Who Is Elise?
I have known Elise for almost 9 months now, 11 if you include our first initial meeting at Training Camp. I have spent 9 months with Elise—that’s 256 straight days together! Elise was on my original team, Anchor Depths, and she was my only teammate from that team to be on my current team, Clutch.
Nine months is not a long amount of time for a friendship to grow, but it changes things when you’re together with that person 24/7 those entire nine months. It changes things when you are not only living life with that person, but also doing ministry, dealing with conflict, celebrating holidays, birthdays and successes and pulling together in the hard moments. I definitely don’t know Elise the greatest, but these past nine months she’s become a close friend of mine and I’d like to share how great she is with all of you.
Elise is twenty-three and grew up in North Carolina. She graduated a year ago from Anderson with a degree in youth ministry—which is great because she is awesome with kids. She listens and encourages those around her, and often times the encouragement comes just because she’s willing to listen. Elise also intentionally loves people and she does it well. I have watched her grow in that even more so throughout the Race, but it is something that she did even before. In Thailand when I was sick and had to go to the hospital there, Elise was the one who walked the mile back to our living site and got my passport and wallet. But not only did she grab those things for me and put them in my purse, she grabbed my sweatshirt and slicky knowing that I would want them. And then she proceeded, along with two other teammates, to take me to the hospital and wait with me there.
Ever met someone who loves to learn? I have two people in my life who love learning: my brother, and Elise. When I say Elise loves to learn, I’m being completely serious. If knowledge were a love language it would be hers. She has told me many times how she loves spending time at the library growing up and there’s been several conversations throughout the race on how she is doing with staying filled in her passion for learning. There’s the site, Great Courses Plus, and it’s basically a knowledge lover’s Netflix dream. It has courses on a countless amount of topics that just allows you to learn. You don’t get a certificate or credit for taking the course, but you gain the knowledge and to Elise that’s what she wants most. The great thing about Elise though is that she loves sharing what she has learned. This is done randomly at times or through “Elise’s fun fact of the day” but I always love hearing them because I never know what I’m going to hear.
At our month 6 debrief Elise got raised up as one of two logistics coordinators for my squad. I was ecstatic for her because this was something I had known Elise should do since my team’s first adventure together in Seoul, South Korea (this was before we got to Cambodia). My team is out on the streets in Seoul and it’s Elise who has figured out the map and is able to get us around the city. I knew then, that if a logistics position opened up, it’d be Elise who got the position. Now I get to watch her not only on my teams adventure days but on my squad’s travel days sit with her maps.me app out on her phone watching our travel progress. Her gift with directions serves her well, but her calm spirit and ability to handle difficult situations well helps too.
Elise is also someone who is super creative. In month four, my old team lead Rebekah told Elise that she thought Elise was secretly very creative. Over these 9 months I have watched Elise make friendship bracelets and help teach others how as well, as well as how to hand bind journals. These are just a couple of things, but they show this gift of creativeness in her that I’m pretty sure not many get to see. Something else Elise is incredibly creative with is writing Nagapor chapters. Nagapor is stories that her dad made up for Elise and her siblings while they were young, and one day as Elise shared a story with us we begged her to get her dad to write them for us. She did ask her dad for help and he gave her an outline, but Elise has written us the stories and they are so great! She put so much thought and creativity into the story and did an amazing job at portraying all of my teams personalities into the people in the story.
Elise is an incredible woman and her life is one that reflects Christ. I have greatly enjoyed these past 9 months of watching her pour into the different ministries we’ve had and share Christ with people. I am so excited that the Race isn’t over yet so I am able to continue seeing that passion and love for Christ reflected in her words and actions with others.
Elise has truly impacted my life—especially with her Elise-isms—and I love the friendship that we have. However, I’m not the only one who’s been impacted by Elise, and I want to share who Elise is to them as well.
“When our children were young and upset about a parenting decision I made, I remember telling them that, “God made me your mom. I’m not supposed to be your friend.” Now here I sit some twenty years later and can say that not only is Elise my beloved daughter, but also my friend.
But she is so much more than that. She is the pattern-finder. She quickly sees patterns and repetition not only in things but in situations. She is an empathizer and is sensitive to emotional undercurrents in the situation as well. When we would leave the children home alone, we always said that while her older Eagle Scout brother would know what to do in an emergency, Elise was the one who would notice there was an emergency in the first place and be ready to fix it. The World Race has tested all of these qualities whether it was smacking crunchy spiders with other people’s shoes, driving a stick shift in Poland or loving on orphans. We are so proud of her!” ~ Susan & Van Swepston (Mom & Dad)
“Elise. Wow. You are a gem. I know we talked about the body and I said you were the nerves, but you are also the heart. You are focused and steady. You are intentional in almost every way (but you’re not perfect so it can’t be EVERY way ;)) Thank you for being goofy but also seeing each person around you. Thank you for calling out your own attitude, directing my eyes toward the cross and making me think. Thank you for pushing yourself. Thank you for pushing those around you. Thank you for your willingness to serve the squad in a way that most don’t understand. (I hope I can say I understand I spent 9 of the 11 months with a logistics coordinator) You are concerned with the direction of our team and yourself 24/7 and its refreshing to witness your problem solving in dedication to Christ and ministry. You will be a friend for a very long time. Hopefully long enough to use your laser cutter….. But really, a long time ;)” ~ Hannah (Teammate)
“Elise is my sister, but that states things too simply. I have known her for her entire life and for most of my own. We have been close forever: from sharing a bunk bed when we were small, to hanging out as teens, to attending college near each other. Throughout that time, she has been there for me when I have been happiest and saddest. A comfort when we experienced loss, and a bridesmaid at my wedding.” ~ Ian Swepston (Brother)
“Elise. There are few words that can describe the beauty and confidence that is Elise Swepston fully. But let me give it a try. Elise is a wonderful human in many ways. She has spunk and enthusiasm and that is pared with a loving spirit. She also has patients and grace when it comes to doing life with people. She genuinely wants to learn about them. Understand their passions, advocate for them, and encourage then. She has away of seeing people and what is going on in their hearts. She figures out what they need and meets that need for them if it is in her power to do so. She loves incredibly well. I see Jesus in her joy and love for those around her and her love for knowledge and fun facts. There is so much depth to Elise and also a fun, light hearted child-likeness. I love her so very much and it has been an honor to me her teammate and friend.” ~ Allyson Buttshaw (Teammate)
“ELISE eh-LEES n
Definition- Daughter of the one true King. A shenanigan participant. A lover of butter pecan ice cream. Leader. Lover of life. Friend to all. Best big sister ever. Follower of Christ.Backpacker. Stripe Enthusiast. Beautiful. Loving. Kind. Fantastic Listener. Chopstick user. My best friend.
Example: I will never forget the time when Elise was sitting on her bed in her room. She had just had a minor surgery, so she was resting and recuperating. I came in to her room to ask her a question and I ended sitting on the floor by her bedside for over an hour just talking. This is who Elise is to me.” ~ Juliana Swepston (Sister)
“Who is Elise?
Elise is my older and odder sister. She is the kind of person that enjoys learning, especially hands on. I often talk to and show her what I’ve been doing. She’ll go on “adventures” with you at 11 o’clock at night to go get ice-cream or pick up something for a project.
She can be quiet on day and loud the next. Elise will often surprise me and I never really know what she’ll be doing, but it’s never dull. Nothing is dull with her. So what Elise means to me is an adventurer and older sister.” ~ Eric Swepston (Brother)
“Elise Swepston – light-hearted, spunky, and full of random facts that come flooding out at just the right time. Elise is a one-of-a-kind gem of a human. With a logical mind, insightful opinions, and good judgment accompanying her, she is a person to trust, rely on, and put your faith in. She has a beautiful heart for doing what is good and right, and she is one of those special people with the ability to come outside of her self to see others. She celebrates others extremely well, adding the perfect blend of quirky and brilliant to life. She has a good grasp on who she is and where she is at, giving her the ability to center those around her and bring them back to reality. When times get awkward, she doesn’t let things remain that way, pushing through until things are back to normal again. Awkward is something she seems to be allergic to…put on any movie with an awkward scene between a man and a woman and Elise is gone (haha now you know how to get rid of her). She has a good head on her shoulders, lives with confidence, and gets excited about the randomest things. I love when her high-energy side comes out, and she finds everything beyond exciting, which is relayed to us by her voice as it goes up in pitch. And there is no one who tells me how interesting I am as often as Elise does. I swear her favorite thing to say to me is that I crack her up, usually due to one of my many Dooney ways and peculiar tendencies. I have to say, you crack me up just as much darlin! Curiosity leads many of her conversations, and it is her inquisitive personality that makes others feel extremely seen, known, worth listening to, and loved. Team Clutch wouldn’t be the team it is without her unique flavor of human. #blessed” ~ Meagan Dooney (Teammate)
“Who is Elise to me? Elise is the smartest, funniest, quirkiest, most adventurous and diligent person I have ever met. She is always enthusiastic to meet anyone who happens to cross her path. She turns mundane everyday tasks into adventures and ministry opportunities. She is an older sister in the Lord, best friend, confidant, encourager, cheerleader, supporter and the occasionally needed reality check. She is constantly learning new things and because of this she is the coolest person on the face of planet earth. Her only perceived flaw is that she gets up at an ungodly early hour on weekends to work on homework. Elise is mature and serious when she needs to be, but also goofy and fun when the time is appropriate. Elise to me has been one of the biggest blessings from Lord throughout my time in college. If you have not met her, you should. She will change your life for the better. (P.S. Guys she is single! à she is going to kill me for adding this).” ~ Kimrey Dillon (A Best Friend)
“I’ve been on a team with Elise for almost 5 months! We’re literally around eachother 24/7. Obviously we met at training camp back in August. She gave me a ride back to Charlotte so that I could meet up with some family. We shared a pizza. We usually exchanged excitement or sarcastic commentary on airplanes because of our last names start with “S”, so we’re usually seat buddies. When we were placed on a team together at the end of January, I was able to get to know her even more, and let me tell you, she’s a pretty incredible human. She is full of knowledge and incredibly useful fun facts (ex. Red peppers have more vitamin C than an orange. They also increase flatulence, and if you held it in for a year you’d have the same power of an atomic bomb). She loves people incredibly well. Once she went to an art store and bought me new pens because one of my love language is gifts. I’m not the only one either. This is a completely normal thing for her to do. Elise is calm. She is logical. She is kind. She is bold and powerful. Last week, our team took the time to give everyone a metaphorical body part to symbolize the church. I gave her the nose because she can smell danger, she has discernment and is a prominent part of the face. She calls people out. I could keep going, but I won’t. I just wanted to give the smallest of glimpses into who Elise is.” ~ Crysahna Suarez (Teammate)
“To me, Elise is an amazing friend to adventure through life with. Her energy is contagious and she is a constant encourager. She is the first one to check in and see if you’re okay and she is sincere. On many occasions when Elise and I were on trips (through Venturing), she was there to encourage me through obstacles and I knew she meant every word she said.
Elise can take charge in the best way, and she is a true leader. She leads by example and her obedience to God is seen through everything she does.
There are times for being serious and there are times for being silly, and Elise is great at both. Conversations with her never fail to bring a smile to my face (who are we kidding…she brings buckets of laughter into my life)! She is the kind of friend who you can talk to for hours and it feels like a few minutes. Elise is a genuine friend and cares deeply for others, and that is a characteristic I have admired about her from the beginning of our friendship. I am blessed by her friendship and godly example every day!” ~ Christina Mason (A Best Friend)
If you ever get the pleasure of meeting Elise I’m sure you’ll get to see her awesome personality too.
Till Next Time,
Kara Faber
**Fungus….If you say I have three heads we are no longer friends… If you get Hannah to photoshop three heads onto me I’ll give you brownie points**
