Meet Our Summer Staff: Jonathan Waide
How did you get connected to SOS? Our church back home, First UMC Madisonville, has been coming [to SOS] since the 90’s. And our church family has known about SOS almost since its conception. My youth pastor Ken tried for years and years to get me to go on a mission trip. I was such a homebody that I’d think about it and then duck at the last second. I finally decided to go [to SOS] and the trip changed my whole outlook on Christianity.
What is your role this summer?
I do the videography, the photography and help Shane run the sound booth and media. My trade is something that’s needed here.
How do you manage to photograph 29 different worksites each week?
To be fair, it’s only 21- I don’t cover the 114 worksites. Really it just comes down to time management. You alot a certain amount of time to each group. Instead of worrying about getting to each house each day, I just make sure each church is represented each day [in the slideshow]. So at the most, I visit 10 sites each day.
What kind of videos do you produce each week?
We do two daily recaps, little snapshots of what goes on throughout the week. Those are usually pretty hype and exciting- trying to get people excited for what they’re doing. On Thursday we do a youth pastor video which tends to be more sentimental- this gives the campers an opportunity to say how much they appreciate their youth pastors. On Friday we do two videos. One is a weekly recap- both hype and sentimental! It starts with a lot of action, showing what we’ve done throughout the week and then ends a little more heartfelt. The second is the infamous music video which I’ve been told is a favorite! And that’s just bringing all the groups together to make something that’s really fun.
What’s your favorite SOS tradition so far?
If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the music video because that’s something I get to take part in. But really I love the say so time in chapel. It’s something that landmarks the campers to help them see what they’ve learned that week. And it brings the week to a really cool close.
Which team leader has the best dance moves?
Ooh that’s hard! The problem is that we all do the exact same dances all the time!
I’d say either Monica or Abigail!