Time to meet Intern Annie and dive into one of the most delightfully unfiltered, coffee-shop‑style episodes of the Fishbag Podcast yet. From Minnesota lakes and busted knees to conspiracy theories and AI, this one has big youth‑group‑couch energy—with a surprising amount of depth under all the laughter.

Meet Intern Annie (and Her Wobbly Knees)
JP sits down with Annie, the newest intern at YWAM Barcelona, to talk life, calling, and why she randomly bought a plane ticket to the other side of the world at 18 just to serve kids and Jesus. You’ll hear about her small-town Minnesota roots, her love-hate relationship with hockey culture, and why cross‑country skiing totally owns her heart—even though her knees like to dislocate at the worst possible moments.

Guns, Popeyes, and Small-Town America
The conversation spirals (in the best way) into classic American territory: Walmarts, Targets, Starbucks counts, terrible local Popeyes, and whether there should be guns under every bed. Between jokes about never having shot a gun and longing for Chick‑fil‑A instead of disappointing fried chicken, Annie and JP paint a vivid, funny snapshot of Midwest life that expats and Americans alike will recognize instantly.

Called to Teach the Next Generation
Underneath the jokes is a serious sense of calling: Annie wants to teach kids and shape “the future of America” as an elementary teacher. She shares how serving in kids’ ministry at church awakened her passion for discipling children, helping them become change‑makers, and maybe blending that with Bible teaching—whether in public school, Christian school, or somewhere in between. Here in Barcelona, she’s testing that out by designing kids’ events around themes like friendship and how to make friends in a big, often isolating city.

Friendship, Crafts, and Adult Loneliness
The two talk about how making friends gets harder as adults and joke about running a “How to Make Friends” course for grown‑ups—with crafts, games, and all the kid stuff we secretly still want. Annie unpacks her heart for using creativity, play, and quality time to help kids (and maybe adults) become more like Jesus in very practical, relational ways.

AI, Creativity, and Choosing Resistance Over Shortcuts
In a surprisingly timely turn, JP folds Annie into his ongoing AI research for his dissertation. Annie admits she used to lean on AI a lot in high school, but she’s now intentionally pulling back because it was making her less creative and too dependent on something that always agrees with her. They explore procrastination, productivity pressure, and why we’re so tempted to offload hard work to AI instead of letting resistance grow our brains, our skills, and our character. From recipes to homework to event planning, they wrestle with how to keep humans—and the Holy Spirit—at the center of the creative process.

Stuff, Novelty, and a Better Way to Live
The episode closes with a thoughtful riff on consumerism: cheap stuff that breaks, planned obsolescence, and our addiction to “new.” JP and Annie wonder aloud whether a less cluttered, less hyper‑consuming life might actually make us more grateful, more present, and more creative with what we already have—both in our homes and in our hearts.

If you love YWAM stories, creative discipleship, gentle roasting of American culture, and real talk about AI and formation, this episode is your jam. And if you’re dreaming about doing an internship or DTS with YWAM Barcelona, Annie’s story might be the nudge you’ve been waiting for.

Contact JP at: [email protected]
Want to be on the show? Schedule a time here: https://calendar.app.google/YQ9VXVs5kMGm9Y2d6
Intro Song by Isaac Vasquez – link tree: https://linktr.ee/isaacxvasquez
Outro song by James Tyson – IG: https://www.instagram.com/james.mtyson/
YWAM BCN web: https://www.ywambarcelona.org