Larissa N. Q.

Hello! My name is Larissa, and I am an only daughter to a two-time stroke survivor mother, and father who have taught me a lot about resilience. Born in Toronto, but having grown up in British Columbia, Canada, I am currently a 3rd year Interdisciplinary Studies student at UBC’s Faculty of Arts with a focus on Sociology (Family Studies) and English Literature. I value the endeavour to respectfully learn from various sources of knowledge and finding how they might intersect and/or connect, and I love having deep conversations filled with reflections on life experiences or fixations on interests. I have always been fascinated by family structures—especially details like conflict management and communication styles—and how it is the first “school” we encounter before entering the “real world.”

I was raised Catholic and have been practicing ever since my mother copied down a morning prayer in an orange-covered Dollar-store notebook for me (then told me to write my own whenever I wanted or needed to, which then included prayers about being more organized and asking for my parents to not be too hard on me, haha), and received a Rhyming Bible as a Christmas gift, fondly going over it as a child before bedtime. However, I only started to truly feel Jesus’ presence and develop an ongoing conversion just after joining my first CCO faith study to pursue fellowship and strengthen my own faith. Additionally, after 5 months of starting my day with CCO’s prayer booklet, I have honestly felt lighter no matter how stressful some days or weeks have been, and I want to maintain it, and help others come to know the beauty of being in a relationship with Jesus.

Why do I want to be on Mission?

My first personal encounter with Jesus was during an event called “Spirit Day” for Confirmandees in the seventh grade. To this day, I remember the contemporary dance that was performed. No words, just music and an emotional, very relatable story unfolding. Long story short, it was much like the parable of the Prodigal Son. We are initially close to Jesus as children, the world gets in the way, there is internal and external turmoil, but we have the choice to go back to him, and he will always have his arms wide open for us. And at 24 years old, still battling insecurities, being lost in my sense of identity, purpose and worth, the desire to go on mission and remind myself on how to reach for Jesus with persistence and consistency, and how to help others who are in the same boat, is my reason for saying yes. I was recently reminded that “God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.” I want to go on mission because, to me, it means growing through challenges with Jesus and being more confident in my faith, figuring out who I can become for our Lord, nurturing the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit within me, and sharing with others how close he really is to us.