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Since moving to Perm in September 2000 Jeff has worked on the
development of projects creating opportunities for orphans. This
includes participation in Perm's annual Ice and Snow Sculpture
Festival and a partnership between three orphanages establishing
a farm where the children can spend the summer learning life and
work skills while growing crops that can be used in the orphanages.
The Worldwide Ministries Division of the PC(USA) affirmed Jeff's
call to ministry in Perm. He was appointed for a two-year term
as a long-term international volunteer in July 2002 to serve as
the PC(USA)'s primary liaison for developing relationships between
Perm Baptist, Lutheran, and Russian Orthodox churches and orphanages
in the Perm region.
Often referred to as the "Gateway to Siberia," Perm
is an industrial city about 600 miles northeast of Moscow and
just west of the Ural mountains. With a population of nearly one
million residents, the city stretches for 40 miles along the banks
of the Kama River. Another interesting fact about Perm is that
it has a sister-city relationship with Louisville, Kentucky.
Jeff obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Furman
University in Greenville, South Carolina. From 1998 until leaving
for Russia, he worked as operations manager for the financial
planning division of the certified public accounting firm, Frazier
& Deeter, LLC, in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1994 to 1997 he conducted
diabetes research as a research specialist in the Department of
Endocrinology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston,
South Carolina.
Jeff is a member of Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta,
Georgia, where he has been active as a Sunday school class officer
and a member of the Singles Committee and the Mission Committee.
Birthday: February 20
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