Casey & Lexi

Three months ago, Casey and Lexi were just two names on my spreadsheet of over 75 volunteers who were coming to Neema this summer. At that time, I knew so little about these two amazing humans that I placed them in a room together at the Volunteer House not realizing they weren’t the same gender.

Fast forward two months, many shared experiences, and long hours working together in the office and I will never be able to adequately express the amount of thankfulness I have for each of them. We became a well-oiled machine that spent most of our time together.

Lexi very quickly became a BFF to me. She’s so genuine in everything she does that it spreads like wild fire. She makes me want to seek Jesus with everything I have, laugh harder, and love people more intentionally. We talk about boys, eat ice cream, and play cards. She’s funny and beautiful, and she gives everything she has all the time. One of my many favorite moments with Lexi was a couple weeks ago when I was asking her a question and she just looked at me with wide eyes and said “I’m not comfortable confirming that”. As she was replying, half way through her statement her voice kept rising higher and higher until it ended with both of us dying laughing. Another great thing about Lexi is her story telling. When she gets super excited or passionate about something, you can really tell because her voice reaches new levels and it’s my fav thing ever! Another super awesome thing which I love about Lexi is how she’s become my car singing buddy or really just an overall singing/dance buddy in general. We don’t have very good voices, but that doesn’t stop us and I love, love, love it. She listens like the best of them and I am going to miss her sweetness SO much!!

Casey is crazy smart and he is one of the most determined people I’ve ever met. He doesn’t stop until he wins or solves the problem. After working with him in the office the first week, I could tell when I asked him a question that he doesn’t just reply. Instead, he stops and truly thinks through every detail before answering. I can read his “I’m thinking” face and I know to give him a minute to think things over. One of my favorite moments with Casey took place a couple of weeks ago when I was super stressed in the office – the kind of stressed out where I wasn’t even sitting at the desk I was just standing over it looking at everything that needed to be done. Casey said, “Hey!” which made me stop and look up. Then he said, “Sit down. It’s ok. Just do the most pressing thing first and don’t worry about the rest yet.” He’s so good at reading me and he knew I needed to hear that. Actually, he’s so good at reading me that one night he guessed “my card” just by reading my face. We ate goat for the first time together, he witnessed me driving on the wrong side of the road for the first time, and he got to be the first guy I’ve ever given a haircut to. The patience he has is outstanding! The poor guy has spent a lot of time in the office with us girls, but he’s done it with a smile on his face and I’m sure going to miss having him around!!