Hello, everyone! It has been a CRAZY last couple of weeks! I've been getting busier and busier with opportunities that have been given to me, such as starting an evangelism team and occasionally leading worship for my class. It's been so exciting seeing God work in my life and through my life as I humble myself for His glory. Last weekend, I was able to go home because some of our Norwegian/New Zealander friends that used to live with us in Jordan were visiting the U.S.. It was such an incredible time being reunited with them. Sherin and Lina, the daughters, were right around my sister's and my age, and they were some of our closest friends in the Middle East. It was crazy to be reunited after 8 years! We had a little fun recreating an old picture. ;) It was such a blessing to be with all of them again, and I will treasure that weekend for the rest of my life.
~ As I come to the close of week five of my Discipleship Training School, I find myself thinking about the transformation I have been through and how much everything has changed since I've come here. I believe that I'm finally getting over the butterfly stage of being here. I feel comfortable here. I'm familiar with the base. I now know to expect big revelations every week- bawling in class doesn't take me by surprise, anymore. I know what there is to do for fun around the area. I have good days and bad days. My classmates have become more like family. We live together, eat together, go to class together, do our work duties together, go to church together and spend our free time together. We know each others' good sides and bad sides. Yes, I believe it is safe to say that the butterfly stage is fading away, but that isn't a bad thing. Getting over the butterfly stage is teaching me several very important things: 1. You have to pursue God, even when you don't have that spiritual high. 2. Just because you don't feel the crazy emotions doesn't mean that God isn't working in you. 3. Chasing after the emotions that Christianity can bring is not at all what Christianity is about. Although those emotions are amazing, there is a much deeper side to Christianity, where we pursue the knowledge and understanding of who God is- not just what He can do for us. I don't believe that I've ever gotten to this part in my spiritual walk before. After the spiritual high faded away, often I fell back into ignoring God. I put Him on the back burner. I stopped reading my Bible and concerned myself with things that brought me that feeling, instead. I'm ashamed to admit that, but it is true. God has been teaching me, though, that that type of Christianity really isn't Christianity at all! I had been living in such a false expectation of what Christianity really is. God is all about building a relationship with us. Just like any normal relationship, we shouldn't expect that every day with God is going to be on cloud 9. That's simply not how life works. What makes a strong relationship is spending time with that person, even during the bad or the bland times. We have to be consistent and keep chasing after God, even when we aren't feeling the overwhelming push to do so. That's when God starts really solidifying your relationship with Him and your understanding of who He really is. I hope that as you read my blog you may begin to have an understanding that God is so much more than many people make Him out to be. He is so complex and wonderful, and I hope that you may also get a taste of that side of our amazing, loving, wonderful God. Thank you so much for your time! -Olivia
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Hello, friends and family!
I haven't gotten around to posting about my third week until now because so much happened last week that it was almost overwhelming- overwhelming in the best way possible, though. As I have thought about what to include and what not to include I have decided that I will spare y'all most of the details and keep to the larger points. The highlight of week three, by far, was that we were given our outreach options. We students had been quite impatiently waiting for that day since before we even got to YWAM. I found out by accident earlier in the day that after lunch we would find out. I was trying so hard to keep calm and to not over think it. When they sat us down, I could barely contain myself. Our school leader, Kim Kaufmann, told us that we had two options. One group would be going to Ecuador, and the other would be going to a few countries in Asia. Then, they handed us all a yellow post-it note, told us to pray for God to lead us and instructed us to write that answer down on the paper. I was so torn. Truly, neither one of them sounded better than the other. Both were such amazing prospects in my mind. I told God, "Lord, I have no idea where you want me to go! Please, lead me to the right one!" Then, as I looked up at the board, Asia almost seemed to fade away, and all of my attention was on Ecuador. Every piece of me felt that it was right, and I knew God was leading me to write it down. I wanted to shout out with joy! Once the results were in, I found out that all three of my roommates had also chosen Ecuador, which was crazy because only seven of us had chosen Ecuador (some arranging with the Asia group had to be done, later)! I was so excited! We will continue our adventures together on outreach, and I am so thankful! So much more happened last week, but to keep this post from being pages and pages long I will just tell y'all that God has been speaking to me so faithfully. On multiple occasions, people (including a stranger in Walmart) have come up to me and told me that God told them to speak to me about very specific situations in my life where I have struggled or things that I have been worrying about. It's truly jaw-droppingly amazing how He has been interacting with me, even in simple ways of encouragement. One day, for example, I had been crying and felt very discouraged. I felt this nudge inside of me to go on a walk, and when I was out in the middle of a field I looked up and saw a random rainbow off in the distance. I felt God whisper, "I promise it will get better." Being here is showing me the true nature and character of God. I'm learning that He is such an intimate God. The more we pour into Him, the more He pours into us. During our times of discouragement and heartache, He is waiting for us to turn around and run to His arms. All He wants is for us to invest in Him, and He will invest in us. It's such an amazing thing. I truly have never felt as much joy and peace in my life as I do right now, and I know it is because I am yielding more and more of myself to God. Thank y'all so much for taking the time to read this! My prayer for y'all is that y'all would spend time with God daily. He has proven how much He wants a relationship with us- He DIED for us so that we could eternally be with Him, growing closer and closer to Him. Until next time, Olivia Hello, friends! I have just finished my second week of my DTS, and, even for an English major, it is hard to put my experience thus far into words. It has been such a challenging, growing and peaceful time all put together. Like I said in my week one post, it truly does not feel like I have only been here for the time that I have been! There has been so many new things that I have experienced, so many new people that I have met and so much that I have learned in the past 15 days that it seems like it has been so much longer. This past week was an incredibly powerful and fun one. Dean Sherman, a world-wide known speaker and author and the man who started YWAM in Australia, spent the week teaching us on spiritual warfare. My eyes have been opened to how much my everyday decisions impact the power that either God or Satan has in my life. The more I yield to God, even in the little things, the more He will guide and use me. This concept is so exciting and so important to me because it has really shown me how every little thing I do counts. God is always looking for people who are willing to submit to Him, and when He sees that they are surrendered to His will, He uses them. One of the most exciting parts of all this is that God does not rely on human capability. When He calls someone to do something, He gives that person the supernatural ability to do that, whether they feel equipped or not. This is a big encouragement to me, especially since I have never really felt confident in sharing my faith with others. As we prepare for our outreach phase (which will be in about 3 months, and we do not know where our options will be, yet), please keep me in your prayers. Pray that God would give me faith and understanding that it's not about what I can do. It's about what He can do through me. Alright, friends, onto a lighter note. :) On the 4th of July, our school volunteered at an event hosted by a Christian home for single mothers called Fatherheart. Each of us students were given a special job. Mine just happened to be face painting! :) I had SUCH a wonderful time talking to the kids and painting an assortment of American flags, animals, bugs and superhero symbols on their faces. I really had such a fun time, and it was awesome to spend my time blessing others. Towards the end of the evening we students were free to hang out and watch their INCREDIBLE firework show. Y'all, when I say incredible I mean LITERALLY the best firework show that I have ever seen in my entire life. I had heard people raving about their show since I had arrived in Tyler, even saying that it was better than Disney's firework show, but I thought that, SURELY, it couldn't be that awesome. Now, I'm not sure I would go as far as to say that it was better than Disney's show, but it was a VERY close second. All in all, it was a wonderful 4th of July, despite not being able to spend it with my family. Other than our big 4th of July event, I have been spending my free time with the other students running around Tyler, playing many card and other interactive games, swimming and just about any other idea that someone comes up with. We even had a luau pool party which ended with a storm blowing in very suddenly. This past week was wonderful, and I am absolutely loving drawing closer to all of my fellow students and especially to God.
Thank you all for taking the time to keep up with my journey! I love you guys! -Olivia I know that I spoke briefly about my roommates in my previous post, but I want y'all to really get to know the wonderful girls that are such a wonderful part of my life here at YWAM.
From left to right: Jackie I love this sweet soul! Jackie is such a wonderful roommate to have. She's always willing to listen when you have something on your heart, which has been a great relief several times, already. There's a tenderness and a sincerity inside of her that you don't see in many people, these days. This girl also proved to me that there is someone out there that enjoys her sleep time even more than I do. ;) I love sharing my living space here at YWAM with such a loving roommate! Tracy-Leigh It's pretty difficult not to absolutely love this girl within the first five minutes of meeting her. Pretty much everyone on the campus knows her, too, so she's kind of a YWAM Tyler superstar. ;) Tracy's humor constantly has people roaring with laughter, which is one of my favorite things about her (her awesome South African accent adds to it, too). Not only is she hilarious. She, also, isn't afraid to speak out, which is a great quality to have in a roommate. I can always count on her to be honest and help me make decisions that I couldn't easily make on my own. Emily What a woman of God! It's so easy to see God's love and heart inside of this girl. Emily is always willing to do things for others- whether that be going out of her way to give an encouraging word to someone or braiding the hair of all the girls in the dorm before we all go out (and, let me tell you, she is a hair braiding EXPERT!). Emily really does contribute so much to our room because she has such a servant's heart. She always reminds me to look at others the way God would look at them and not be so quick to point a finger or jump to conclusions. I'm so thankful to have these ladies in my life, and I can only dream of what God is going to do through them! I'm just so glad I get to be a part of their lives during this chapter! :) -Olivia Hello, everyone! This has been my first chance to get on here. I have had no wifi since arriving at my Discipleship Training School, and I finally purchased it. Now, I will be able to keep up with you guys! Wow. Where to begin? It's amazing to think that I've only been here for a week. It feels like I have been here for a month. So much has gone on, and I can truly say that only a week of being here has changed me, genuinely. It truly has. I didn't know that change this quick and this powerful was even possible, but I have learned more about God in this week than I have in years. God has been opening my eyes to so many fundamental truths about Christianity, His love for us and His nature that I can't believe I missed all of these years. Everything I am learning has me UNBELIEVABLY excited about what the weeks to come have to reveal to me. Now, a little bit about my living situation for all of you curious people out there: Our class has 28 students in it from all different ages and walks in life. We have people who are in their teens all the way up to people in their 70's. (The picture below is our class plus the staff that is guiding us through our lecture phase.) I have three wonderful roommates, Tracy (who is here from South Africa), Emily (from Houston) and Jackie (from El Paso). We get along SO well and have had such a blast spending time together and getting to know each other. I am so thankful for them. I know, without a doubt, that God put them in my life with the purpose of encouraging me and helping me walk out my faith that is so rapidly evolving into something more powerful than I ever thought it would be. We share a dorm-style room, which, at first I was a little iffy about, but God has helped me change my heart and see the lessons I can learn from living with four girls in one room (patience, community, the importance of being open about your weaknesses, etc...). Our days are very busy. We wake up, have breakfast at 7, have our quiet times start at 8, class starts at 9 and goes until 12, then, lunch until 1:30 followed by our second session of class until 3. Afterwards, we all have work duties at different times. Mine is after dinner and goes for two hours. One of the other DTS students, Kris, and I clean the office building. That in itself has taught me things, such as letting God speak to me while I am working and having a willing heart. During our free time, many of us students go swimming in the big pond on base. Also, a large group of us has started running together every other night to stay in shape. By the end of the day, usually I am so tired from all of the learning, cleaning and running around that I have absolutely no problem going to sleep, which is definitely a blessing, since mornings start early and the days are long!
This place is amazing. At first, I felt disappointed. It was not what I expected it would be, but as soon as I decided to push that feeling aside and reminded myself that God has me here for a reason I have felt a peace like I have never felt before. This place is truly changing me, and I feel my passion for God and my yearning to know Him better grow stronger every day. I cannot wait to keep y'all updated as I grow and dive deeper into my relationship with God. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. -2 Corinthians 6:17-18 |
AuthorOlivia DeLaney is a recent college graduate that blogs about her transition into adulthood and the adventures along the way. Archives
January 2017
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