My Bio–semi-complete
I am the second of four kids and I grew up in a Christ-centered family in the suburbs of Chicago in which my life was filled with church activities, various sport teams, dance lessons, music, theater, being home-schooled, going on campouts, being an active Girl Scout, doing AWANA programs, volunteering within the community, and et al. I played tennis and ran track in high school, but mostly focused on my academics and volunteering, while being semi-involved in my church's high school group. I enjoyed holding a variety of leadership positions and volunteering at a local food pantry. In my free time, I was drawn to the arts, fitness, and volunteering. I was commonly found drawing, writing, working out, spending as much time outside as possible, and volunteering with a Girl Scout troop I co-established with my good friend Laura.
Now-a few years later and a thousand changes and experiences later, which includes three colleges, my sophomore year in Spain as a missionary (which captured my attention and heart for missions), a few states and cities in which I lived in, countless churches, a separated family, a ton of campouts and adventures, many mountains climbed, lakes kayaked, various running races, an undergraduate degree, a variety of volunteer positions, passions revealed, loves found, loves lost, thousands of friends, tons of tea, roadtrips and travels with friends, Bible studies, social activism, a medley of jobs, a couple of concerts, many books, highs and lows, lessons learned (again and again), and literally a countless list of experiences that have shaped me to be passionate about "being Jesus," caring for the underprivilidged, intercultural differences, adventure, travel, and being a part a missional team.
I really became interested in missions when I lived, studied, and helped establish a campus ministry in Salamanca, Spain during my sophomore year of college. I had always been one to "dig deeper" in my faith and this opportunity to live away from the States and be an active part of ministry literally changed my life. I went with high hopes and expectations and was surprised how different I was at first. I tend to be outspoken and very social and as I disembarked the plane I realized that I knew none of my team members and none of the students we were to minister to. For the first time in my memory, I found myself quite timid. With God, time, a wonderful team (which included three a-mazing roommates), and my new amazing friends and fellow students, I began to restructure my life and re-center it on God and His promises. There were many times that I struggled with my faith and even in the littlest of things, I struggled with praying and spending time alone with God. For me, this was a new challenge. I had always been a big proponent of prayer, but there was a brief season in my time in Salamanca that it felt like a battle to talk to my Father. All in all, I learned more God- and life-lessons during this nine-month time of my life than I could have EVER imagined. I was blessed to be in an environment in which my passions and dreams were encouraged; where I was loved just as I was-for the first time in my life, I did not feel pressured to be anyone else but Hannah Joy Vitkus; I was blessed with good friends who ministered with me and I ministered to; I was encouraged by the team leaders just by watching their lives; I also learned how to truly love others in God's name; I was able to travel throughout Europe; and so so much MORE…! [Have questions? CMFI.org + I can easily talk about Spain for days on end.] 🙂
I also spent the summer of 2007 in Long Beach, California with Campus Crusade for Christ's program, "Summer Project" in which I worked in a kayak and windsurf center, ministered to my co-workers, helped a local church, fed the homeless, worked in the innercity, and enjoyed a life in community with around 30 other college students. This brief summer in Cali rekindled my love for Christian community and ministry on a day-to-day basis within the workplace, among new friends, and those I served in this city that is located outside of L.A. I have been blessed with a few good friends from there that continue to bless and encourage me immensely in life, even though they all live away in different states from as close as Missouri and Alabama to as far as Michigan and Colorado. A repetitive blessing in recent years from God is that He keeps providing me with a family of friends, which may seem counter-intuitive to my current lifestyle which includes a ton of friends, but before I started college, I did not have any in-depth friends.
I now live in Nashville, Tennessee. I earned an undergraduate degree at Belmont University in December 2008. I am currently twenty-two years old; I enjoy working with local and international non-profits as well as marketing, social networking, and sporadic writing projects; I live in a small but cozy apartment in a trendy part of the city with one of my closest friends; am quite involved in my church and active in combating the homeless issue that is a part of the city's foremost social and justice challenges; and I spend my free time with friends; in the outdoors, traveling, reading, running, writing, listening to music; raising support; dreaming about changing the world; working on a variety of side projects; attending Bible studies; serving the homeless in any way possible, basically being very social and etc. I am also busy with working on plans for my own small business in the near future (for pre- and post-race) and I am also applying to grad school, but I am open to what God wants in my life and if grad school is not it post-race, then I know that He has other plans for me…
VERY SIMPLY: I enjoy being 'plugged in.' When I see NEEDS around me, I cannot help myself from striving to fulfill them. I pray God will use this trait of mine to bring the KINGDOM as my World Race team ministers.
Currently, I have been blessed with a medley of friends from my church (The Village Chapel–check out thevillagechapel.com) and from Belmont who love and challenge me. My immediate family still resides in the Chicagoland, while I live and work down in Nashville. I am used to living "away" from my family and long-term friends, so even though I am looking forward to TWR like CRAZY, I know that I will miss my good friends in this city in which I have lived a bit over two years now.
There is an immense amount of information about me that I have not written about which includes my quirky side (I like numbers and being exact), my lack of musical-talent-side (I am basically tone-deaf), my affinity toward backpacking and kayaking (I keep my tent and backpack in my clothes closet), my quirks that range from the subtle to the humorous (I don't like not having a notebook on me or at least a scrap of paper and a pen because I like to write random notes); my risk-taking adventurous side (I enjoy skydiving, splunking, and jumping off bridges–to name a few!); my ever-increasing interest in health and fitness and how this plays a role in globalization; my interest in state and global politics (I enjoy being an active participant in politics); my interest in social and cultural norms and behaviors (thanks to my sociological background); and SO much more…!
Yes, there is so much more about me, but I do not quite know what to include and what to exclude, so bear with me and you will soon know more about me, my life, my passions, goals, and dreams…
