat with us interpreting in English: said the Preaching pastor was saying:”Our Lord holds the Future and it is bright...As bright as he promises of our Lord”!.

They hold 6 services per week.The State provides the building & they pay rent..No Bible printing for 18 years.:

There were 1400 at the Youth Hour where we & a Presbyterian Pastor from America shared our Testimony in the afternoon.

Elroy’s, Russian Pastor Friend; Mischenbisch, who had spoken for us in Denver,during the National Council Of Churches Meetings the year before ,in Denver and our Church... When ,after

the Communion Service; Elroy accompanied him to our Front Doors...There were picket ‘s

with signs condemning the National Council of Churches and Our Church..He ;smiling ,took a

picture with his Camera!

....As he introduced Elroy ,he said “Dr Shikles you’ll not be picketed here... .The Church where we spoke has 5,000 members and had 31 baptisms in the past month of February.”!..

On Monday after we had soup&sandwich with the Church Staff , Leanna, our Guide

took us to the Anti-Religious Museum“ where we saw the tools of the Inquisition...Many pictures accenting “ there is no God”.. &.”Religion is the Opiate of he People’” in the evening we saw Rimsky-Korsekopf.”.Tale of the Invisible City..Beautiful Opera...People in dining Room look like miners and longshoreman.,,women like peasants..sloppy dancing like our 30's...Our Guide wanted to argue religion...felt that it was a dead issue.”Only old women patronize the Church “ she said... Saw “Bolshoi Ballet...Nutcracker’s Suite,,,People paid to stand in back & around walls...New Guide Natasha...Took us to Kremlin..Saw newly opened Church...She explained. the Icons, Beautiful windows and Religious Art....She explained the Golden Religious objects, crown, crosses etc of the 14th to the 19th century’s....She said “The Museum did not try to indoctrinate ...it speaks for itself....History is amoral..”The Church served it’s day by providing unity for the nation & political leadership.”

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