You guys have heard me talk about my team, Fearless Laughter, a lot in my blogs. You may have seen lots of pictures of us on facebook, most likely in our signature pose of thumbs up and mouth open:
You may have even been curious and blog stalked some of them. I love these girls so incredibly much and they are a huge part of my World Race experience. Because they mean so much to me and impact my time here so much, I want all of you to “meet” each of them.
Casy Baxter (23, Michigan)
Casey, our fearless team leader (yes, fearless, pun intended) and my fellow midwesterner (#Midwestisbest). This girl loves others fiercely. Her concern for our well-being is so evident and so genuine. She is a deep thinker, organized planner, and very down to earth and practical. This may make her sound like she’s a no nonsense, serious person all the time, however, she is one of the biggest goofballs I have ever met. She’s a joy to be around. She has become a great friend of mine and I trust her and feel comfortable coming to her with anything.
Christina “Tina” Smith (23, Alabama)
This girl’s pretty neat (she loves the Neature video on youtube, which is why I describe her this way. If you’ve watched this video this should give you a good insight to her sense of humor). We share the same sense of humor and we thoroughly enjoy each other’s weirdness. She has saved us so many times as she is fluent in Spanish. This girl has very few fears or insecurities, which means she has a very solid and established identity that she is totally comfortable with. She has a very even keeled personality that helps our team stay chill. She is also the person at training camp who fought for the formation of this team, which the rest of us are eternally grateful for.
Meagan Jasitt (Soon to be 25, Tennessee)
When I first met Meagan, I thought we were total opposites. She is a pescatarian (if you are unfamiliar with this word, as I was, she’s a vegetarian who eats fish), a yoga instructor, and a sorority girl. As I’ve gotten to know her, though, I’ve discovered that we’re basically the same person. Like me, she does a lot of internal processing, loves art, sews, loves a good one-on-one conversation about how the person is doing, we encourage each other’s awkward behavior, and so many times when we explain what we’re thinking/experiencing the other will say “Yes! Exactly!” She is always very honest and isn’t afraid to address the hard stuff, which is refreshing and appreciated by our team. She’s a lot of fun to be around and I’m so grateful to have her on my team.
Whitney Connor (26, Georgia)
If my team has burst into a loud belly laughter, chances are it’s because Whitney is just speaking her mind. She always has something to say but her words are never wasted. When she speaks, people want to listen. Her joy is constantly overflowing to everyone around her. She is very motherly, nurturing, and intuitive. On an emotional scale of 1 to 10, she lives between -5 to 15. Because of this, she is extremely passionate, empathetic, and listening to her tell stories is always exciting. She loves learning more about God and growing closer to Him. Seeing God in new perspectives is exciting to her and you can always count on her to share these new findings with others so they can be blessed, too. She is the only full out extravert on our team, which means she brings a lot of life and something really special to Fearless Laughter.
Shannon Pere (22, Arkansas)
If you’ve met Shannon, she’s won your heart. I’m convinced it’s impossible not to love her. She loves to be silly and make people laugh. She spreads laughter to all she talks to. She is so much more than just a source of entertainment, though. She is one of the most intentional people I’ve ever met. She loves getting to know people and hearing their stories. Because she’s so lovable, people feel comfortable being her friend and sharing things with her. We have a lot of similarities and became good friends right off the bat. She’s become a close pal of mine and I feel so incredibly blessed by her friendship.
Of coarse, it’s not always roses and daisies with this team. We have our struggles and issues. However, we love each other enough to work on these things with each other and are willing to go to the hard places in order to make things better. We laugh a lot, love a lot, and I wouldn’t have wanted to spend this time with anyone else.
