How Moscow Ranks in the World

Moscow has some of the longest traffic jams in the world!

Metro newspaper in Moscow recently published an article with some interesting facts about Moscow. According to the article, Moscow:

. . . is the largest city in Europe. (Eleven-and-a-half million is the official statistic.)

. . .  is the most expensive city in Europe for foreigners. It is the 4th most expensive city in the world.

. . . residents spend the longest time in traffic jams. (Two-and-a-half  hours is the average traffic jam.)

. . . has the busiest subway in Europe (6.43 million passengers/day).

. . . has the largest number of billionaires in the world. The 79 richest are worth a combined $375 billion.

. . . has the largest concentration of police in the world (946 per 100,000).

. . . scored 70th place (out of 140 cities) for quality of life.

. . . ranked 201st out of 215 cities for sanitary and health conditions.

 

The article can be found here (in Russian).

Unexplained Obedience

As I waited to board the metro, I noticed a Krygyz man standing near me. I felt the Father prompt me to give him some money.

“Lord, this isn’t culturally appropriate,” I mentally argued. “We don’t give out money. I’m a woman; I shouldn’t initiate contact with a man.”

Again, the Father prompted me to give the man a small amount of money. “Lord, if this is really You, then have this man board the metro car with me.”

As the train pulled up, I noticed that the man boarded alongside me. Once again, I felt the tug of the Father speaking to my heart.

The metro car was loud. In order to speak with the man, I would have to yell. He was sitting, and I was standing. Still unsure, I prayed, “Lord, if this is really You, have one of the people sitting beside him get up and leave. Then I’ll be able to sit beside him.”

At the next stop, both people got off, leaving the seat beside the man empty. I sat down, and yet another time, I heard the Lord speaking. I looked across the aisle and noticed an fierce-looking man staring directly at me. I didn’t want to give the money to the Kyrgyz man while this other man glared at me. “Lord, if this is really YOU, then please have this man get off at the next stop.”

At the next stop, the fierce-looking man stepped off, and I was left sitting next to the Kyrgyz man. Now I knew I had to obey!

I leaned over to the Central Asian man and said, “I don’t usually do this, but the Father has told me to give you this money. God sees you and loves you.” The surprised man took the money and quietly put it into his pocket. After a little more chatting, the man exited the metro car.

I don’t know why the Lord wanted me to give the man that money, but sometimes it’s just important to obey — whether we understand or not.