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June 3, 2015
LAUREL — Jennifer (Lipp) Van Meter, a Laurel-Concord graduate, has a unique job.
She works out of her home in Randolph and also travels back and forth from Randolph to Romania, India, Thailand, and several places within the U.S.
Van Meter has worked with ReachGlobal since 1997 and continues to work with the organization since she moved back to the U.S. from Romania in 2012.
“I have two roles. I work with applicants who want to serve as long-term missionaries overseas. I walk them through our application process and interviews,” Van Meter said. “I also help combat human trafficking. This role requires international travel.”
The latest statistics show 35 million people are enslaved in the world today according to Van Meter.
ReachGlobal is focusing on the area of prevention and is working to raise awareness on human trafficking.
“It is great when women are rescued and can get out of that life, but we also need a different solution. We need to decrease the demand and shut off the supply of these vulnerable women and children,” Van Meter said.
The majority of human trafficking involves women and young girls although it also includes young boys.
“There is sex and labor trafficking,” Van Meter said. “We work with both.”
ReachGlobal is taking steps to help women and girls understand their value and provide resources for them to learn viable skills and be provided with employment opportunities.
She spent 15 years in Romania as a missionary before moving back to Nebraska in 2012.
“I felt the call to be a missionary when I was in high school,” she said. “It was just a process of determining when and where the Lord wanted me to go.”
Van Meter, who is the daughter of Jim and Marcia Lipp, grew up on a farm in the Laurel area. Van Meter graduated from Laurel-Concord High School in 1989 and then attended Grace University in Omaha and the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. She earned a degree in elementary education and taught school for three years before moving to Romania to serve as a missionary.
Van Meter was an educator at Bucharest Christian Academy in Romania, a school for children of missionaries, diplomats and business people. She started out as an elementary teacher and then moved into administration serving as a principal and superintendent.
“I loved the people. They are very hospitable. They have a strong sense of loyalty to family and friends,” Van Meter said. “I did miss my family a lot when I was in Romania. It’s a joy to get to spent time with them now.”
Van Meter returned to Nebraska in the summer of 2012 to prepare for her wedding. Jennifer Lipp and Gary Van Meter were married in August.
“I had known Gary for many years when he was a jeweler in Wayne,” she said. “He came to Bucharest in 2009 and spent three and one-half years teaching at another school in Romania.”
Van Meter made a trip back to Romania in April of this year.
She had been looking forward to being back in the country where she had previously lived for 15 years.
“It’s my other home,” she said.
The first part of her two week visit included a stop in Brasov, a little village in the Transylvanian Alps.
She arrived in time to celebrate part of the Easter holiday with her Romanian friends.
“Everything shuts down from Saturday through Monday for Easter,” she said. “A midnight service is held on Saturday evening and a big meal is served after the service.”
