To Russia, with God's Love: When the Cold War yielded to the Prince of Peace

In 1991, the Iron Curtain was coming down. The Soviet Union was in collapse and Eastern Europe was entering an era of sweeping change. Six Florida teens and their 28-year-old leader joined a student exchange trip to Siberia, entirely unprepared for the impact that their young lives--and more importantly their faith in Jesus Christ--would have on a country emerging from 70 years of enforced atheism. The unassuming students found themselves welcomed as celebrities to a city that had once anchored the USSR's atomic weapons industry. The Cold War would not end, as many feared, in a nuclear holocaust. Instead, Russia was about to experience a fresh encounter with the Prince of Peace.

"As a Jesus-centered man of faith, Mark Shaner's approach to life is "Why not?" Today hundreds of Russians are following Jesus because he challenged six high school students to seek the heart of God, obey the leading of the Holy Spirit and travel with him to the Soviet Union. These pages will challenge you to be a risk-taker for God. You, too, may find yourself asking the question, "Why not?" - Andy Stephenson, International Student Minister.

Mark Shaner has served congregations of the Church of God in Florida, Kansas and Indiana for over three decades as youth minister, mission pastor and specialist in leadership development. His passion for students and speaking the truth of the gospel to the next generation has taken him around the world, collaborating on the "ground floor" of several mission initiatives. Mark and Vickie (Casey) have been married 35 years and have four adult children, all serving in ministry. The Shaners currently live in Anderson, Indiana, where Mark is Pastor of Family Ministry and Global Engagement at East Side Church of God.

David Miller has lived in Latin America since 1980, working as an itinerant evangelist and Bible teacher among indigenous Andean peoples, and later as a news correspondent reporting on persecuted Christians. Presently, he and his wife Barbara live in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and coordinate regional networks of disciple makers and church planters. Dave has authored four books, including "The Lord of Bellavista: The dramatic story of a prison transformed."