Mission Centers of Houston is proud to highlight our interim volunteer coordinator, Vanessa Ortiz, who will be serving in this key capacity until March of this year. (photo taken in 2010)Vanessa, an ’03 summer intern missionary alumna, has long-time roots with Mission Centers of Houston — when she first arrived, she enjoyed participating in the majority of the programs taking place at Fletcher Center as well as at Gano Center. “It was while I was serving here that summer,” Vanessa reflected, “that I met Noe, the love of my life.” After her term as a summer missionary was completed and the two were married, Vanessa’s connection to Mission Centers of Houston only increased as Noe has filled the director position at Fletcher Center since January 2009. Vanessa also carries the significant responsibility of coordinating the teaching schedule, volunteer teachers and class needs for our ESL classes which are offered at Fletcher Center twice a week. In addition to organizational responsibilities with the ESL schedule, Vanessa enjoys teaching the beginner classes herself and teaching the class devotional twice a week. The number of ESL students, largely women, have continued to grow over the past several years — an encouraging success that Vanessa attributes to the positive spiritual growth being fostered through the bi-weekly Bible studies.
When asked, Vanessa related that one of the most valuable investments they’ve been able to make is the choice to intentionally raise their family of 4 girls (plus 1 on the way!) in the same community where the couple is actively serving. “It’s a great way to introduce our children to God and to teach them about the Word through a specific worldview that is shaped through living and working in this community,” Vanessa shared.
As interim volunteer coordinator, Vanessa is responsible for overseeing the application and interview process for our summer intern missionaries applicants, seeking to participate in the 2013 Global Footprints program. She is also coordinating all individual and group volunteers. For any related questions or needs, Vanessa can best be reached at Vanessa@missioncenters.org.
