When I think of my oldest niece Janneke, I think of an eighteen year old young woman who lives with a mission.
She is not one whose purpose has been to excel academically, although she did quite well in school….
She is not one who strives to succeed in music and drama, even though she is very gifted with an amazing voice and is quite an actress….
She is not one who has set out to make and save a lot of money during her high school years, because after all, jobs have been hard to come by….
So, when I think of Janneke living with a mission, this is what comes to mind….
Janneke has always been a very engaging girl. She knew how to start a conversation with most anyone…
Janneke has always been very compassionate and quite an advocate for the underdog….
Janneke has always been very articulate and able to translate her passion and compassion into words quite easily….
So, when you take an engaging, compassionate, articulate girl who is gifted in song and drama, and marvel at her growing faith and passion for people, it comes quite naturally that she lives with a mission….
Janneke loves people and activity, but it is evident her favorite people (most often) is her family. When life gets busy, she chooses to bypass many invitations in order to spend an evening home with her family. 
And so as Janneke graduated tonight, and I thought about how she has always lived life with a mission. I smiled at how she is responding in the same spirit for the next chapter of her life. Janneke is going to live an adventure and learn even more about who she is and what it means to serve others. Janneke is going to put her engaging, compassionate, articulate gifts to work and spend six months serving with Youth With A Mission….
I believe that God knew this would be true already when this one year old sat in the wash tub.
And so, I delight in how Janneke is willing to risk and venture out in order to continue to live with a mission…YOU GO GIRL…I am behind you all the way!
