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Charles (“Chuck”) David Kelley is founder and president of Bridge Builders International. Kelley is the Chairman of the Board of BBI’s Latvian branch, 'Nodibinajums Partneri' (Partners Association Latvia) and Dean of International Relations of Baltic Pastoral Institute in Riga, Latvia. He is a Latvian-American with dual citizenship has been working on behalf of Latvia since 1985 when he first visited the land of his mother and grandparents. He is one of the founders of the Latvian Evangelical Alliance and currently serves as a member of its board of directors and is the Dean of International Relations at the Baltic Pastoral Institute, and served on the executive committee of the Latvian National Prayer Breakfast. Kelley has degrees in cultural anthropology, biblical studies and intercultural ministry from Biola University and Dallas Theological Seminary. He has also studied at Oregon State University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the University of Latvia. He served several congregations in California, Texas and Oregon in various pastoral positions for 21 years before establishing BBI in 1994. In 2003, the President of Latvia conferred on Kelley the The Gold Medal of Honour of the Order of the Three Stars, the equivalent of knighthood, for his contributions to the spiritual development Latvia. Kelley is married to Nancy Kelley and together they have four grown children and seven grandchildren and split their time between Philomath, Oregon and Riga, Latvia. In his free time Kelley enjoys painting, playing the piano and composing music. ==Early life== Kelley is a Latvian-American; his mother was a Latvian immigrant and his predominantly absent father was the son of a Missouri politician. Kelley was raised in Los Angeles in his grandparent’s home. His grandfather–Karlis Wilhelm Zingers (Charles William Singer)–committed his life to Christian ministry when he was twenty, serving in the military in Latvia. He was serving as a Baptist pastor when he and his family fled Russian-occupied Latvia in 1944, living in refugee camps for several years, until finally making their way to the United States. Kelley’s grandfather worked for many years after the war to help refugees from Europe, and in 1963, he officially launched the International Refugee Mission. Kelley served on the board of directors of IRM from 1977 to 1996, when it merged with Bridge Builders International. In 1973, as he was preparing to graduate from high school, Kelley made his first overseas mission trip with his grandfather to Germany, Belgium, England, France, Italy and Switzerland. He continued to visit Europe during his studies at Biola. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Charles David Kelley」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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