Vanessa Banks works with many children as a Missionary in El Salvador to guide them to a better life. (Photo: Vanessa Banks)
Vanessa Banks was raised in Stittsville and is the daughter of Gary and Christine Banks. A few years ago, she left the security of home, and her country Canada, to embark on a challenge to develop a ministry. Vanessa served in the Canadian Army for almost 8 years before realizing that her calling was to be a missionary in El Salvador. Coming from a military family, this was by no means an easy task.
Vanessa travelled to El Salvador in 2012 for a short-term mission trip with Youth for Christ Canada, returning for two weeks each of the following three summers. In a letter written to Stittsville Central after Vanessa’s 2012 trip, she emphasized, “From the very first moment I travelled to El Salvador, the country captured my heart. Even though it was a completely foreign country, a different language, and a new culture, I felt like I was home. I knew that I was meant to live there someday as a missionary”.
Vanessa has been through many adventures since then and would like to share them with her community. In a special ZOOM webinar, Vanessa will detail her project so far. She will tell us how she has coped in a new country, the challenges of reaching out to children in a troubled environment and how she builds faith and trust where there is doubt and poverty. El Salvador is considered a highly-dangerous country worldwide and the youth are often recruited at a young age to join the gangs.
Vanessa’s Journey looks at the roads to building a successful Ministry and educating the youth in El Salvador, while battling the internal issues such as gangs and Covid-19. Please accept this invite to share her journey so far.
Stittsville Central, in conjunction with Joseph Carbonetto and The Knights of Columbus 12249 Council of Stittsville, is proud to present “Vanessa’s Journey – A Mission of Love” in a ZOOM meeting, this Monday, August 17, 2020 at 7:00 pm EST (Canada and US).
Vanessa is excited to share her story and looks forward to reconnecting with her Stittsville community while answering your questions on her work and travels. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with Vanessa. The Zoom details are as follows: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82919856498
Meeting ID: 829 1985 6498.