Hi everyone! My name is Melissa Brown.  I am 17 years old (I turn 18 in August).  I just graduated from Eisenhower High School in the desert town of Yakima, Washington.  I have been blessed with a great family, two supportive parents and a 15 year old brother who never fails to find a reason to tease me.  I have little to no athletic ability, I was however on the Varsity swim team for 2 years - there was no jv :]!! I finally ended up giving up swim team and embraced my artistic side getting involved with drama.  I enjoy swing dancing, reading, painting, writing, spending time with my friends, knitting, photography, music speaks to me immensely - I don't play any instruments but I would love to learn to play the guitar, hiking, wakeboarding and basically anything hands on that allows me to express my creativity.  After accepting the talents that God blessed me with I became less self critical and more able to share my gifts.  Last summer I traveled to the Dominican Republic and during our VBS program I was the leader of the craft time.  I was able to connect with the kids very well and ended up gaining a small following of children for the rest of my stay in the Dominican.  I realized that God doesn't ask any of us to change who we are for him.  He will work through us and exploit our talents and expose our weaknesses so that we are able to grow in him and serve in our own way.  I know that God chose each of us individually to fufill his work in Nicaragua and that together we will become a strong team with diverse talents. By using the gifts the Lord provided us we will Glorify him and expose others to Christ!