Amanda White

Amanda White grew up in a home that had been broken by divorce when she was 10 years old. Yet her mother was a stabilizing factor, trusting God herself and passing on that heritage to her daughter. Amanda cites her mother's Christian influence as the greatest in her life, never allowing fear or uncertainty to have any place in their lives. She encouraged her daughter in her missions aspirations, helping her to participate in four different missions trips to Mexico during her high school years.

Those experiences serving in Mexico, building houses and caring for the poor were extremely impactful for Amanda. She describes the effect of those missions trips on her life as "opening my eyes to poverty ... and began to shape the way I saw the world around me."

She had a breakthrough in her own spiritual life when she was in college. "Even though I was raised in the church, and had a personal relationship with God, I don’t believe I truly understood the depths of His grace and love for me until I had suffered in the ways of the world. After years of striving for love and acceptance outside of God, I can vividly remember the night when the Lord lifted my burdens from my chest. As the darkness in my young 19-year-old life began to brighten, God began to speak to me about my identity in Him." Her future husband, Jared, was a great encouragement and had a profound impact on her understanding of how God saw her during that critical period.

Jared and Amanda married in 2007. Together they prayed for God's future plans while Amanda completed her Bachelor's Degree in English at Simpson University. Both shared a passion for working with youth, and hearts for the mission field. So when the Directors of Operation Lazarus suggested they pray about moving to Ukraine, they took it seriously. Amanda describes it this way: "Our heart is to serve the least ...and so the opportunity to change the lives of teenagers in Ukraine was something we jumped at! Jared and I are always up for a good adventure, and the more we prayed about it, the more we realized that Ukraine was what God had planned for us. We’re so blessed to see God bring this vision to pass!"

After spending a few months on the mission field in Ukraine working with Operation Lazarus, Amanda described what she enjoyed the most. "What I love most about living overseas is the opportunity to see how God has created people all over the world – how people in Ukraine are so different culturally, yet so similar in our humanity. God’s creativity is beautiful. It’s easy to get caught up in the culture of Jesus in America, and seeing Jesus worldwide is incredibly refreshing. I think seeing the change in the attitudes of the kids we work with is so very exciting. The more we continue to love each teenager, the softer and more loving they become. I may not always be able to love them with words and the language barrier can be difficult, but love in action goes a long way. To see the girls open up to us, to giggle and laugh with us, to hug and kiss us, shows me that God is working in their hearts. I know that as we continue to be faithful in showing love in small ways, God will change the lives of the youth in ways that are beyond what we can dream."

When asked what she misses most from home while in Ukraine, Amanda replied, " Of course my friends and family in America. But other things I miss are Starbucks coffee, salads, soymilk, whole wheat flour, landscaping, and friendly customer service!"

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