We are the Norway team, and we are glad to make your acquaintance. For most of this summer, we will be serving in Norway. But first! We must learn what it’s like to rely on hostels by hiking the Camino de Santiago, all the way from Ponte de Lima in Portugal to Santiago and on to Muxía in Spain. We will spend the remainder of the summer running the Intermission Youth Hostel in Bergen, Norway—making waffles for waffle nights, leading a few Bible studies, and going on adventures with guests from all over the world!
Team members were responsible for providing their own biographies, so as to display their varying yet similarly silly personalities. Additionally, they were asked to answer the following questions: 1) What do you usually eat for breakfast? 2) Best food to put ketchup on, and 3) What is your blood type?
Enjoy.
Knox: What is up everyone! My name is Knox and I am so hyped for this trip. As a rising senior at Wheaton College, I am originally from Southern California and love anything JB, spontaneous roadtrips, cold brew with banana sweet foam, overnight hikes, pickup basketball, getting lost in the city, thrifting, time with my people, and, most importantly, Jesus. I hope to be engaged in full time campus ministry in the near future and pray that this trip will show me more of God’s goodness and grace throughout the world.
Madi: Hi everyone! You may be asking yourself, “Who’s driving this bus?” Well, it’s me, I’m the one driving this bus. The blog-bus (blus), at least. We’re all bus drivers in our own way. But if you have an issue with any of the corny jokes yet to come on this blog, it’s me. Hi. I’m the problem. It’s me.
Anywho, I hail from a teeny tiny little town called Charm, Ohio, in the heart of Amish country (if you haven’t been before, you should go). I’m a recent alumna of Wheaton who decided to extend my Wheaton experience by just another couple of months by doing this trip. I graduated with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Senior Care and will be working in a nursing home in Pittsburgh this fall! Otherwise, you’ll catch me constantly searching for mountains (#1 on my list of top 5 things ever), reading books on my Kindle (praise God for that little device), and probably throwing some pottery because why not. Also, I snort when I laugh.
Personally, I think breakfast food is overrated, but give me a bowl of salted rice and I’ll gobble that up in the morning. Ketchup is the perfect condiment for carrots. Don’t judge it unless you’ve tried it. And my mom probably knows my blood type, but I do not. I’ll keep you updated if I find out.
David: Hey everybody! I'm David, a freshman at Wheaton College studying Psychology and Urban Studies and all that fun stuff. I’m super excited for this SMP trip. I don’t eat breakfast, it's for people who work hard during the day, not lazy college students like me. Ketchup is best on potatoes, specifically better on potato wedges than fries. I have no clue what my blood type is, so if I start bleeding out, make me comfortable or something because I’ll be chilling with Jesus soon. Oh I’m also a missionary kid from Turkey, that is probably important to say!
Abby: Hi!! I’m Abby Smith and I’m studying Bible/Theology and Psychology, a combo I absolutely love! When I’m not talking about that, you’d probably catch me reading some Dostoevsky or scrapbooking. I’m a big fan of laughing with people and am always looking to find more adventure buddies! I usually hit up saga for eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast, and I’ll stand by the take that nearly any form of potato is enhanced by ketchup. And I’m a universal donor, so if you ever need blood I’ve got you covered!
Elsie: Hi, this is Elsie! I’m from China, currently in the U.S., and will be in Spain and then Norway in less than 5 days. Additionally, I’m a recent survivor of the freshman year at Wheaton College and the final week that happened simultaneously with the checkout week—fighting both dozens of pages of paper and piles of clothes at the same time.
Based on my recent activity, my goal in the next two months seems to be either traveling through the five continents in the world in the next year, or to wash dishes, do laundry, and make waffles for 24/7 a week.
While both look helplessly enticing, I have to make the choice that fits the requirement of holistic human flourishing for both my teammates and myself, and fulfills the long-standing goal of the SMP...so it eventually presents itself as a strategy of mixed modes--10 days of intense walking across 100km of the European lands on the Camino, 40 days of professional hostel service, while also engaging in deep conversations with random people--including the other four beautiful human beings in my team. It may or may not follow the “principle” that once you use all your faculties, your whole person will be at a satisfactory rest. More updates will come from this blog account.