About Emily

Courtesy of my friend, Matt, this Franciscan benediction has become a favorite of mine. It explains who I hope to be and what I hope to do on the World Race.

 

May God bless you with discomfort

At easy answers, half-truths,

And superficial relationships

So that you may live deep

Within your heart.

 

May God bless you with anger

At injustice, oppression,

And exploitation of people,

So that you may work for justice,

Freedom, and peace.

 

May God bless you with tears

To shed for those who suffer pain,

Rejection, hunger, and war,

So that you may reach out your

Hand to comfort them and

To turn their pain into joy.

 

And may God bless you with

Enough foolishness

To believe that you can make

A difference in the world,

So that you can do what others

Claim cannot be done,

And bring justice and kindness to

All our children and the poor.

 

 

Now, here’s a little bit about me…

I’m 22 years old, and I’ll turn 23 in the Dominican Republic!

 

I love my family!  I look like my mom, act like my dad, and am the exact opposite of my brother Philip in every way.  But we have a combined sense of humor that only we appreciate and I love hanging out with him.

My family: Mom, Philip, me, Dad

 

 

I grew up in Duluth, GA and went to Providence Christian Academy for 13 years.

 

After high school I headed north and went to Wheaton College where I majored in Anthropology and Spanish, and minored in Bible/Theology.  I LOVED my time at Wheaton, studied what I care about, made incredible friends, and had great opportunities to develop community and travel.

Some of my best friends from Wheaton at my 22nd birthday party 

 

I want to spend my life doing ministry and development work internationally.  In pursuit of this, the first thing I did after graduating in May was spend two months in Guatemala interning at an orphanage called Casa Bernabe.  I learned about the amazing ability that children have to love in spite of living through horrible tragedy.  If you want to read about my time in Guatemala and hear stories from my amazing teammates and me, click HERE.

This is my little Guatemalan buddy who my family is sponsoring. 

 

Traveling is one of the things I love the most.  I love to learn about people, their languages, their lifestyles, and the places they come from.  I also love to see all the beautiful places that God created throughout the world. 

 

Community is important to me.  My time at Wheaton taught me a lot about intentional Christian community and how hard you have to work for it sometimes.  One of the main things I want to be characterized by is being a true friend. 

 

Creativity is something I am drawn to-be that in other people, in God, or in myself.  I love to make things, take pictures, paint when I have time, and enjoy other peoples’ creativity.  I’ll probably be the one on the race who tries to cram a bag of craft supplies into my backpack:)

 

Other random things off the top of my head…

I like lists…hence this one.

I can be obsessively organized at school or work, but my room is always messy.

I wish I liked to run but that just hasn’t happened yet…maybe we can work on that if you’re on my team.

I can’t cook.  At all.  So hopefully I’ll end up on a team full of chefs.

I can be quiet until you get to know me.

I’m laid back and hard to upset, which is always nice in a crisis.

I’m practical and I like to plan things, but also love spontaneity.

I like bright colored everything!

My pictures are my journal…I think the longest I’ve managed to keep a journal for is a week.

I have a problematic phobia of needles…not looking forward to that Yellow Fever shot!

I love Indian, Thai, and Mexican food.

When asked to make a “crazy face” in pictures I make the same face every single time…even though I always think I’m making a different one.

I cannot sing at all. Like I might be certifiably tone deaf…so karaoke is my nightmare.

Due to my mother’s allergies, I grew up with no pets (except one goldfish and a hamster that bit me) so I’m not a huge fan of animals. My best friend Anna says this makes me heartless…oh well:)

I love to take naps, can sleep anywhere, and am really hard to wake up…apologies in advance to everyone on my team:)

 

My lovely roommates senior year at Wheaton…I miss y’all!

I’m so excited to go on the World Race and I can’t wait to meet all of y’all in October!  Also, if anyone needs a place to stay before or after training camp, I live in Atlanta and you’re more than welcome to come to my house!  Just let me know!