Though Jessica has only one brother – “the best brother ever” – she has 50 cousins who all lived within 15 minutes from each other. Many of them got together multiple times a week. It’s no surprise that Jessica is known for being a people person, and one who engages everyone with love and respect.
“I grew up experiencing the beauty of family; loving each other through the greatest joys and the most difficult challenges,” she said. “My family has always been there for me as I have had to face unforeseen challenges in my life, and the gratitude I have for them has no words that could truly express the value they have in my life.
“I credit my family for my deep desire to continuously grow in treating everyone I meet like family,” she added. “I want the stranger to feel like when we meet that they are not alone. I have been given the greatest gift in life, and that is love. I know what it means to give love, because of my family. I want to extend this to as many people as possible because my big family always has room for more.”
Embracing everyone like a blood relative was a conscious decision Jessica made before she even completed her senior year of high school. After high school, Jessica pursued higher education majoring in Biblical Studies and Family Education at Multnomah University. She completed the Arts Bridge Scholar program through the University of Utah, and has been trained in NLP and is certified in the Teaching Family Model.
She has worked for 17 years in six different states and internationally, including Zambia, with non-profit charities empowering youth in foster care, areas of mental health, and human trafficking. Her primary focus was then - and still is - helping children and youth heal from trauma and empowering them in their hopes and dreams for the future. She has first-hand experience being a therapeutic foster parent for children who experienced severe neglect, abuse or human trafficking.
“We must each believe we are the one that can make a difference,” Jessica said. “We all have different roles and that’s beautiful! Identify what your role is at this time in your life and be the change.”
LIFE CALLING
16 / The Beauty Battalion / www.TheBBmag.com
/ Cover Feature /
O.U.R. Promise
To the children
who we pray for daily, we say:
Your long night is coming to an end.
Hold on. We are on our way.
And to those captors and perpetrators,
even you monsters who dare offend God's precious children, we declare to you:
Be afraid. We are coming for you.
More support = More children rescued + more recoveries planned +
more technology installation and training
When you donate, you directly impact the life of a suffering child.
JOIN THE FIGHT@ www.OURrescue.org