Eileen Emch
Rostov-on-Don, Russia
From Russia With Love - March, 2008
Eileen lives in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. She has served as an ambassador to Russia since January 1999; working in the local orphanage, teaching English to elementary school children, teaching Bible classes, while also encouraging, mentoring and teaching the women of all ages who attend the Lord’s Church in Rostov.
Eileen grew up in suburban Akron, Ohio in a family which included five brothers and sisters. She earned her teachers’ certificate at Abilene Christian College. Soon after graduation, she found herself on an airplane to Sydney, Australia with a group of teachers committed to teach in the public schools for two years. During those two years, Eileen began to worship at the Macquarie Church of Christ in suburban Sydney. She made the life changing decision to accept Christ as her Savior. During school vacation, she joined a group headed for Papua New Guinea, where she helped missionaries teach literacy classes and conduct medical clinics.
Upon returning home to Ohio, she taught in an inner city school for four years. Continuing her career development in the field of education, the next step was to earn her PhD from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Eileen was teaching in the Dallas area and attending Prestoncrest when the Berlin wall came down. She followed the participation of members of the local Church as teams traveled to Russia, both to teach the Word of God and to deliver humanitarian aid and medical equipment.
In 1996, Eileen made her first trip to Rostov. In 1999, she returned as a co-worker of Igor Egirev. Eileen continues in her ministry in many ways including using her interest and talents in photography and recording. Eileen enhances participation in the annual Russian Singing School by making available to each attendee, a cd photo album and disk of the songs which were learned during the conference. Her webshots.com website has received over 30,000 “hits” during 2005/2006.