here you have it! jaimasi! this sweet little team i get to call my hearts home for the next eight months- and then some! enjoy this glimpse into our hearts…
this is kendel. a true powerhouse of a woman. she is our resident daredevil- ready to try almost anything once. she is clothed in boldness and strength, yet there is a softness to her spirit. you can always bet kendel will be the first to ask a multifaceted question about the bible, or anything else for that matter. her determination to seek the truth inspires the rest of us to do the same. curiosity is around every corner, and her walk with the Lord is no different. her passion for living each day to the full is positively infectious! so beautiful; inside & out, she simply radiates confidence. she spurs our team on with her hilarity, bouts of jokes, honest encouragement, and seemingly endless energy. everytime she laughs, we all laugh- and I’m sure by now we could all pick it from a crowd! she’s the best ‘chicken’ I think I’ll ever meet. thank you for being my sister, kenny!!!!
sweet maddy. her presence is an unsuspecting mixture of cheekiness & compassion. she is always down for some fun- generally the sporty kind. loved by all who know her, she carries the Lord in her soul. she has made a home within Jaimasi, making up one of the three introverts. watching her break out of her shell has been a thing of beauty! maddy pours her heart into every relationship here. her intentionality with people creates a safe place for vulnerability to feel like a simple conversation over coffee. as we delve deeper and deeper into the layers that are maddy, we start to see love at the center. a benevolent daughter, capable of greatness, capable of anything she puts her mind to. she is stronger than she knows- she is determined. one of my favorite things about her is that when she is truly concentrating hard- she sticks her tongue out just a tiny bit. you can actually see how much she cares about this team and beyond. maddy, you are so loved! mads, thank you for being my sister!
my bunkmate & the oldest of the bunch- angela. this woman of God is wise beyond her years. she always knows what to say and she says it despite if it’s hard. her eagerness to learn and grow from those around her is beautiful to watch. she is such a gift to our team as a fluent Spanish speaker that we never take for granted and are so grateful for her willingness. always willing to be the steady voice in a Spanglish conversation, help decipher the public bus system & save us from embarrassing ourselves on more than one occasion. she walks in organic authority not only in the Lord but she carries herself with a self-assurance that we all subconsciously look up to. ang is courageous, like a lion she knows which battles are worth fighting. she fights for us, she fights for herself, and she fights to make Jesus’ name great. she chooses her words with precision and delivers them with grace. a treasured companion to this team and beyond, angela is clothed in the delight of the Father as well as raw beauty. i’m truly honored to call you sister, ang!
our resident oregon girl- cassi! this spunky sister of mine is such a fighter. i mean that in the best sense of the word. she sees a need and fights to meet it, she guides the conversation towards growth and showers us with patience like confetti! cass’ relationship with the Lord is a creative one. i never see her without a journal or watercolors in hand ready to create an illuminated version of a verse. her honest thoughts in discussion trigger bold thoughts within the rest of the team. cass’s ears are constantly listening, hearing, learning. she is hungry for the Word and spends the time seeking understanding & fellowship with the Father. her joy is infectious & laugh reverberates within the space! she puts her whole heart into everything she does- determination resides in her veins, never letting a concussion (or five) stop her. a loved member of Jaimasi- thank you for being my sister cass!
our fearless leader- bernadette. her common aliases also include bern, or bjorn. this woman leads us with humility, maturity, integrity, honor, honesty, and the right amount of spunk, but love is always at the forefront of her mind. her creative outlook on life and relationship with the Lord is equally inspiring as it is beautiful to observe. The spontaneous kitchen dance parties are seemingly endless with this one, but i’m not mad about it! bern (second only to my mother, shoutout to you verna) is the best listener I know, she is paying attention to every detail while simultaneously taking mental notes for her questions later. she always points us back to the Lord, always. bern is an encourager both silent and audible, and her notes are like treasured gold. she’s the sister i never had. her mind is full of beautiful visions, and her eyes are carefully crafted lenses that see the best in everyone and every situation. an optimist curated by the Father to sing His praises with the voice of an angel. we enjoy you! bjorn, thank you for being my sister.
if ‘home’ were a person- it’d be kinze. this sweet mama bear soul creates an atmosphere of coziness for all. her mind is a vast bank of biblical knowledge that i love to pick at. i’m always learning new things through her and she is constantly teaching me what it means to be selfless. she takes the time to make sure everyone is set for the day- always ready to jump in and help. kinze is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, although her mind is always open to give others the chance to discuss an opposition in a civil manner. recently acquiring a creative tendency to cut letters out of anything to make bookmarks, you can find kinze sitting anywhere making good use of an unused magazine or book! this germaphobe keeps us on our toes but kindly (sometimes not so much) encourages us to keep tidy. kinze’s heart is ablaze for the lord, boldness, and assurance resides in her. she positively GLOWS with the beauty of the Father. she loves deeply and without expecting reciprocation. you can know you can always come to kinze for a hug that covers all the bases; spiritual, emotional, mental and possibly physical if you’re lucky! thank you for being my sister kinze fay!
sweet em! to know her is to love her. an essential part of this team, emily brings love everywhere she goes. she is a beacon of light in the darkness of this world. her kind words touch your soul, her selfless nature is soft in contrast to the hard edges of persecution. emily is naturally charismatic and can start a conversation with literally anyone. she never presses you for more, always comforts you where you’re at. this woman is walking in maturity and growing in her thirst for the Lord & it’s such a beautiful thing to watch. daily, emily unfolds new petals to us, revealing more and more of her inner and outer beauty. her soul is honorable and always looking for a way to make someone laugh. her kind eyes see the good in this world, and her actions aim to amplify what she sees. a chameleon of sorts- emily is quite good at making a home with a variety of people, a true gift when it comes to world travel. her heart seeks to understand & is the person you come to when you need a shoulder to cry on or a partner to laugh hysterically with. emily is anything but simple. her mind is always working, churning, making room for more knowledge. her artistic abilities are endless and her kindness ripples out of her like energy. to know her is to love her. emily, thank you for being my sister.
words by bernadette!- when I imagine the creativity of our Father, my first thought is the sky. the sky is the sweetest and deepest palette of colors; neverending in newness and beauty. our sweet Gemma reminds me of the sky. she abounds in joy everlasting, runs freer than a brooke in the wild, and chooses to say yes to the Lord in the hard things. she creates from the intimacy she shares with our Father God and dances in the joy that comes from this. if you enter our home, you’d most likely find Gemma celebrating the sweet details in life. her ability to encourage the body in so many unique ways boggles my mind; through photography, creating collages, encouraging words, sweet & tender hugs, cooking delicious meals, dancing at the throne… the list could go on for days. gemma is aware of the light that the Father has given her. she holds this light with strength and dignity and refuses to hide it under anything. (sometimes she tries, but praise the Lord, we cannot stand in the way of our Father!) she loves highlighting the beauty of the Father in any given situation and does so with the deepest love. gemma, your Abba Father is so proud of you. walking with you in this dance we call intimacy is better than anything I can imagine. being able to call you sister is the sweetest of joys — thank you for being my sister, gem!
