Alan and Ellen Smith - October 2017 Update

Dear friends,

After a very busy summer in Russia, Ellen and I are back in the U.S.A. for a couple of months of mission interpretation, combined with a bit of family time and the Russia Mission Network meeting in Pittsburgh at the end of September. Although we have been somewhat overtaken by events over the past few weeks, it is high time to tell you about this year’s Roma children’s camp.

All of the camping programs of our Russian partners have been affected by new legal stipulations. After several tragic mishaps that occurred last summer in secular camps, the state has become much more stringent in enforcing various safety, health and sanitation rules involving children’s camps. These rules can be very specific and sometimes unrealistic especially when the camp involves children staying in tents rather than in fixed cabins.

Alan and Ellen Smith (PCUSA) - November 2013 Update

Dear Friends and Family,

Almost thirteen years ago, just after our arrival in Russia, I made a trip with Donald Marsden and other colleagues to the city of Surgut in western Siberia. It was March, the beginning of the end of their long winter but still cold and lots of snow on the ground. There are more than one hundred small, native people groups in Russia. Donald had seen the early efforts of missionaries in this region to reach the Khanti people and invited Harold Kurtz to share good missiology as a guide to their efforts.

Partner Updates