Joseph and Mary walked from one house to the next, knocking at the doors and pleading to be let in; Mary’s delivery time was approaching quickly! Unfortunately, over and over they heard the words that made their hearts very sink: “We don’t have any room for you!”

Having become extremely tired, Joseph and Mary forced themselves to rush to one more house on the outskirts of the village of Bethlehem, but gain they were disappointed. Then they saw a small barn in the field not far away. There were not any more options! The prickly straw was poking into Mary’s back and the night sky over Bethlehem resounded with the crying of the newborn infant – the Savior has come to the World!

Many hundreds of years have passed since that night. Nevertheless on January 6, 2012 a group of young people from Salvation Church went to Chutovo to tell the residents about the event that happened on that long-ago night in the field near Bethlehem. Trying to keep the rain off with umbrellas and lighting the way with flashlights they walked with confidence from one house to the next singing Christmas carols and hoping that somebody would be willing to open the door and hear very Good News! Unfortunately, it was as if many doors had an invisible inscription: “We are very busy with our own party, there is no room for you!” Still, some of the people of Chutovo were bold enough to open their doors and see the tired and wet, but happy faces of carolers singing about the amazing joy that is for everyone: “Joy to the World, the Lord has come!” The night of Christmas evangelism ended with a prayer for 18 families who received the singing messengers of Christ and promised to come to the Christmas service at the ‘House of Prayer’ on the coming Sunday.

Andrey Khudyakov