Crossroads Africa

Details about me: My name is Connie Risser and I am privileged to lead this wonderful team to Africa along with my husband and best friend, Jason. I am a mom to 3, Aaron, Luke, and Sarah, and my first job is to Homeschool them. Aaron is finished with school so this year I only have Luke and Sarah. I also have a business called the Idaho Learning Center where I work with kids who struggle to learn. So everyday after I finish teaching my teenagers in the morning, I go to my office and work with children struggling with dyslexia and other types of learning disabilities. I love my jobs because I love kids. Seeing them learn is such a privilege. Seeing them grow closer to Jesus, well, that is just beyond words.

My God-story began when I was very young. My Christian life was way more than just accepting Jesus as my Savior and going to church every Sunday. I remember longing to know Who God was and what He was about. It was a journey and all I needed to do was follow where He was going. At about 10 years old I began to sense the Lord calling me to missions. That sense of calling was greatly challenged and wasn’t even very clear during my teen years. But during my first year of college, God did make it very clear that He wanted me to be a missionary. I had my own idea of what that was to look like, but God had other things in mind. Instead of going single and working with women helping them grow in their walk with Christ, God brought Jason and I together and we worked with Mission Aviation Fellowship using airplanes to reach the poor and the hurting. My passion for kids began with my own, of course, and then with the orphanages in Lesotho, Africa that began to grow due to HIV-Aids.

My life verse comes from Matthew 22:37: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This verse has always meant so much to me because it speaks of the desire I have always had for an intimate relationship with God. He wants all of me, not just the things I do for Him. It doesn’t matter where I live or what I do, I can always love Him.

I am an outgoing person who loves people. I re-charge by being with people mostly. There are times I love to be alone with a good book and a cup of peach tea. But that doesn’t happen very often and that’s OK. I LOVE what I do and the family I get to do life with!

We have lived in Lesotho, Africa for 13 years. Lesotho is the childhood home of our 3 children. After a year in Paris, France, we then moved to Mali, West Africa for 2 years. Mali is where Timbuktu is located. My mother told me when I was young that if I didn’t shape up, she was going to send me to Timbuktu. She had no idea that it was a real place. That is the honest truth. She really said that. Well, Timbuktu is in the Sahara Desert which we visited when my parents came to visit. It is a great place if you like sand, camels, and lots of wind. You don’t smile or you will get a mouth full of sand. Actually you do anyway, because the bread you eat there is made in outdoor ovens and the wind blows in the sand which is backed right into the bread. Now that’s fiber!

That’s enough about me. I am excited about this trip and to get to know all those who are going to Lesotho.