As a young woman, Anna Thiessen wanted to be a missionary in India. She ended up in Winnipeg, instead, and made a difference.

That's how the second season of Still Speaking begins, with the first of many stories over the next twelve weeks focused on the migration of thousands of Russian Mennonites to Canada beginning in 1923. Between 1923 and 1930, over 21,000 Mennonites arrived in Canada from the Soviet Union, and this season of Still Speaking we'll be hearing stories about this mass migration and its implications.

Archivist Conrad Stoesz, from the Mennonite Heritage Archives in Winnipeg, is again hosting the program.

Now to this week's story about Anna Thiessen. She emigrated from Russia to Canada in 1903, settling with her family in Saskatchewan. In the early 20s, she moved to Winnipeg, where the next eight years she worked as a city missionary for the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches.

From here, we'll have Conrad tell the rest of the story with Episode 1 of Still Speaking.

You can listen to Still Speaking Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 12:40pm.