Member Profile - Jamie and John Whiteaker
1.) What is your vocation? I am about to graduate from Winthrop University with a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education. I will beginning teaching third grade in August at Hickory Grove Sharon Elementary School in York. Whit: I work at Resifence. Its a company that does residential fencing. I have been doing it off and on for 3 years.
2.) Tell us about your family: Well, Whit and I have been married for almost a year this month, so that has been a very exciting and sanctifying journey for us both. I grew up an only child in Newberry, SC, which is were my dad and my grandparents live. My dad is getting ready to retire from SCDOT and is getting married next month. My grandfather is a LAN Administrator at Georgia Pacific and is also getting ready to retire. Both of my grandmothers stay at home and are excellent cooks. My mother passed away when I was in high school from a rare stomach disease called Gastroparesis. She was very dear to me. Whit: I am married to Jamie Whiteaker. Our 1 year anniversary will be at the end of the month. I have a mother, brother, and sister in law that lives in Rock Hill.
3.) Who was the main human influence that lead you to a relationship with Christ? My Young Life leader, Cindy Long, played a huge impact in my relationship with Christ when I was in high school. She walked me through scripture and consistently pointed me to Christ during some of the darkest moments of my life. Whit: The person that led me to Christ was Casey Espich. I was in high school. He had some guys read the bible. As I read the gospels I was saved.
4.) What is your favorite Bible Verse? 2 Corinthians 4 Whit: That's a difficult question. I feel it changes. It was for awhile Jeremiah 20:9-11. I would have to say now its Habakkuk 3:16-19. 1 Peter chapter 1 is always good. Ok I'm going to stop now.
5.) What has the Lord been teaching you over the last 6 months? The Lord has been reminding me and teaching me about His sovereignty when I look back and see all of the ways He has led me down paths that at the time did not make sense. However, now when I look back, I can see His hand moving throughout my life, especially in my college experience with bringing me to Winthrop and then to Park Baptist and the community that he has blessed me with here. Whit: The Lord has been encouraging me to work hard for my relationship with him. I feel the conviction more to spend time in prayer, and in the Word. While discipline some young believers God has been showing me ways to make things simple for others to understand it. I love things simple. Anyone can speak over someone's head, but to put them in terms for everyone, and lets your heart feed on it...well that's just great.
6.) What is something most people don't know about you? I was a competitive clogger (dancer) throughout high school and was also Valedictorian of my graduating class in high school. Whit: Something people may not know is I use to be wild. I'm a very weird and wild person. My friends like to bring up all of the weird things I use to do. So if you have any crazy stories, I would love to hear them. No judgement here.
7.) Do you have any specific prayer requests? As I graduate and begin teaching in the public school system, I ask that you pray that the light of Christ will shine through me in the school and in my own classroom and that the Lord would use me in the way that He sees fit to reach the lost as an educator. Whit: I have a lot of prayer request. I love people praying for me. I feel weird sometimes asking for prayers because sometimes I think people think you are in trouble if you ask, but I could always use prayers because I'm always in need of God. So prayer for marriage, loving my wife. A good attitude at work. Patience, and energy for a busy summer. Prayers that the Lord would help more to find joy and a willingness to spend time in the Word and prayer. I do struggle with quiet times.