Comments:
It’s been fun reading about everyone from 1983!
After high school, I went to Nashville, TN to Free Will Baptist Bible College from 1983-1986 and got an Associates Degree in Business. In 1985, I experienced “love at first sight” when Jaimie Lancaster (from McShan, AL) shook my hand with snow gloves, after coming in from the snow! We were married in May 1986 in my home church, 1st FWB, in Russellville. In Nashville, I babysat for “Mrs. Snow”…many of you may remember Mrs. Snow who taught us in 4th and 5th grades. This was her daughter-in-law! Later I worked for Boy Scouts as registrar for the Middle Tennessee District. I moved to Detroit, MI where my husband and I were part of a Church Planting Team. I worked as an Executive Secretary, 1988-1990, for The Taubman Corporation, which built, rented spaces, and managed the largest malls in the U. S. When I found out I was expecting a baby, we moved to McShan, AL where my nearest neighbor was 1 mile away. I took a job as a Teacher’s assistant. My first son, Jonathan, was born that year, 1990, and my 2nd son, John William, was born in 1993, and I became a ‘stay-at-home’ mom. In 1996, we pursued our missionary vision which we had always had, and visited Uruguay. We knew that was where the Lord wanted us to serve, so we went to Los Angeles, CA for Missionary Internship Training in 1998. On Feb 26, 1999, we moved to Montevideo, Uruguay, a city of 1 ½ million people.
Present: You may remember me as extremely shy, and I remember, my best friend, Traci Moore, answering for me. The transformation from shy-quiet, to speaking to groups of women and others in churches was a necessity in my role as a missionary. In Uruguay, my boys attend an International school where I began an International Ladies Bible study. Dealing with people from 36 different countries has changed my view of life. Working with the poorest of the poor to ambassadors and diplomats has allowed me to share in their experiences. We have two wonderful boys! Jonathan is 17, and John William is 14. My husband, Jaimie, likes computers (worked for Apple, has friends call from all over the world with computer problems), and rides a Harley Davidson when we are in the U.S. We rode in the Trail of Tears from TN to AL with 25,000 other bikers and that was a once in a lifetime experience. I happened to live in the city where the run ended. We have been happily married for 22 years!
High school memories:
Band- a great help…I teach music and play piano…Mr. Beard was a confidence builder.
Spanish- my ministry is done in Spanish…Ms. Binns was a good teacher…I took the class for fun with no idea I’d be a missionary in South America.
Cruising Main Street – seems a silly pastime when I go back to visit, but it was lots of fun as a teen.
Skating Rink – every Friday with my best friend, Traci Moore! My children had never seen skates with two wheels in front and two in back. They were only used to roller blades. I showed them a pair and they remarked, “Mom, those are old-timey skates, no one uses those!” They enjoy skateboarding out on the streets; they both play drums, bass, guitar, and enjoy chatting, Facebook and YouTube!
Family – we enjoy watching movies together. Movies have been a great springboard to talk about lessons in life. Laughter has always been the remedy for tense moments. It’s never dull in my testosterone charged household, no matter what country we are living in…they always find things to laugh about! As a missionary family, travel has been a part of our life. Between all of us, we have visited Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Bolivia, England, Costa Rica,The Bahamas, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Canada, France, Italy and Japan.
We enjoy receiving visitors and missionary teams. The First Free Will Baptist Church of Russellville made a trip in 2004 to Uruguay and will be returning this year for another mission trip. Tammy
