Meet Whale Team 6

 

 

 

 

So, you know about my squad. That’s the 30-ish young adults I spent all of training camp with. We will be traveling from country to country together on the field. In country, we are split into teams of 4-6 people. These teams were created during training camp by our leadership and have become little families within the squad. The team is who I get to do day in, day out ministry with during my time here in Guatemala. 

 

It’s important to understand that, when we were given our team assignments at training camp, leadership did so by making our squad engage in a rather odd exercise. Our squad was blindfolded and stumbling about together in a pavilion. Each of us were given a command: to make a specific noise. The goal was to find other members of the squad making the same noise as you. Those people would become your teammates. 

 

My goal? To blindly find others making whale noises (think Finding Nemo) 

 

My problem? I had to do so amid a hoard of other people making drastically different sounds. People were opera singing the National anthem, rapping John 3:16, scream-o-ing the itsy bitsy spider, and screeching like monkeys in a barrel. Finding my fellow whale friends seemed impossible. 

 

Until it wasn’t. Through the chaos, I heard a faint whale sound from afar which caused me to make my own whale sounds even louder. Eventually, my whole little team of whales united and we removed our blindfolds to discover which of our squad mates we would be spending the next several months with. 

 

Later, we were asked by leadership to develop a set of core values for our team. We decided the following 6 values would be the pillars of our team: 

• Honor (to one another, our hosts, our ministry partners, and the King of Kings);
• Initiative (to courageously share the gospel and meet the needs of our team and others);
• Commitment (to encourage and grow ourselves, each other and the communities we serve);
• Accountability (to uphold our set standard of communication and stewardship);
• Integrity (to model the character of Christ);
• Grit (to persevere with strength and resolve).

 

 

We discussed how we felt like members of the Lord’s army being trained and sent out for battle. Kind of like special forces, charged with the unique task of bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to the earth. For these reasons, our core values reflect those of the U.S. Navy. Keeping in mind our whale-noise introduction and our laser focus on the spiritual battles ahead, one can see how we came to agree on a team name.

 

 

So, without further adieu, I’d like you to meet 

 

 

Whale Team 6

 

 

 

 

Tris

Role: Team Lead

Origin: Indiana, USA

Likes on the field: petting Guatemalan street dogs & eating Guatemalan street food

Fave worship song: So Will I (100 Billion X) by Hillsong United

 

 

 

 

 

Liv

Role: Treasurer

Origin: New Mexico, USA

Likes: working out & eating peanut butter out of the jar & playing with kids

Fun facts: she can sleep through anything & she knows karate

 

 

 

 

 

Banks

Role: unofficial junior health inspector

Origin: either North or South Carolina, it’s still unclear

Likes: drinking Guatemalan Fanta & talking to strangers about Jesus

Common phrases: I’m upstairs; Daaaaaang dude; Bubby; the flip???

 

 

 

 

 

Kirsten

Role: Beauty for Ashes coordinator

Origin: Maryland, USA

Likes: crying (the good kind) & playing soccer 

Fave Worship song: Communion by Mav City ft. Steffany Gretzinger

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin

Role: Worship Coordinator

Origin: L.A. California, USA (from the hood)

Likes: smiling & laughing & praying for people

Fun fact: he rarely knows what is going on

 

 

 

 

 

Jillisa

Role: Logistics Coordinator

Origin: Texas, USA 

Likes: drinking Guatemalan coffee & talking to strangers 

Dislikes: parasites

Currently bumping: I’ll Go by Isla Vista Worship

 

 

 

 

 

Mucho Gusto! We’ve gotta go now, but it was so nice to meet you. Thank you for all the support and prayer. We’ll keep in touch, let’s chat soon! Blessings xoxo