Ten
years ago I spent my last semester of college studying abroad in
the United Kingdom.
Mingling among the cross-cultural bustle of London
was a defining moment where I became convinced I wanted to be involved in
missions in some way for the rest of my life. Ten years later, I’m returning—as
a missionary—to be a part of Book of Hope’s pioneering base in Stoke-on-Trent, England. My commitment there is August 31-December 5, coming home for
the holidays and returning mid-January - May.
The UK base
is a launching point to reach the UK
and the rest of the European continent. Book of Hope has formed a partnership
with a Christian radio station there, United Christian Broadcasters (UCB),
where we will be leading British interns to do Book of Hope ministry and
facilitating their time exploring ministry opportunities in Christian radio.
Myself and another Book of Hope Missionary, Michelle Carr, will be co-leading
all the ventures for our 4 young-adult interns. There are opportunities to
distribute Books of Hope to kids in British schools as well as beyond England's borders. We will lead them in discipleship, in ministry, and in a growing
desire to be a part of the ever-changing world around them.
"Where
is Stoke-on-Trent?" you may ask.
"Stoke" as we call it, is near Liverpool in the north of England. And
while it may be a small town, it's no small vision that is growing there and
across the world as we see God fervently moving among young people to know Him.
When you look at England
as a whole, it was once the largest missionary-sending nation. Now, it faces
various dynamics that offer amazing opportunities to minister to immigrants
from the 10/40 window (the area of the world with the largest population of
unreached people and children....the Middle East, Asia,
etc.) as well as its own growing secular
population.
I believe
God is bringing us there to be a part of raising up a generation of people who
will be passionate about God's love for other cultures in their own backyard
and around the world. If you are still interested in supporting me financially
to see this vision become a growing reality, please contact me at vanessamitchell@bookofhope.net. And please
pray with me as I start on this next step in a life-long journey of following
Christ.
*To learn more about
Book of Hope, visit online at go.bookofhope.net
*To learn more about UCB, visit online at www.ucb.co.uk
This past year , I have
been staying busy assisting in the Recreation and DayCamp areas of my church,
mainly working with children and performing clerical duties. I’ve also been
active in both my church’s missions committee as well as the student
ministry where I served as a teacher/facilitator for high school girls in
Sunday School. In January, I helped out with our youth group’s Winter Retreat,
challenging students to continue growing in their knowledge of God. It was a
cold weekend (40 degrees!), but the fire-side chats helped students and adults
refocus on the basics of service and love.
During Spring Break this past March, I had the privilege of
leading a college group from to West Virginia to Lima, Peru. The neat thing about this trip was the fact that we worked on college campuses in Limadistributing the university age editions of the Book of Hope. By
partnering with campus ministries on each campus, we were able to walk onto
these campuses and interact with many students. Our team was perfectly suited
to relate to the crowds and various Peruvian students that approached our team
members, sharing their own life experiences and asking more about God. Of
course, our team was not without opportunities to work with younger children.
We visited a few schools as well as a very poor community that had no
electricity except a one-room shack that a local church provided for children
to come and hang out.
I
am always encouraged by the openness of these children and young adults. This
is so common all around the world...young people who are more and more willing
to hear about Christ and His hope. Overall, our team distributed around 10,550
copies of God’s Word! Please pray for these young people as well as the
local churches and ministries that are now following up with them.
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