Day 13 – October 31st

Traveling back to USA – all accounted for and all so very full and happy for the experiences! This was a spiritual group. Everyone walked in unity.

Day 12 – October 30th

In the morning the travelers had our last Celebration time, and we prayed over China, Russia and India. Marilyn showed the CBS On Assignment video. She taught on Jacob and giving vows; the Nazarite vow that Samson took, and her own vow to Cover the Earth with the Word. She emphasized that God remembers our faith, not our mistakes.

On this last day of touring the group went to the Kremlin and the Armory Chamber, in the museum that also had 9 Faberge Eggs on display. The sites were fascinating with many other treasures to behold.

Day 11 – October 29th

The travelers went to Good News Church, pastored by Paul Renner, Rick Renner’s son. Marilyn taught on healing and miracles. She testified of the fish and loaves miracle with KFC lunches in Egypt, and crazy-faith friends, and emphasized that the power of the Lord is very present to heal. Marilyn prayed for back problems, grief, growths, tumors, and warts, and talked that healing is a process, and to stay in faith. She also prayed for memory problems, and talked of the various ways God can heal – anointing a handkerchief, sending the word via texts – and also gave her testimony of her salvation at age 16. The travelers prayed for the sick. It seemed as if the entire congregation came to the altar!

The travelers had a free day after that.

Day 10 – October 28th

In the morning the travelers gathered or breakfast and Marilyn was prompted to have us everyone pray in the Spirit for seven nations: Russia, Armenia, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. This lasted around 20 mins to 1/2 hour, and the time was very fulfilling. Then Marilyn taught on angels and Daniel chapter 4. She prayed for us all to have unusual miracles.

The group toured the Bolshoi Theatre, St. Basil’s cathedral, and Red Square.

Day 9 – October 27th

Today was a travel day for the group.

Side note: Moscow’s official population is 13 million people (compared to St. Petersburg, which has 6 million) but with permanent residents, immigrants, and others, the real figure is closer to 17 or 18 million. It’s Russia’s largest city.

Day 8 – October 26th

The travelers had breakfast then spent time praying in the Spirit—what a glorious time it was! Marilyn shared and update from the Armenian pastors we just left. An amazing 200 people got baptized in the Holy Spirit! Wow! The travelers shared testimonies of what they witnessed during the services in Armenia. Marilyn then talked about the four wise things. Great meeting!

The travelers enjoyed a full day of touring the palaces and parks of Pushkin, Pavlovsk and Peterhof. The Pushkin Palace was founded in 1710 as an imperial residence and received status of a town in 1808. The first public railways in Russia, the Tsarskoye Selo Railways, were opened here in 1937 and connected the town to the capital of St. Petersburg. The town contains and ensemble of architecture from the 18th century. This museum complex includes the Catherine palace, Alexander Palace, and other buildings and associated parks. It is a major tourist attraction of the area and is included in the list of monuments protected by the UNESCO. They proceeded to the Pavlosk Palace.

Catherine the Great liked the nature in Pavlosk area and frequently visited it for hunting trips. In December 1777 she gave her son, Paul I, 977 acres of land along the Slavyanka River, together with forests, arable land and two small villages with peasants. This was a present to Paul and his wife Maria Feodorovna at the birth of their first son, the future Emperor Alexander I of Russia. This date is considered the founding date of the Pavlovskoye village (the name Pavlosk derives from Paul’s name in Russian, Pavel.) Catherine commissioned the Scottish architect Charles Cameron, who had previously done much work for her in the nearby Tsarskoye Selo, to design a palace and park in Pavlovskoye. Their tour ended with a visit to Peterhof Palace. The Peterhof Palace is a series of palaces and gardens located in Peterhof, St. Petersburg, Russia. It was laid out on the orders of Peter the Great. These palaces and gardens are sometimes referred to as the “Russian Versailles”. The palace-ensemble along with the city center is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Day 7 – October 25th

Celebration breakfast, where Marilyn talked about sowing into dreams with a seed, and how no one can steal your dreams – only you can let them go, so hold on to them! She gave the testimony about Wally’s retirement, Pastor Anwar being saved in her 1995 Pakistan meeting, how the $1M offering in Uganda came about, as well as other faith building accounts of her supernatural life. She taught about Joseph and the travelers had free time for the rest of the day.

Day 6 – October 24th

After breakfast, great praise and worship, prayer, and teaching by Marilyn, the travelers started their panoramic city tour of St. Petersburg with a visit to Peter & Paul’s Fortress / Cathedral of Savior on the Spilled Blood. This tour showcased the main architectural and historical monuments of Saint Petersburg. They took a ride along its main streets and prospects enjoyed splendid sights like numerous palaces and cathedrals, rivers and channels, bridges and parks. Afterwards they visited The Hermitage museum. One of the largest museums in the world, the State Hermitage occupies six magnificent buildings situated along the embankment of the Neva River. It would take 15 years to see all the exhibits treasured in the Hermitage!

Side note: Their group tour guide shared something curious. St. Petersburg was named after the Apostle Peter, not Peter the Great.

Day 5 – October 23rd

This was basically a travel day from Yerevan to St. Petersburg, starting with wake-up calls at 3:30AM – say yuck three times!

St. Petersburg has 6 million people and is called the ‘Venice of the North’. There is a lot of water here and the tour guide said to expect a fair amount of rain. St. Petersburg has 500 bridges over the various canals and rivers, and is quite charming. Touring starts tomorrow!

Day 4 – October 22nd

After morning worship and prayer, the travelers went back to the same church for ministry. Marilyn taught again on miracles and taught on the three Hebrew men who were thrown in the furnace. She recounted her early days and some of her ‘misses’, including praying for a man in a wheelchair to walk before she knew he had no legs. Her humility is truly endearing. She also gave testimonies of being healed of an enlarged heart, her dad’s mental problems being healed, and more. She prayed for hands and wrists, salvations, and Holy Spirit baptisms, and again, many people came forward. Tumors disappeared, knees, spines, and hips straightened, and so much more! We are all so thrilled by what God does through the MHM teams! The service was another ‘home run’!

Afterwards, the church put on a reception for the MHM team and the pastors took Marilyn to lunch, followed by two interviews, one via TV taping with the pastor’s wife. The pastors were truly besides themselves witnessing Marilyn’s stamina. The head pastor commented during both the services that he’s 51 and wants to be like Marilyn when he’s her age. He announced that he desperately wants her to return.

Day 3 – October 21st

In the morning after praise and worship and prayer, Marilyn taught on Gideon and more on angels. She took time to anoint the travelers’ hands with oil in preparation of that nights church service at Word of Life. This particular church has planted churches in many other nations, including Russia, Georgia (former Soviet Union), and surrounding Muslim countries. Their total church plants are well over 100 and they are so on fire for God!

The travelers took a sightseeing tour to Khor-Virap monastery which has a very rich history, both religious and secular. It is situated in the Ararat valley against the biblical Ararat Mountain, were Noah’s arch cast anchor. It is important because if it’s connection to Gregory the Illuminator, who introduced Christianity to Armenia and is considered the first Armenian bishop. They then toured the town of Echmiadzin, the center of the Armenian Church and the spiritual center of Armenian people. Here is the location of Echmiadzin Cathedral, which is the most ancient Christian temple of Armenia dating back to 301-303. They continued to explore the ruins of Zvartnots Temple listed as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO. Zvartnots is an outstanding monument of world architecture, an evidence of the high level of the development of the artistic and engineering thought in the 7th-century Armenia. The cathedral had been standing for about 300 years and was destroyed by a disastrous earthquake.

After returning to the hotel to freshen up, the travelers rode to Word of Life church. Everyone enjoyed the worship which consisted of both contemporary Armenian worship and more familiar songs–what a joy to hear songs including “You are my All in All” in the Armenian language!

Marilyn preached on the miraculous, and called out areas of healing. This anointed time lasted the rest of the evening. They prayed for married people who wanted to have babies, tumors and warts, feet and ankles, wrists, as well as salvations, rededications, and Holy Spirit baptisms. Wow! A very large amount of people responded to each call! Afterwards, the pastors said they had NEVER encountered such bold preaching and manifestations of healing ever! Many testified of being healed – glory to God! The travelers returned to the hotel both overjoyed and ‘spent’!

Day 2- October 20th

The next morning the travelers had a wonderful breakfast to start their first full day of the trip. Armenian food is incredible, by the way! Lots of veggies, great cheeses, and more.

Marilyn taught on angels, emphasizing that we don’t pray to them, but praying the Word activates them. We don’t want our assigned angels to be bored! She taught on the different types of angels – Elect, Seraphim, Cherubim, Fallen, and more. The travelers loved the teaching!

The day of exploration started at the vibrant capital of Armenia, Yerevan, where ancient culture is mixed with modern lifestyle and great traditions. The travelers then toured Republic Square, visited Cascade, an open-air museum of modern art, saw the “Mother Armenian” monument and Victory Park providing a fantastic overlook to the entire downtown, then finally the Opera House and Swan Lake. Then it was on to Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, the largest cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Higher up the gorge of the Azat River they visited the magnificent monument of medieval Armenian architecture the Geghard monastery inscribed in UNESCO World Heritage list and partly carved out of a mountain. Here they had a chance to enjoy the performances of the famous vocal quintet performing old spiritual Armenian songs in Acapella. Afterwards they drove to the village of Garni. The pagan temple of Garni is a picturesque monument of the Hellenistic period and an impressive piece of ancient Armenian architecture.

The evening was free for dinner on their own, and more travelers than usual ventured out of the hotel, having peace due to the repeated statements of how safe Armenia is, and how genuinely friendly the people are. In Republic Square, right outside their hotel, there is a nightly light show with waterfalls and piped in music of all genres – quite a joyous experience. The Armenian people are quite cordial and welcoming, and have accepted the tracts they passed out very readily. Everyone is praying that the fire that this nation once felt in declaring Christianity as their national religion (the first nation to ever do so), will burn once again!

Day 1 – October 19th

All flights went smoothly, and all were accounted for! No lost luggage! Great start to what promises to be an excellent, Spirit-filled trip! Many thanks to those back home for interceding for this trip – your prayers make these trips over-the-top!

On the bus ride from the airport to the hotel, the tour guide gave us some interesting facts about Armenia, including:

– Armenia has enjoyed a 100% growth in tourism from last year to this year

– 92% of Armenians are religious and go to church

– Armenia is one of the safest countries in the world. There’s no terrorism, and it’s completely safe to go out at night, well after midnight

– They are a very young country, having gained independence from the former USSR in 1991

The evening of their arrival, the travelers enjoyed the Welcome Dinner in the hotel, which was a wonderful time of reunion. There are 68 travelers on this trip and all but 10 are previous travelers. They love these trips and are always excited about Marilyn’s teachings, the miracle healings they witness while Marilyn is preaching, and the joy of joining in ministering with Marilyn. They also love the great touring, and so much more.