Building up the Church

Slava Petlitsa was born and raised in the Ukraine where he completed a B.Sc. in Metallurgical Engineering and a B.A. in Foreign Languages (English, Spanish, German). After coming to faith as an adult, and emigrating to Canada, Slava  earned a M.A. in Biblical Languages, Biblical Studies and Leadership and a Master of Linguistics at Trinity Western University. He worked as an academic translator (Russian-English), and taught Russian to missionaries and business people both in Canada and in the former Soviet Union.

Currently, Slava teaches Russian and Spanish at TWU. He has been involved in ministry and study in Mexico, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, as well as teaching Spanish in Guatemala as part of TWU's Study Abroad Program.
 
Joanne Pepper came to faith in her teens before earning her Masters degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. Studies at the University of Lisbon, Portugal and fieldwork in Brazil led to her Ph.D. from the University of Warwick, in Great Britain. Having worked in numerous cross-cultural contexts, including Latin America and the former Soviet Union, Joanne brings expertise in biblical studies and contextualized theology, missiology, world faiths and English as a Second Language to her role as Professor of Intercultural Studies at TWU in British Colombia.
 
Slava & Joanne met in the former Soviet Union. Together they have been involved in ministry in Eastern Europe, Central America and Cuba. They both serve in a local Spanish congregation, with a focus on serving as non-resident missionaries to Cuba.