Teammate Tuesday: Tiffany

Our team has spent a significant amount of time talking about things. Expectations, strengths, weaknesses, what makes us tick, what we love, and other things of the like. One strong conclusion can be drawn about Team Harbin: we like to party. Dan, our team leader, was able to summarize quite well what the extent of that will look like after analyzing each of the girls and their strengths. “Kayla will gather the community for the party, Lauren will plan the party, Laura will provide the entertainment for the party, and Tiffany will pray for the party.” Well done, Dan. Well done.

It is my honor and pleasure to introduce you to Tiffany France, our Mung Bean of team Harbin. Now, you’re probably asking “what the heck is a mung bean?” I’ll let Tiffany tell you: “Mung beans appear in the basic earth tones (greens, browns, and blacks... very much like my wardrobe); they have a thick skin (it takes a lot to 'get to me'); and they are found in India where they are used to make curries and dal (things I loved and have missed eating since my time in Nepal last summer). Mung bean. That's me.”

Tiffany hails from Fort Collins, Colorado, but studied at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. This often leads for a brief identity crisis every time Tiffany is asked ‘where are you from?’ [of which I can understand completely]. She received a B.A. is Religious Studies, and Team Harbin will soon be celebrating her birthday on September 8^th {our first real opportunity to give our party-skills a try}.

Tiffany is a lover of all punny jokes...yes, the jokes with the 'puns' in them. Tiffany’s favorite M&M’s are the peanut ones; similarly, her favorite cookies are peanut butter. Her favorite food so far has been Baozi (steamed buns with cooked and seasoned pork inside, dipped in soy sauce), and her favorite movie is 'Sabrina' (the one with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond). “It is a beautiful story, the dialog is fantastically witty, and the soundtrack is soothing to my heart and soul.” As far as favorite fast food, “it's a toss-up between Taco Bell, McDonald's, Chic-fil-A, and Sonic. Unless I'm in Texas, where the answer is obviously Taco Cabana.”

“Once when I was a child I passed out at Disney World after getting my hand stuck in the metal siding of an escalator. They took me to the hospital in an ambulance and gave me a Donald Duck stuffed animal. Totes worth it.”  If Tiffany had to eat any color crayon, she would choose purple merely because purple tastes so good.

One thing that I certainly love and appreciate about Tiffany is that she is a fellow choir junkie and lover of Eric Whitacre. Thus, we are constantly found humming and singing. “I love to sing, I love to write, and I love talking with people.”  [actually, in reality our entire team loves music which will make for super awesome times…now we just need to find a piano.] Tiffany says “"If I had a million dollars..." is the name of a song I enjoy singing.” When asked about meeting someone famous or fictional, Tiffany replied “in this season of my life, I would like to meet Maria Jane Taylor. She is less well-known than her husband, but I would love to sit and talk with her, listening to her stories, and soaking in the wisdom she accrued through her experiences following Him with her husband.” Most importantly, Tiffany would like the world to know that “eternity in the presence of the One who has made us is the opposite of boring. Words more appropriate than boring include: delightful, endlessly surprising, beautiful, awesome, breathtaking, overwhelming, peaceful, inviting,... home.”

 

On a more personal note, Tiffany is one incredible woman not only in faith, but in her ability to relate to everyone, provide a smile, and reassurance of peace. Have you ever experienced those conversations where you can do nothing but nod your head and say “me too…me too… me too!” Those have happened a time or two. Tiffany says “I am really excited to see what happens as the year unfolds, revealing the unexpected, unforeseeable relationships and events that will come to shape and define this year for each of us. There is something thrilling in the mystery of the unknown, and I am currently basking in the glory and peace that comes with knowing that: He already knows what is to come, and it will be better and more challenging than I would dare imagine.”

Tiffany also wants to let you know that “I really love Kayla!! To all the people who are missing her dearly: Thank you for sharing her with us and with everyone she will meet this year! She is a blessing, and I'm so grateful to have her as a teammate, friend, and sister. :)”