Hi, my name is Isabel Friesen, but people have started calling me Izzie, and I kind of like it, so we will stick with it. 🙂
I am currently a theatre education major at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG). I have been immersed in the theatre since I was six years old, and I love it. I am captivated by how the arts are able to bring people together despite background and beliefs. I hope to one day teach theater on the mission field.
I fell in love with missions when I went to Youth With A Mission (YWAM), after high school, for a Discipleship Training School in the Sunny Coast, Australia. In Australia, I learned about who God is and what He says about me. I was transformed by the revelation that I did not have to do anything to earn God’s love.
Through YWAM, I was blessed to be a part of an all-girls team in Fiji. It was life-changing. God showed me so many different people and His heart for the nations. I knew God had called me for a mighty purpose, but I had no idea where to start.
I returned to North Carolina and worked at two jobs and was a full-time student at a community college. It was here that I learned that God isn’t about a destination or an action, but that He cared about my character. He cared about the condition of my heart, not my circumstances. But I still had a desire to live and abundant adventurous life, and it didn’t feel like Pinehurst, North Carolina was it.
I began to ask myself how God could use my passion for theatre and people for His good, and it only made sense to pursue theatre education.
Fast forward: I am now at UNCG studying and preparing for my dream job while trying to love the people in front of me to the best of my ability. I am a family group leader at my church and an active member of our School of Theatre.
I know I want to teach on the mission field one day, but I am not sure where. I’ve felt a stir for Africa in my heart, so when I saw that World Race Semesters was going to Swaziland in June I was ready to go. I applied, and now I am so excited to see what God does in and through our team.
