Hello, dear friends and family! This month has been INSANELY busy, which is why I haven't gotten around to updating y'all, yet! We have had several very intense weeks full of learning, full of God's freedom and full of ministry preparation for our outreach. I have some VERY exciting news, though! I found out today that all of my money for my outreach has officially been raised!! I want to thank everyone who helped me raise this money from the bottom of my heart. Every dollar will be going towards reaching lost and hopeless people who need to hear the truth about God's redeeming love. Thank you SO much for partnering with me in this ministry. My excitement is growing more and more with each week. Last weekend, I had the amazing privilege of seeing my best friend, Miss Kelsey McCulloch, become Mrs. Kelsey Campbell. It was SUCH a BEAUTIFUL weekend filled with so many wonderful memories. Kelsey was STUNNING in her gorgeous dress, and the whole reception was breathtaking. I was one of the bridesmaids, so I got to spend a lot of time with her before the wedding which was so nice. I hadn't seen her since I started my DTS, so it really blessed me. Photo credit- Abbi Hearne Photography The wedding party! I was, also, able to see a very large group from my Tarleton Wesley Foundation family! It was SUCH a blessing to be reunited with them! The wedding was absolutely dreamy, and being back with everyone felt almost like a dream itself. It felt strange to be off of the base and with my college friends again, but it absolutely blessed my soul in a way that I can't describe. After returning from Austin, I had to face the busiest week of the entire DTS. Along with classes, my daily work duty and reading for classes, we were working on a powerful skit called Clincher that we will be performing on outreach. I was pretty much busy from 6:30 in the morning until 10 at night. The skit shows the intense struggles of a girl as she is brought down by pride, lust, drugs and depression. Eventually, (after we toss the lead girl around QUITE a bit) Jesus steps in, takes all of her sins, fights satan (suicide) in an epic battle, is crucified, rises from the dead and gives the girl freedom. If you want to see a practice version of it, I am tagged in it on Facebook, so you can find it on my profile wall! The skit is so powerful that I get chills the whole time we are in practice! I am SO excited to bring it to the people of Ecuador to show them what Jesus can do for them and so desperately wants to do for them!
Next week, we will continue with classes and ministry prep. We will be focusing on preparing a VBS (Vacation Bible School) for children in Ecuador. I have never worked a VBS before, so I am very excited to be able to pour into the lives of impoverished children who wouldn't normally get the chance to do something like this! God has been so faithful to me during this time. I hope that through my blog you are able to see the changes that He is making in my life and how He can do the same thing for you! I pray that everyone who reads this will be touched by Him and that y'all will have a hunger to know Him on a much deeper level. If you have any questions or want to talk to me personally about anything feel free to email me at [email protected]! I would love to hear from you! :) I love y'all so much! Until next time, Olivia
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Hello, dear friends and family,
Today, I want to take the time to reflect on a very special man. On Sunday, I was writing a post for my blog when I received the news that Heaven gained a very devoted and talented man of God. David Quinn, the music director at the Methodist churches I worked at for 2 1/2 years during my time at Tarleton passed away. He had been battling cancer for several years, and his health had been poor for a long time, especially during my last few months before I left Stephenville. Because his health was so poor, his passing was not a huge shock, but it doesn't make the fact any easier. Let me tell you a story. I had been working at Domino's Pizza for a year and a half during my freshman and sophomore year of college. I was often working 5-6 days a week and felt like I was drowning. I was had bronchitis for 4 months because I didn't have the time or rest to recover and was really struggling with depression. Life felt empty. I was not going to church, and all I had time to do was go to classes, do homework and go to work. I was truly miserable. I was so far away from God and was living in sin. I knew I needed a change. Thanksgiving of my sophomore year, God told me to quit my job. I didn't know what to do, though, because I knew I needed the money. I trusted Him, though, and turned in my notice. Less than a month later, David McMinn, the pastor at the Wesley Foundation on campus, told me about a job opening. Two local churches, Morgan Mill United Methodist Church and Bluff Dale United Methodist church, needed someone to help lead worship on Sundays. He told me that the instant he heard about it, He knew God put it on his heart to tell me. I, of course, was exhilarated but so nervous, as well. I had never really worked with music before, certainly not for a job! I couldn't read sheet music, which is pretty much essential for any music job, and I had never received any professional training. They interviewed me, though, and, to my shock, I was hired. That was when David Quinn became a part of my life. Though I knew very little about professional music, David was extremely patient and very encouraging. He coached me in the ways of singing from properly using my diaphragm to protecting my voice by not straining. As I spent 2 1/2 years working with this man of God, I was constantly blown away. He was one of the most hardworking individuals that I have ever met. He came to church week after week, even when his chemotherapy left him sick and weak to the point of barely being able to walk (no exaggeration). He was fiercely loyal to our churches and LOVED serving God through music. His musical gifting was incredible. He could compose breathtakingly beautiful pieces that truly conveyed God's glory, beauty and love. There wasn't a piece- no matter how difficult- that he couldn't play, and when he played I saw God move through music in such a beautiful way. I found myself being brought to tears quite often because I could FEEL God in the music. David was, also, an incredible teacher. Though he had finished his teaching job quite a while before I ever met him, he still used that ability to teach me so many things. I learned so much about music, about hard work, about serving God through music, about presenting an effective message through music and about working in a church just by spending time with David and watching him go through life. His wisdom always radiated off of him. These past several days have been tough, especially since I was not able to make it to the funeral, but God has given me comfort, too. I know, without a doubt in my mind, where David Quinn is. He is with the Father. He is cancer free. He is young. He is full of energy. He is with his friends and family that have gone before him. He is walking- no, running and leaping!- without the assistance of a walker, and I know that David Quinn is worshiping God with his beautiful music. I will never forget David, the lessons he taught me, the patience and love he showed me or the wisdom he imparted to me. He really was family to me, and I smile at the thought of us making music together again, one day. Thank you for your time, Olivia |
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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