Former Youth Spotlight: Dakota Hunter

I haven't talked to Dakota in maybe two years, but I recently stumbled upon something that made me think of him and smile.  I follow this nerdy/geeky/AWESOME outfit called It-Ology and one day, right there on their facebook page, I saw this:

Dakota!

Dakota was in our youth group around 2003-05, was an outstanding drum player at WSHS, went on, I believe to play one year in the Drum Corps and is currently an Information Technology major at USC and teaching these middle school kids the basics of HTML at It-Ology in Columbia.  The video below comes from a two week camp for middle school students who want to learn more about basic computing.

Former Youth Spotlight: Stephanie Carver Blume

I caught up with Stephanie Carver recently when we both found ourselves at what we somewhat tongue-in-cheek referred to as "the Loser Table" at a charity raffle. 

Stephanie was probably in Junior High when she first came to FBC.  She was in my GA Class (Girls in Action) back in the day when the GAs and the RAs (boys class) were quite competitive and we would do things like ambush the boys during class and spray perfume all over them or bake them brownies loaded with tobasco sauce.  Stuff like that.  Stephanie grew up sandwiched between two brothers so she had stuff in her arsenal I could only dream of, she was a real asset to our GA class back in those days.


Today Stephanie spends her time as a nurse in the cardiac intensive care unit at Providence Hospital.  Her free time is divided up among the two men in her life -- Patrick and Oliver -- one, a husband, the other, a cat.  Of course, Cocky still holds a special place in her heart, too.

Stephanie is livin' large and enjoying life right now, making dreams come true.  When asked where she sees her life in five years, Steph alludes to more education, but she doesn't exactly commit to it, "I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up.  I do plan on going back to school, but I have no clue for what yet.... and I'm OK with that for right now."  She's very happy with nursing and she enjoys traveling, reading, shopping, and.... well.... eating.  She sheepishly admits a freakish fascination with pineapples right now.  Kind of like Forrest Gump's Bubba and his shrimp fetish, she says all dreamy-like, "fresh pineapple, pineapple pizza, pineapple salsa, pineapple upsidedown cake, pineapple salad, pineapple fruit drinks....."

I asked Steph what she misses about Wagener, "My family and friends," she said.  "I love coming home to see and catch up with everyone.... and I've been trying to do that more often.  Which kind of ties in with the whole 'what have I learned since I left' question.  I've learned to appreciate and actually show that I appreciate the family and friends that I love so much."

Stephanie's still as bubbly and intoxicating as she always was, still has the same smile on her face and pep in her step.  "The thing that inspires me from day to day," she concluded, "is the thought that each day is a different day.  Even if I made mistakes yesterday, today I have a new chance to change or improve who I am or the way I do things."

Former Youth Spotlight: Jamal Quattlebaum

I caught up with Jamal over the Christmas holiday.
Oh, I retained my composure acting all cool, but I really wanted to slobber all over him and tell him how proud I am of him and how I wish he'd come home to Mama Val's just a little bit more often. But he's a busy man. Busy, busy man...
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Jamal is currently living in Loganville, GA and working with high school youth at Graystone Church. Jamal credits former FBC Youth Pastor Jimmy Steen for where he is today. "He (Steen) reached out to me and introduced me to Look Up Lodge where I later worked on staff for three years. During those three years, I built relationships with the people who attend Graystone. Graystone brought their youth to Look Up all three of my summers."

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FBC has taken our youth to Look Up Lodge now for ten years or more. Having been on several of those trips, having my own kids attend for many years and having seen several of our youth go there to serve, I have to credit Look Up Lodge for grounding our teen agers and instilling in them the need to know what you believe and then act upon it.

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Jamal continued, "I learned so much being on staff at Look Up Lodge. The lesson that stands out in my memory is during one summer, I got extremely exhausted and I felt like I could not do one more day of camp and so I began to pray that God would replenish me and give me the drive to keep going and He did just that. So the lesson I learned is when I am weak and worn out, God is faithful enough to keep me going."

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I asked Jamal where he would like his life to be in 5 years. His reply? Full-time ministry.

"One thing that God is teaching me now is to deal in the moment and not look too far ahead. I'm sure we've all experienced a change from our plan to God's plan, and that can be extremely disappointing, so I am trying not to plan so far in advance and to enjoy what God is doing today."

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In his free time, Jamal likes to sleep, shop and hang out with friends. He has trouble turning his brain off his youth, though, when he is not actively working with them. His favorite food, anyone remember? Japanese! As he says, "I love, love, love, love, love it!" There's that bubbly exuberance we all know and love: true 100% Jamal.

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"The thing I miss most about Wagener is the community of people," Jamal explained. "There is no other place that can hold such people in one area. I still laugh when I look back on the times we all shared. (So do we, brother, so do we, just check Marj, Brielle or Erika's photos of your days here!) He continued, "Like many students after graduation, we had to separate and grow to become our own person."

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"When I die, I would like to be remembered as a guy who searched after God's very heart, just like King David. I want to love the way Jesus loves me and live the way Jesus lived."

-Despite my all cool composure, Jamal brought me to tears. We love, love, love, love, love you Jamal! You're in our prayers. Come back and visit soon.

Keep up with Jamal on his Facebook page: Brunson Jamal Quattlebaum.
And on his blog here. 

Former Youth Spotlight: Laura Wise

Laura Wise grew up at FBC Wagener, the daughter of Anne Linder.

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"I know that I have been commanded to go and spread His truth to the world and I will do this."

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Laura loves:

• Jesus Christ
• Singing/Music
• Look Up Lodge
• Kids
• The number 7
• Giraffes
• The color green
• Coffee

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Laura's still in the middle of her college education, but in the meantime, it isn't keeping her from ministry. Remember all those years she went with us to Look Up Lodge . . .
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Now she's a summer counselor there. Click here for her slideshow on LUL. Laura went to China in '09 on a mission trip and is headed back again in 2011. Click here to read about the upcoming trip or to financially support it.

"I do not know what my future holds in going back, but I do know that I'm excited to serve alongside and minister to our brothers and sisters in Christ. I will be traveling with a team of students from North Greenville University. Our goal is to change lives by spreading the Word of God and sharing the love story of Christ Jesus with whomever God places in our path. We will primarily be working with college age students and young adults at a university campus."

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And now, the big news, Laura has officially begun the process of applying to the IMB's Journeyman program. This is a program for people 21-26 years of age who want to commit to two years of overseas mission work. They train, then they go. It often, but not necessarily, leads to full time mission work. It also is a great way for young adults to do something life-changing before settling down with a career and family. Click here to learn more about the Journeyman program.

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Laura, we love you and miss you! Come back and visit soon.

Former Youth Spotlight: Jon Coffee

An update from former FBC youth Jon Coffee, includes his exciting new hair-do, an awesome video and really coolly carved pumpkins. Clearly, he misses us a lot. Also? Here's his blog.
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