There is a question we always ask when recruiting future volunteers or missionaries: What does making a difference sound like?
We could, of course, give you the answer ourselves, but we think it’s best if we let two of our volunteers from right in your backyard answer that question.
Casey Vaughn-Claus: Hi, Jaymie! Thank you so much for being here with me today. You’re almost a junior at Southern Adventist University. Tell us a bit about where you’re from.
Jaymie States: Yeah! So, before going to Southern, I lived in North Carolina for 12 years.
CVC: Awesome! So how did you end up in the Marshall Islands?
JS: I heard so many stories from my mom about her time serving in the Marshall Islands. It was really just a matter of when I would go, not really if. Freshman year was really overwhelming, and I just felt: I need to go. I realized that I needed to take a step back. I needed to take a breather.
CVC: So, you signed up. You did all the paperwork. Now, you’re there. What were those early days like?
JS: Whew! I’m in school for business administration, and now I’m teaching 31 first graders. That was such a big learning step. I was told two weeks before coming here — because I was going to be the fourth-grade teacher — I was asked: “Hey, can you be the first-grade teacher?”
I was surprised! I had already planned curriculums for fourth grade. Once I was here, the first couple of months were really hard because the fourth graders are angels, and first grade is … a lot. I was thinking, “I could’ve had fourth grade!”
CVC: So, plans changed. You had to pivot.
JS: Exactly! First grade, they’re coming from kindergarten. In those times where it was super stressful and even afterwards, I kept telling my kids — the kids that get their names on the board every single day — “Every morning that you come in here, you get a new start. You get a new chance. That little look of relief on their face was everything. They’re like, “Oh, okay!” I was like, “I’m not going to hold that (yesterday) against you.”
Eventually, I realized, “Oh! I can take that application too!” Now, I’m not the greatest teacher, I wouldn’t say. But, every single day is new. My kids, they’re 6 and 7 years old. They’re very forgiving. They don’t wear masks. They speak their minds. It’s just very refreshing to see and to experience. Even though they’re overwhelming, they’re constant reminders that each day is a new day.
CVC: That’s beautiful! It sounds like as you make a difference, it has made a difference in you! How has it impacted you spiritually?
JS: My parents are good examples for my spiritual life, but obviously, it is ultimately my decision. Coming here, in the beginning, I was like, “Oh my goodness!” I was going through a lot of stress and stuff. I didn’t really have a good relationship with God. Before I came, I asked previous student missionaries, “Does your relationship with God get better? Or get worse? Or stay the same?” And they said it’s really all on you. When I got here, I was like, “I’m on a mission year, and it’s not really impacting me the way I would love it to. I need to change some things.” It really helped having Julia, one of the other volunteers serving here in Majuro.
She’s kind of my accountability partner. She said, “We’re going to read every morning, and it’s done!” It’s not necessarily been easy, but once I started that, I fell in love with God all over again. It’s been super cool to see my journey since then and how well of a path I’m on right now. You do have to give it all to Him, and He will work through that. I have seen that firsthand.
CVC: What would you say to Jaymie a year ago? Maybe, too, to someone who is considering going?
JS: I would say to Jaymie a year ago that you need to slow life down. Take each day as it comes. Coming here, there’s no comparison. It’s just you being yourself. You’re just in the middle of the ocean …. For me, I would compare myself a lot to people, or I felt like, “They’re totally thinking about how I look.” It’s not true. I’ll just say, live your life to reach others so that your life is kind of like the ministry. It’s like you’re kind of a missionary wherever you are.
So, if you want an authentic experience and you want to learn more about yourself and the culture of a different place, do it. But, take it each day. I don’t have a countdown for when I’m coming back. Even though I want to come home, I don’t know how I’m going to leave here. It’s about the people here. It’s not necessarily about you.
CVC: Thank you so much. I can feel your heart in everything you’re saying. Your experience has been so beautiful. Thank you for sharing your heart with us today.
CVC: Welcome, Tahkai! I really appreciate you being willing to do this interview. Please start by telling us a little bit about you and where you’re at currently.
Tahkai Martin: Sure! I’m from Atlanta. I went to Southern Adventist University, and am currently serving at Shenandoah Valley Academy as assistant boys’ dean and junior varsity coach.
CVC: So cool! How did you end up doing, what I understand, has been multiple years of task force or domestic student missions?
TM: Good question. First, I should say that being a dean was never on the radar at all. I went to public school for high school, so I didn’t have a dean until I got to college. Even then, the type of dean that’s in the academy setting is not the dean that you get in college. They don’t live with you. They don’t teach you how to drive. They don’t teach you how to tie ties. They don’t teach you how to talk to girls. Right? They don’t have to wake you up in the morning.
Serving as a dean didn’t become an option for me until I had a conversation with my college adviser. Everything that I had described to him about my significant experiences as an RA, leaned more toward mentorship. He hasn’t been wrong. I think this is exactly where I’m called to be. I feel fulfilled.
Every dean you talk to will tell you they’ve done at least two years serving as a volunteer dean at some point. So, it’s kind of par for the course that you have to be a volunteer dean first; then you have enough experience to work.
CVC: Makes sense! So, for you, this was a calling and the road to your career all in one. How have these years of missions and volunteering impacted you spiritually?
TM: Yeah! Here in the dorm, we do give worships, and we do serve as that quote-unquote chaplain on-site. Since I’m always here with the kids, you really have to live what you teach. It’s not like, “Hey. I’m teaching you this thing in Bible class, and then I go home for the day.” No.
If I say something to you here, you’re going to see me two hours later. Especially if I’m coaching, and trying to get you to understand a concept, then later on, in the dorm, we’re talking about something, and I’m trying to give you direction — often that same concept comes up again.
I think it’s the same thing with spiritual life. Right? You have to understand that eventually, the things that you spend time with, and the things that you do will affect your personal life, spiritual life, professional life, and relational life. That’s something that these kids see upfront and personal every single day.
CVC: That is such a profound concept to take from your journey! Thank you for sharing that! Is there one story in particular that stands out to you from your time volunteering?
TM: Recently, one of my freshmen came to me. He said, “Hey, dean. I’m going to Spain for spring break. Do you know any folding tricks?”
So, I said, “Oh, yeah. For sure. When I was at my first school, one of my RAs, he taught me this specific role called a ranger roll.”
He was like, “Okay. How do you do that?”
I said, “I’m going to be honest with you. I haven’t done it in a while. I have to pull up a video, and then we’re going to follow along.”
So we followed along, and I folded up a shirt with him. But, as that was happening, another one of my varsity players came by, and he was like, “What are y’all doing?” So I told him.
He watched and said, “Okay, you could probably do that with pants too.”
I said, “Oh, yeah. You can. You can do that roll with anything you want, honestly.”
Well, a couple of days go by, and I’m doing room check of that second kid’s room. It’s just to make sure the drawers are folded and look clean. Usually, I just pick a random drawer, and, hopefully, that random drawer is organized.
Anyway, I open a drawer, and every shirt in there is a ranger roll — every single shirt. They’re all pristine. They’re perfect. None of them have any wrinkles or folds. They look better than mine. They look better than the video. It just goes to show how much of an impact you have when you don’t even realize it. He didn’t watch the video. He didn’t see me do it. He just saw the end product.
I think that’s the most crazy feeling to just know that even the littlest things that you do have that kind of impact. It’s really humbling to see when my students take after me in ways that can benefit them. That’s, again, the full mission, the full calling, the full reason why being a dean and volunteering is so important.
CVC: Follow me as I follow Jesus.
TM: Yes, 100%.
To apply to volunteer or request a volunteer for your Adventist organization or church, go to HeSaidGo.org.
At the time of this writing, Casey Vaughn-Claus served as the recruiting and marketing coodinator for the Office of Volunteer Ministries at the North American Division (NAD). She currently is serving as the assistant director for social media of professional services at the NAD. Prior to serving at the NAD, she pastored in the Carolina Conference.
is the assistant director for social media of professional services at the North American Division.
Southern Union | June 2025
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