Russ Hersman says, “Lynda and I joined Wycliffe 33 years ago with the goal of providing the Scriptures for one Bibleless people group somewhere in the world. That took us to the Toposa of southern Sudan, where we began the Toposa translation project. We only got that project underway when God moved us into administrative work, where our gifts were more suited.
“Little did we know then that the approach to the translation work would change radically over the next 20 years. By the time we left Africa in 1999, the Toposa project was being run by a Toposa man with a master’s degree in Bible and translation studies, and we had had the privilege of impacting dozens of language groups instead of only one.
“One of our proudest moments was receiving a certificate of appreciation just this year from the Tira community for our work on their behalf. While we can speak no words of Tira, nor have we translated anything for them, through our support and encouragement the Tira received their New Testament this year.”
Russ Hersman was appointed as a Senior Vice President of Wycliffe USA in 2005, giving executive leadership to Prayer Ministries, Recruitment Ministries, Personnel and Leadership Development. Previous he spent five years in the Personnel department, first as the Personnel Administrator for the Pacific and Eurasia Areas and then as the Director.
During the 21 year sojourn in Africa, Russ acted as linguist/translator, office manager, support services manager, and branch director, in addition to serving several terms on the executive committees in Sudan and Kenya. He has also served on Wycliffe USA’s Board for nine years and Wycliffe Associates’ Board for three years, and was recently appointed to the Mission Exchange Board of Directors (formerly known as the Evangelical Foreign Mission Association).
Russ has been married to Lynda since 1972. They have been faithfully commissioned and supported by Lake City Community Church of Lakewood, Washington, since the very first.
Russ and Lynda have three adult children: Pam (married to Matt), Erik (married to Rinnie), and Amy. They also have seven grandchildren and two dogs, all of whom are doted on accordingly.