Melissa Mazzocco

Jesus is the best part of my life, but I didn’t always feel that way. Growing up Catholic, I always knew ABOUT God, but I didn’t really know HIM. I thought of God as this all-powerful judge, watching my every move and keeping score. Because of this, I was afraid of him and wanted to keep my distance. I worked hard to earn his approval, hoping to score just enough points to make it into heaven. Thankfully, God wasn’t satisfied with this shallow relationship and invited me deeper. During a time of prayer when I was 19 years old, I sensed Jesus asking me to trust him enough to surrender my life to him. I hesitated, thinking of all the saints who had done this and ended up with much suffering. But then the words of St. Peter came to me from John 6:68: “Lord, To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”. I realized in that moment that surrendering my life to Jesus was the only thing that made sense. He ‘has the words of eternal life’; to reject Him would be to reject truth, reality, and purpose. I was more afraid of a life without purpose than I was of what Jesus might ask of my life if I gave it to him. I gave my ‘Yes!’ to God that day and it started me on an amazing journey. That yes led me to become a missionary with CCO, but, even greater, to the heart of Jesus. The more I’ve trusted Jesus with my life, the more I’ve seen that the Father is good, that He loves me deeply and personally, and that His grace is sufficient. When Jesus is close, there is joy. All I want is for others to know the Love and Joy of Christ!

My Mission

I have served as a missionary with CCO since 2006 in a variety of positions including 9 years on campus at SFU in Burnaby, BC. Currently, I serve as the HR Sr. Specialist. It brings me joy to help expand the mission through offering support in recruitment, talent management, missionary staff care, and spearheading various special projects. Everything I do, I do with a passion for the renewal of the world through conversion, knowing that encountering Jesus changes everything!