Originally from Ontario, Canada, Leah Vanderlaan BA ’04 MASFD ’06 grew up on a chicken farm. Raised in a Christian home, she attended Christian schools for her elementary and high school education. She recalls loving Bible class and really having a desire to know who God was and what He wanted for her life. When she was 16, her family moved to Quito, Ecuador as missionaries with Avant Ministries.
Leah had a desire to be a missionary herself since she was 12 years old. “I wanted to tell other people about God so that they would not ‘profit the whole world and lose their soul,’ ” she says. “I really saw this as the meaning of life—knowing God—and I wanted other people to know Him too.” Leah knew that she wanted to go to a Christian college and also that she didn’t want to go into debt. Her plans were to head out to the mission field shortly after college. After looking into other Christian colleges, Leah decided that Moody would be right for her. 