CENTER for STUDENT MISSIONS

Amanda “Mandie” Cantrell

Mandie is from Bogalusa, LA. She attends Southeastern Louisiana University, where she just finished her sophomore year, majoring in journalism. She has been on many mission trips, including New Mexico, Tennessee, Miami, Hawaii, New York (with CSM) and now Canada! She has led Bible studies for the younger youth in her youth group, has taught Sunday School and led a Bible Study for the youth in Hawaii. She is a part of her campus outreach at SLU and is currently helping to start a governor’s program on abstinence. Mandie is very upbeat and funny. She loves almost any kind of movie and can quote most of them. “I am serving this summer with CSM because I saw a shadow of how they touch lives in New York. I also remember how the staff helped me to grow in Christ. My goal for this summer is to share what I have experienced with the groups I will be working with and to give them a chance to see God in a new way.”

Alan Liu

Alan was born and raised in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto. He recently graduated from Tyndale University College and Seminary with an M. Div in Pastoral Studies. Prior, he was a business graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University. He has been involved in leadership roles with both college and high-school students, and currently serves as lead counselor with his church’s high school youth group. Alan is a Scrabble nut, and loves all Toronto sports, particularly “God’s team,” the Toronto Maple Leafs. “Coming from the suburbs and currently living in Toronto, I am particularly interested in the renewal of the city, and the role of the (suburban) church in it. My hope is that the relationships I build with the people and ministries of Toronto will deepen my experience in the city.”

Robin Long

Robin is currently living in Ottawa, Ontario. She just finished her first year at University of Ottawa, majoring in History. She has been on two CSM missions trips to Chicago and Philadelphia. Throughout high school she volunteered as a small group leader, youth group arts coordinator, and served on the student leadership team. She has volunteered at the National House of Prayer in Ottawa this past year. Robin is a trained ballet and Irish dancer and currently choreographs worship dances. She was involved in the choreography and performance of the presentations at the Global Day of Prayer in Toronto in 2006. “I am looking forward to being stretched this summer and am hoping to nurture a heart for missions within the visiting teams. Toronto is my city of birth and I long to see it transformed by the Lord.”

Cheryl Macdonald

Cheryl has lived her whole life in various places in Ontario and has spent the last two years as a nursing student in the sub-urban area outside of the Greater Toronto Area. She wants to please God by getting back to the raw basics of Jesus-following and hopes her lifestyle will someday encourage many others to do the same. She’s interested in all issues involving the streets and is excited to have the opportunity to be able to learn and teach about Toronto’s needs, serve God alongside her North American siblings in Christ, and lead others to be Jesus to our communities while constantly depending on God. She loves to work for CSM as on a daily basis feels like God is shining a light on various parts of herself that need to change. She gets to connect with and learn from many people, is blessed to be able to see God move in spectacular ways in people’s hearts, and is learning what it means to see God and follow Jesus while she works in Toronto.

Hope Makena

Hope was born in Nairobi, Kenya and relocated to Canada when her family moved 7 years ago. As a growing young teenager, Hope made a decision to involve God in all her affairs. She has since witnessed God’s goodness and faithfulness in her personal and academic life. Hope is a college student in her last semester at The Marianopolis College, based in Montreal and is an active member of the Marianopolis Christian Fellowship (MCF). In the past, she has worked in various summer day camps mostly involving the black community in Montreal. While in high school at the Greaves Academy, Montreal, she assisted elementary school teachers in marking and tutoring other students. At Marianopolis College, she has worked as an Audiovisual and Technology Student Assistant as well as a Student Librarian. Hope loves singing, drawing and reading motivational books. Having been motivated by her mother, an accountant working in an international organization in Canada, Hope loves motivating and inspiring others to be achievers in life. “This summer, as I serve at the CSM in Toronto, I pray that God would reveal to me the purpose He has for my life, and I trust that God’s mighty hand will continue to be evident in all my affairs.”