Alyssa and I are currently in New Jersey getting ready to board a plane back to Africa. We came home for a week since I was the best man at my brother’s wedding. We had a wonderful time being back with our family, but we are looking forward to flying back and meeting our team in Lesotho to finish out our last 2 months on the mission field! Speaking of our team, we had our final team changes during our last few days in Romania! I was also asked to be the team leader of our new team, and I am enjoying stepping into this new role. We have been serving with this team in Zambia and will finish out our time in Africa with them. When we first got to Zambia a few weeks ago, I interviewed them and their answers are below. Feel free to read the rest of this blog post if you’d like to get to know a little bit about our new teammates!
Age?
Greg – 27
Alyssa – 27
Maggie – 22
Michael – 26
Vanessa – 28
Katie – 23
Hometown?
Greg – Basking Ridge, NJ
Alyssa – Woodbridge, VA
Katie – Baton Rouge, LA
Michael – Springfield, MO
Maggie – Iowa Falls, IA
Vanessa – Normal, IN
Pet peeve?
Greg: Narcissim. When people tap their brakes for no reason and contribute to the accordion effect.
Alyssa: Selfishness.
Katie: Cutting people off while they are talking. One upping/being negative after people finish saying something.
Michael: People who think they’re really sick but they just have a slight cold.
Maggie: Inefficiency.
Vanessa: When people ask to borrow something when they already saw you put it away.
Favorite podcast? Christian and/or general.
Greg: Churchome with Judah Smith. Reply All.
Alyssa: Fierce Marriage.
Katie: Single, Dating, Engaged, Married by Ben Stuart. Serial.
Michael: The two wills of God.
Maggie: Not a podcast fan, I’ve never felt so unhip.
Vanessa: BeMa. American History Tellers.
Personality type?
Greg: ENTJ
Alyssa: ENFJ
Katie: ENFP
Michael: Enneagram 9
Maggie: INTP
Vanessa: Unsure
Love language?
Greg: Quality time/physical touch
Alyssa: Quality time/acts of service
Katie: Physical touch/words of affirmation
Michael: Physical touch
Maggie: Quality time
Vanessa: Quality time/acts of service
Favorite type of ministry?
Greg: Relational
Alyssa: Relational/child & young adult
Katie: Evangelism/preaching/high school
Michael: Relational
Maggie: Refugee
Vanessa: Young adult/sports ministry
What will you miss most about Europe?
Greg: Beautiful cities and cheap food.
Alyssa: The beauty, the food, and the architecture.
Katie: Cheap wine and food.
Michael: Convenience.
Maggie: Blending in.
Vanessa: My little granny friend from Croatia, Ana from Romania, food & beverages.
What are you most excited for about Africa?
Greg: Experiencing a totally new culture.
Alyssa: Experiencing a new culture and building relationships with the people there.
Katie: The people.
Michael: The music.
Maggie: The music.
Vanessa: Experiencing a new culture & the people.
What’s one of your favorite God moments from this year?
Greg: Being led to a community to start a feeding program in the Philippines and seeing each aspect through from start to finish. (PS, the community is still running the program on their own to this day and it’s thriving!)
Alyssa: Meeting a young pregnant woman, developing a relationship with her, and becoming the godmother to her child in the Philippines.
Katie: Meeting and sharing the Gospel with Chom in Cambodia.
Michael: Baptizing people in a closed country.
Maggie: Ministering to a newly orphaned preteen.
Vanessa: The week that we had at Impact Kosova.
What’s one of your favorite adventure days from this year?
Greg: Going to Twin waterfalls in Bali.
Alyssa: Our Phi Phi Islands trip for Greg’s birthday. Taking a cooking class in Bangkok.
Katie: Lake day in Cambodia. Visiting Budapest.
Michael: A hike with Randy and Dawnette in Kotor, Montenegro.
Maggie: The “Death Hike” in Romania.
Vanessa: Traveling to Cebu, Philippines.
What’s the weirdest/most ridiculous thing you’ve spent money on this year?
Greg: Imported cheese in Asia on my birthday.
Alyssa: $15 drinks on a rooftop bar in Bangkok.
Katie: A cat mask & roller blades.
Michael: $15 drinks on a rooftop bar in Bangkok.
Maggie: Going to a cat cafe.
Vanessa: $15 drinks on a rooftop bar in Bangkok.
What country has had your favorite food of the year so far?
Greg: Romania
Alyssa: Thailand
Katie: Thailand
Michael: Vietnam
Maggie: Thailand
Vanessa: Laos
