As we said on the home page, we are George, Pauline, Christopher and Maddie Russell, as well as Melanie Linderman, Pauline's mother. We have been serving in Albania for 4 1/2 years with the help of our guiding organization, the OCMC, and our generous supporters. George is from Detroit, Michigan, while the rest of the family were born in Cleveland, Ohio.
The family's journey into the mission field began when we visited Albania 7 years ago and saw the remarkable work of Archbishop Anastasios in rebuilding the Orthodox Church of Albania after its complete destruction during Albania's communist regime. After three visits to Albania and getting to know the Orthodox mission team serving here, as well as getting to know the Albanian people and understanding the great need, we committed ourselves to serving as missionaries.
Our ministry focuses in three major areas:
1. Feeding & Helping the Poor - The Orthodox Church of Albania, led by Archbishop Anastasios, has implemented many programs to help the poor of Albania. On our first visit to Albania, he asked us if we would be interested in opening, operating, and funding a Soup Kitchen to help the many hungry people in Albania. This question eventually led us to become long term missionaries here and help him realize his plans for the Soup Kitchen. We talk about the Soup Kitchen more extensively in the Soup Kitchen section.
2. Education - Pauline and Melanie are both directly involved in education ministries. Pauline is the director of the "Protagonist Elementary School" here in Tirana. This school is funded by the Orthodox Church of Albania and Pauline reports directly to the Archbishop as she manages this school of over 150 students across two facilities. The school features an American style curriculum and is attended by many children who will someday be the leaders of government and business in Albania.
Melanie has been an English teacher at the Orthodox Theological Academy for 4 years now. Her job is very important because learning English allows students read books that haven't been translated into Albanian.
3. Business Development - With his background in business, George has been working with many Albanian companies to provide them with professional business web sites and change their marketing programs to include an internet strategy. George has started a web consulting company called Amtek that provides these services and he uses the revenues generated to buy food for the Soup Kitchen.
We live in Tirana, the capital city of Albania. As you can see from the map, Albania sits just to the east of the boot heel of Italy across the Adriatic Sea. Here are some quick facts about Albania:
 Population: 3,544,000
Size: 28,748 sq. km., slightly smaller than Maryland
Religious Makeup: 70% Moslem, 30% Christian
Economy: Mostly Agriculture, Average Annual Income about $600 U.S.
Terrain: Mostly mountainous with some coastal plains
Government: Emerging Democracy. Political and Religious freedom allowed since 1991, after 40 years of Communist suppression.
Currency: LEK. The exchange rate is currently about 100 Lek for $1 USD. A loaf of bread costs 60 Lek. |
