Sandra Zapata

Sandra was the Spanish ministry leader at Aberdeen Mennonite church when she first heard about ICYA. She learned about ICYA from Jeremy Zehr — one of the community ministers that works here.

Sandra is originally from Colombia where she worked as an Ombudswoman. She went to law school and then became a lawyer, later being elected by municipal counselors as an Ombudswoman. Because of the nature of the work she was doing, she had been put on a list of people to be killed by paramilitaries. She had to then apply for refuge which was provided by the Embassy of Canada to escape the country.

Before coming to ICYA, Sandra worked as a Janitor at Aberdeen Mennonite Church. These days Sandra is volunteering as a co-facilitator in Refuge Training for the Department of Families, as well as part of the Board of Directors at Initiatives For Just Communities. She attended EdenB Bible School where she studied Compendium of Pastoral Theology. Sandra felt blessed to start working at ICYA as a janitor where she shares her experience and her growth in God's path. In her spare time she loves traveling as well as playing soccer and spending time with her family.