“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.” -William Shakespeare
Names are actually vitally important. One of the biggest things I learned as an RA was the importance of prayer for people by name. That’s also something I have learned from the Old Testament; look at all the names and genealogies, names are uber important to the Jewish people. I always wondered why the OT was filled with names I could not pronounce and chapters of genealogical drudgery. I think this is the reason. I have a prayer board (ok, it’s really a whiteboard, but it’s my prayer board) that has been with me for 2 years now, a “hand-me-down” from a former roommate who I believe used it to organize all of his engineering assignments and maybe even solve some problems on it. I have put up a myriad of prayer requests and names on the board, but currently it holds the names of every person on my team (as far as I know) along with the names of all my former residents and the RA teams I worked with.
This prayer board is so significant to me. And I ask that you may join in praying not just for me, but for the other 54 names on my board that are a part of my team (or look at the “Meet My Squad: Sep 2014 (4)” link on the side (it gives the names and a picture of all my teammates with a link to each of their blogs) or you can just read below as I copy all there names into this post…
Hannah Adkison Paola Antenucci Hannah Berndt Stefani Brewster Hannah Brown Sarah Buffaloe Laura Bush Victoria Castillo Brody Contarino Alexis Coryell Christopher Cronce Margeaux Cronce Anna Dubnow Molly Fae Dukes Brittany Eichorn Josh Femiano Joe Ferguson Laura Ficken Katherine Gavin Kendra Harris Taylor Hill Jason Hurst Sara Hurst Amber Jackson Ryan Jinks Josef Kainrad Devon Kester Paul Koenen Lauren LaCava Samara Lazerson Lauren Madawick Jenna Martin John-Michael McCaffrey Beth Milam Ben Moore Margot Moore Jenny Muller Courtney Naylor Megan O’Connor Kayla Park Adam Peng Becky Rowe David Sadowski Kristin Schneider Holly Smith Jessica Spohnholtz Katy Steele Michael Sullivan Grace Veker Ethan Wadsworth Taylor White Breanna Witvoet Erica Wood Kelsey Yongue
Thanks y’all!
And in the spirit of names, I want to start “name-dropping” (or “giving shout-outs” to) some people who have meant the world to me throughout my life…
Starting with my RA team my first year as an RA… (feel free to skip this paragraph if skimming)
Lincoln – affectionately known as “dad” by the RA teams I was on, he was one of the first people I told in the spring that I was considering the World Race. He was a huge rock and mentor for me during my time as an RA. Couldn’t imagine a better RD to work for… not to mention someone to be a volunteer youth worker with.
Kristen – affectionately known as “mom” by the RA teams I was on, as Lincoln’s wife she took care of the RA teams I was on, particularly in the baked goods department, but also keeping us in line and encouraging us. She also was known to get comically upset at Lincoln while playing Call of Duty!
Lisa – the 1st floor RA with a group of crazy transfer girls, Lisa provided the necessary comic relief and down-to-earth atmosphere on the team. You could always count on Lisa to be completely transparent in discussions, which allowed everyone else to be open about their lives and struggles.
Matt – 2nd floor RA whom I developed a great friendship with. We have had many conversations about all sorts of things, but I have particularly fond memories of our times in the RA office playing a variety of stupid songs from “Nyan Cat” to “What Is Love” to “Up Butt Coconut”… sometimes you just need some stupid, comic relief. But I certainly appreciated all of our serious talks even more.
Tyler – the other 2nd floor RA whom I also developed a great friendship with. I go to him often for worship music advice and he has inspired me to continue learning songs on my guitar to better worship the Lord (and lead when necessary). He was another RA whom I would often go to with various struggles and he always had a listening ear.
Jake – Can’t say enough about my 3rd floor Co-RA, but more importantly my best friend from I don’t even know when. We had a great year as co-RAs and have had many great times watching NCIS, hanging out, studying God’s Word and just being real with each other
Nick – the unofficial leader of our “ragtag” group of RAs as the returning Senior RA, definitely provided leadership to us new RAs as we got used to being RAs ourselves
Brandon – fun-loving, hard-working, ran a freakin’ marathon… that’s Brandon in a nutshell… ok, maybe he’s not thaaaat hard-working… there will always be those memories from the RA Christmas party
Love you guys… and beware to all reading this post… your name might be dropped next. Names are important: they tell stories and identify people.
What’s in a name? Well, technically, not much, but the person who bears that name, there is an incredible story. I am excited for the stories of the 50+ people I will be spending the next year with and have been blessed by the 100s (1000s ???) of people who’s stories I have gotten to participate in throughout my life.
