I finally got my missions letter all together. For some of you, you'll be receiving this in the mail...and for others it'll be your first time reading this. If you'd like to receive actual mail updates from me and this missions process please forward me your mailing address to the email address below. I'm excited to see what God is going to do throughout all of this. Hope you enjoy
Ever since junior high, I have felt God placing missions on my heart. I knew that I shouldn’t wait until I was a ‘grown-up’ to be a missionary, but that I should follow what the Bible says in Acts 1:8; “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” I needed to start in my neighborhood, city, state, and then go to the other parts of the world. So I began to do just that.
In junior high, I organized and lead See You At the Pole from 6th grade through 8th grade. In high school, I became an Illinois Campus Missionary where I got involved at the Christian club at school, and actually led the club in my last 2 years. Continuing to see if God’s call of missions was real in my life, I pursued overseas missions with Book of Hope International (now OneHope) and went to Guatemala in the summer of ’05 and to Southern Africa for their internship program in the summer of ’07. Now that I’m done with college, it’s time to completely go after the calling God’s has for me as a full-time overseas missionary with OneHope.
OneHope’s main goal is to reach every child with God’s Word using innovative techniques to present the Gospel to youth and children around the world. OneHope is NOT about numbers, it’s about seeing young people have personal encounters with Jesus and seeing their lives change because of Him. I will be involved with developing ministry plans that identify sustainable ways to reach out to young people and give them the resources they need to grow in their relationship with Christ. For example, if I were to go back to South Africa, I’d meet with leaders in the community, both political and church/religious leaders, to get a better understanding of the issues that their young people face. From there, I’d conduct research in the community at large in order to develop and implement a tailored ministry plan of action for that location to effectively reach out to the specific need of South African young people. The skills and training that I’ve received through my college education, majoring in Applied Psychology and minoring in Spanish, have equipped me with the tools to assist OneHope in this key area. In addition to this, I’ll also be leading US teams around the world on short-term assignments.
Right now, in order for me to go onto the mission field full-time, I need 100 people who’d be willing to partner with me for my 2 years commitment at $30 a month. I’m answering the call of God to give Him all my talents and abilities, and I’m asking you to listen and respond to this letter by partnering with me financially and through prayer support. Enclosed in this letter is a financial pledge form which you can fill out for whatever amount God’s placed upon your heart.
Please feel free to contact me if you want to discuss this further or have any questions about how I will be serving with OneHope.
Sincerely,
Jessie Drachenberg
jessiedrachenberg@onehope.net
