Hello, dear friends and family! Since I last wrote, life has been a complete whirlwind! I never expected for things to get so busy, but the busyness has managed to keep me far from boredom and any sort of laziness! Let me give you a quick recap of the last few weeks! During Ministry Practices Week, I was asked to share some of my thoughts and input with YWAM Tyler's staff and students. That week's teachers, Calvin and Carol Conkey, own a business, Create International, that uses technology to make ministering to other nations more effective. My sister, Elise, came to visit for a weekend. It was SO amazing having her here, and I loved getting to share my YWAM experience with her. My amazingly talented friend, Shalom, even did a sister photo shoot for us! Here's one of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks! God's artwork is glorious! I was able to go home over the Labor Day weekend. My brother, Andre, who recently got his learner's permit, drove me for the very first time! It was a proud sister moment! (Don't worry... He was at a stop sign when I took the picture! ;) ) This weekend, my dad came to visit me on base! It was so fun getting to spend quality time with him and hear his stories about when he did his DTS at the same base 30 years ago! My dad also took me and my roommates out to lunch in Mineola! It was a fun day out with my dad and the girls! There's a quick recap for you! We are now LESS than a week away from outreach (we leave on the 16th!), which I can’t even fathom, right now! We will be starting off our outreach with two weeks in Louisiana. Because of the recent flooding there, Louisiana is in desperate need for volunteers to help with the flood damage. I am so excited to get to be a part of that group! We will be mucking out homes that have been flooded and doing other work that is needed. We will also be working with kids in a detention home and putting on a Vacation Bible School for kids in poorer areas. I am so excited to reach out to these people! After our two weeks there, we will head back to YWAM Tyler for two days, and, then, we are off to Ecuador on October 2nd! I almost feel dizzy when I think about how soon all of this is coming! The lecture phase has ABSOLUTELY. FLOWN. BY. I can’t believe how much learning we packed into 3 months, and I can’t believe the drastic change that I have seen in my life. When I think back to the person that I was before I came here, I barely feel like I am that same girl. My confidence in my faith has simply exploded since coming here, and God has been molding me into someone that is so much closer to where I want to be. He has been working out my weaknesses and character flaws. It has NOT been a painless experience, but with the pain have come some amazing results. One example is that I have always struggled with being patient- in just about every way. Living in a dorm full of girls with 3 roommates and little to no alone time has been a struggle, I will admit. There have been times when I thought that I was going to lose my mind. There have been times when all I wanted to do was yell at the top of my lungs and spend a week in solitary confinement. There have been times when I was on the brink of bawling my eyes out for no reason other than being surrounded by people for so long, but God has been so faithful and has used this time to work on refining my patience. He has been building me in this area of self-control, reminding me to extend grace to those around me. Of course, I still have a long road ahead of me, but I’ve seen personal victories in this area that, truly, would have never happened if I hadn’t have been put in this situation. I'm so grateful for this time of classroom learning, but I am SO ready to get out into the world to start helping and ministering to the people! Please continue praying for my growth in God as I go into this next phase, but also pray that God would use our teams to really pour blessings, truth and God's love into the lives of the people we meet. Also, please pray specifically for unity in our teams and that God would give us patience and grace towards each other during outreach! Thank y'all so much for reading! Until next time, Olivia
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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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