1) My name is Jessica Parrish, most of the time I go by Jess or JP.
2) I'm a small town girl, I've lived in Nashville, North Carolina my whole life, and pretty much nobody outside of a 20 mile radius has a clue where it is 🙂
3) I graduated in 2009 and took some time off, so this is my first semester in college, I'm at Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, NC working on a BACS in Christian Studies with a minor in Missions. I have absolutely no idea where I'll end up or what I'm going to do after school, but I hope it's out of the country and has something to do with street kids or trafficking victims.
4) I'm a hostess and a waitress at a little Italian restaurant called il Bacio. Let me just pause a minute and say how much I love working there… 1, the restaurant name means the kiss. 2, everybody there has thick Italian accents, and I never can figure out what they're trying to tell me. 3, and probably the best thing about it, the cooks sing Italian opera while they make the food. It's pretty entertaining. Plus I love everything about food, especially Italian food, and I love getting paid to be around it.
5) Free time for me = running, basketball, raquetball, movie nights, spontaneous adventures (like exploring abandoned houses or rock climbing in the river or starblasting), or pranking poor unsuspecting souls.
6) I absolutely ADORE: outdoors, putting the windows down and driving down country roads with music blaring on summer nights, the ocean (especially at night), sunsets, long walks because they usually mean long talks, traveling, getting to know new people, Mexican food, roller coasters, koalas, music, doodling, hugs (expect a hug), iced coffee, bacon, huge cities, fuzzy socks, gum (I'm a chain gummer), my chuck taylors, and surprises.
As far as life goals, I have this little mental bucket list that includes bungee jumping at a waterfall, swimming with dolphins, riding an elephant, skydiving, spending a week on a Greek island, taking a train across Europe, snorkeling at a coral reef, and owning a llama.
7) When I was 15 and again when I was 16, I went to Lima, Peru and LOVED it! My team visited a lot of schools and slum communities and we met so many amazing people! This past summer I spent a month in Kenya with AIM for World Race Exposure. It was possibly the best summer of my life! My team and I lived with a pastor and his family and worked in their orphanage/boarding school, and we learned so much from the kids there, the faith they have is just amazing!
8) I'm pretty much stoked to be spending 2 months in India with yall and have the chance to minister to the girls at Rahab's Rope! I'm not gonna lie though, this is the first mission trip I'm really nervous about going on. I feel completely unprepared for this, like I have nothing to offer… I have no idea how to minister to women who have been used and treated the way these women have been. And I'm nervous about spending 2 months in a pretty rough country. I'm excited though, because I feel like this trip will be extremely challenging and we will grow a LOT.
Jessica, you’re going to love India. Don’t worry about not being sure how to minister to women who have come from such terrible situations and circumstances. I love how prepares you for this situations, even as you start conversing with them, He does something inside. The great thing is this is an experiment that you get to be a part of. You get to try and learn from the experience.