Olivia Living

Wish List

2009-01-16T11:39:00.000-08:00

Items:

-Skull Candy Ear buds

-Crest White Strips

-Paints (acrylic and/or watercolor)

-External hard drive

-Subscription to either HOW or Communication Arts magazine

-Plane ticket to Denver :)

-Smart wool socks

-Black and white Converse All Stars (not high top) Size 91/2 or 10

-Massage

My favorite stores:

-Barnes and Noble

-Target

-iTunes

Happy Happenings at Work

2009-01-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

My fingers are dry and peeling. I can see white dust in the cracks of my skin. And I have completely irritating soft rock classics stuck in my head. I have just come home from work. Although I really am thankful for my job at the dentist working on models of teeth, it can be quite monotonous sometimes. Head bent. Grinding. Measuring. Adjusting. Adding. Cleaning. Mixing. Fixing. Marking. Repeat. My hands get cold from the water in the grinder. And sometimes a particular case is especially odd - i.e. the patient's teeth are very uneven, the bite is not very precise, etc. which sometimes causes twice the work.

But today something amazing happened! I witnessed a miracle. I didn't just witness it, God did it for me. I was very close to the end of one case and I was really happy with it. I hadn't messed it up at all, the angles were correct and I was so close to finishing it! When suddenly I realized that a tooth had chipped without me knowing. I'm not sure when it happened - for all I know it happened right in the beginning. Usually when a piece of the tooth cracks off from the model I see where it lands, and can super glue it back on. However, in this instance I had no idea where the piece was. It was the proverbial needle in a haystack of other chips and pieces of ortho stone that covered the counter, the ground and the sink. I crawled on the ground looking. I sifted through the pieces that accumulate in the sink. I shook out my towels and rags hoping to here a reassuring "tap" as my missing piece would tumble onto the counter. But no such tap was heard. Utterly frustrated I remembered that God cares about the little things in my life. He cares and is aware of every single detail and so I asked him, if he wouldn't mind, to help me find the missing piece. Two minutes later, I checked the grinding machine. This machine is constantly sprayed with water during the adjusting and so pieces left on the built in shelf usually disintegrate or get washed down the drain. But I looked closely. And there, wedged between two pieces of the machinery was the missing piece! It stood out because it is much smoother than all the other crumbles and chips. I was ecstatic. I was able to super glue it back on and smooth it out making it still passable (instead of having to make a whole other model)

And I just love how such a simple thing like that, does not go unnoticed by God and he was right there to point me in the right direction. It WAS SO COOL!

And so I end this writing, with a verse that was manifested in my life today:

The Lord directs the steps of the godly.

He delights in every detail of their lives.

Psalm 37:23

Thank you Lord.

Post DTS Letter

2008-06-10T00:46:00.000-07:00

My dear family and friends, June 1, 2008

I know this letter is way over-do, but I finally feel as though I have processed and rested enough and now want to write to you all and share a bit of my DTS experience. I have written and re-written this letter so many times because I want to be informative, and be sure to share everything that is of importance, but every time I start, I find myself trying to consolidate the whole experience into well written, clear and concise sentences. I now think that it is probably more important (and more interesting) to share with you what God did over those 51/2 months and also, what is really on my heart.

I want to express my overwhelming gratitude for this experience that I was able to have. Thank you so much for all your prayer, your financial support and your encouragement. I couldn’t have done it without you! I am so overwhelmed by God’s goodness. For all that he taught me, showed me, and how he blessed me (and how he continues to do so!). Before I left, it seems that my whole walk with God had been about satisfying an expectation to be a “good Christian”. I focused more on following rules than spending time in relationship with him (what he craves most!) During the lecture phase I really cried out to him, wanting so much to know him, to learn about myself and to hear his voice. It was so awesome to see how he answered those cries of my heart! (His faithfulness always surprises me, even though it has never ended and never will). I think one of the biggest things that changed my heart and my life on my adventures away, was hearing God say that he loved me. To learn from him, from the speakers, from people around me, how he longs for relationship with me, instead of “good grades”. Although every speaker was so different and spoke on different subjects, I was learning more about God’s real character every week, and his real, overpowering love for me. In the first month or so, we all took turns giving “sermonettes”. Just a small sermon about 10 minutes long, on something God was showing us. I gave mine on God’s purposeful creativity in making us! He spoke so clearly about the fact that I am not a mistake that he loves anyway, but rather, that he chose me before time began! This was a pretty life changing revelation he showed me! God did so much work in my heart and in my life, that pages and pages could not hold the stories, the testimonies, or my own responses to it all. In fact, I am still processing things that he planted in me, and I’m sure I will be processing for quite a while.

Something I learned during our one month Fiji outreach (in December) was surrender. Before leaving, I had a lot of expectations for outreach that I was not aware of until it started. Although my team was great, we didn’t bond as much as I thought we would, and the evangelism focus that we had there (door knocking) was not one that I prefer. However, God really blessed me so much with patient endurance, strength and as I mentioned, the learning to surrender. My outreach team leader, Abby, often said that DTS stands for “Die To Self”. This is so true. Every day I had to lay down my own agenda, my own desires and plans and completely rely on him for every bit of strength (in the heat, frustration, disappointment, etc.) and he was so faithful in filling me up! Lecture phase felt like the seed planting time, where I soaked up all the information, and then outreach felt like the growing time! It was where I really learned what intimacy with God is, how powerful prayer is, how important surrender is, and also how alive His word is! Growing up in the church, I have known the Bible, I have read it and “eaten" it for so many years. In Fiji, as I started reading it more and more I felt like I could finally taste it! And I got so much strength every morning by just spending time with him and His Word! The intimacy with God and the lessons I learned, shined bigger and brighter than any un-met expectations that were frustrating.

To give you a little more information about DTS as a whole, I'll answer some Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. How was it!??

A. How can I describe it better than “Good”? Amazing. Life changing. Thought provoking. Best experience of my life. Hardest experience of my life. Most stretching, challenging time of my life. Eye opening. Inspiring.

Q. What's New Zealand like? What’s Fiji like?

A. New Zealand is actually more like Washington than I was expecting. Wet winters, hot summers, lots of rain, and unpredictable weather. Matamata (where the YWAM base is) is a lot like Lynden or Sumas, WA. Very rural. Lots of cows. Big pastures. Lots of trees. After DTS, I traveled a bit with a couple of my friends, and I got to see more of N.Z. It is definitely a beautiful country! So green and lush. The people there are awesome, good natured, and have cool accents.
Fiji was… very hot. Very hot and very humid, it definitely took a while to get used to! When most people hear that I went to Fiji for outreach they think of white sandy beaches, resorts and imagine that we just went on vacation. It wasn’t a vacation, it was hard work! And it had it’s good times and it’s bad times. The Fiji I saw was the real Fiji and it was such a privilege to experience a culture so closely (as opposed to visiting as a tourist). We got to live, eat, worship and connect with the people and make a difference in their lives! The people there are so hospitable and friendly, and even the dirty streets and smell of car exhaust add some character. It is really a beautiful country and sunset watching was an activity hard to resist.

Q. What was your favorite part?

A. My favorite part of Lecture phase I think was the week that Jono Turner spoke on the Father Heart of God. I got a lot out of teachings, and God did a lot of work on my heart during this week. Also, I loved the community. Eating meals together, worshiping together, doing ministry together, sharing everything with over 40 other people who had a common goal and focus was really powerful and encouraging (Although at the time, I got a little claustrophobic, I can now really say that I appreciated and now miss the community we had on base).
My favorite part of Outreach (we spent one month in Fiji and one month in New Zealand for outreach) was probably volunteering at the assisted living home in Waihi, N.Z.. We had a lot of choices once we reached the church in Waihi that we were to help out, and a couple of us girls wanted to spend time helping the residents and staff at The Hetherington House nursing home. It was so awesome to talk with the residents, keep them company, encourage them, help them, play games with them, etc. and also be able to help out the staff there. I really felt like we made a difference in their lives and that was so encouraging!

Q. Did you make good friends?

A. The best. I grew so close with so many people from all over the world. Even though we're all in different places now, I think those relationships will last forever, and we will always be there for each other no matter what. I hope to visit some of them in the U.S. this summer, but we'll see.

Q. How is it being home?

A. I have now been home for almost 4 months and it has been a pretty smooth transition. I definitely miss the community, I miss New Zealand and Fiji. I miss the constant focus on God that there is in a YWAM experience like that and I miss the people that I grew so close with, but am so happy that God works here as much as he does across the ocean! I am still seeing him work, and still learning (as we all are) how to live in a relationship with him. Although I learned so much while being away, and fell in love with him there, I think I’m learning it all over again. Even though home is so familiar, it feels like a new experience because of how much I have changed (my attitude, my perspective, my heart, etc.) and am getting to know him in a different context.

Q. What are you going to do now?

A. I just recently decided to pursue graphic design at Whatcom Community College! The two year program starts in the Fall and I just applied! I had been planning on getting a transfer degree and then go to Western Washington University (or another art school) and although that is still an option, I'm going to focus on this Graphic Design degree for the time being. I'm so excited!
I plan to still live at home and get a more permanent job (babysitting has been my main source of income right now) during this time, as well as get involved in a new church.

Thank you for letting me share my a little about my DTS experience! And thank you for walking through it with me, in your prayers and e-mails and support! I hope this letter encouraged you as it encouraged me writing it!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Zelda

2008-06-08T00:28:00.000-07:00

I just got a new kitten and I have named her Zelda. Partially because I'm a little obsessed with the game, partially because it's a cool name, and mostly because it just seems to fit her. She is very young because she was found, with her siblingss, abandoned by her mum. She's growing already and has gotten a lot more strength! Sleeping well, drinking more, etc. I have to bottle feed her, clean her, etc. and I'm not used to a cat being so dependent on me! It's only a matter of time before she learns to take care of herself though, and then hopefully she'll be a nice, affectionate kitty for us, especially Mom who'd love the companionship. Welcome to our family Zelda. Don't be too freaked out by our antics. :)

Tales of a Traveling Babysitter

2008-06-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

Since I've been home, my main source of income has been babysitting/nannying/child care (a trade with many names) and every time I "go to work" I'm confronted with some new, awkward, hilarious experience. My story today is about little Mary, grand daughter of "Fred" (note: names have been changed to protect the innocent).
Because I have been doing this for so long, my regular employers often give my number to other desperate parents (or grandparents in this case) and I get a lot of phone calls asking for my assistance. Tonight I responded to the desperate call of a mysterious Fred, not really knowing what to expect.
I had to be there by five, but got to a late start in my "getting ready" routine because of my drug induced nap.
{ Quick side story: I had some left over pain killer from my wisdom teeth surgery, and had some today to kill the pain from a new filling I got yesterday. Worked great, but put me out of commission for the whole afternoon! }
I quickly fed my new kitten, Zelda, and ran out of the house in a blur. As I was driving I realized how awkward this was, especially because I forgot to ask how long they needed me, or tell them how much I charge. With a sigh, and a quick change into an "embrace the awkwardness" mentality, I walked up the steps and knocked on the door. A woman, a dog and little Mary answered the door. I wondered where Fred was. She introduced herself and we walked upstairs. There in the living room was the Fred who had called me, dressed in a bright purple 70's suit, black platform shoes, wearing a brown wig. I tried not to laugh or show my confusion but continued the friendly small talk with them. A man popped up out of the corner of my eye ( I hadn't noticed him when I came into the room) and awkwardly said hello. ("Embrace the awkwardness! Embrace the awkwardness!). I couldn't even start to guess why he was dressed that way, and didn't find out until they were about to leave the house. Mary's mom and dad, and grandpa were heading to a 70's themed auction/charity!
Mary was quick to warm up to me, and we played with playdough, laughed at spongebob on TV and colored pictures. At one point, I pretended to be sad because she beat me at checkers, even included the quivering lip, but her response was, "Cut that out! You're freaking me out!"
She was a very vocal little 4 and a half year old.
When it was time for bed, I read her several different stories, and then tucked her in. This was at 8:00. Within the hour, I went in and out of her room about 11 times. She wasn't tired, she was hungry, she wanted the door open, she wanted the door closed, night light on, and off, etc. etc... Although it is so frustrating when kids don't listen to me as their babysitter, or they don't respect my authority, I don't really blame them. How are they expected to immediately take me seriously, listen and obey me when we've had a total of 2 hours together?! Especially if they don't even obey their own parents, why would they listen to me? At one point I had to come into her room to tell her it was time to be quite. She indignantly responded, "I'm just singing!" She then continued to tell me how Mom's rules are stupid and how she don't like her mom and this kind of broke my heart. Now, she might have just been saying that cause she was cranky, and wanted something to whine about, but you never know, and I can't help but wonder what kind of life she has, or what kind of parents she has, or what kind of girl she'll be when she's older. All this is going through my mind as I stand at the door of her room trying to explain that it's time to go to sleep. If I'm not careful, my thoughts can run wild into philosophical and theological tangents about morals, parenting and the meaning of life.
She finally did fall asleep and her parents came home several hours later. They asked how much they owed me and I was so tired that I messed up horribly wrong with the math and almost asked for 99 dollars (for 6 hours). The dad said, "how about 60?" and I laughed and explained my shortcomings in the mathematics area of life and gratefully accepted the tip. For the inevitable last bits of awkwardness, he "patted" or "rubbed" my shoulder and said as if I was I was going to brave a freak snow storm, "drive safe out there".
Now parts of this may have been exaggerated, and it wasn't all that bad (it's income for crying out loud) but how could I resist to document these funny people that I meet? I honestly come in contact with some strange people, and strange kids! Such is life. That is all for now!

Bag Numero Dos

2008-06-04T23:36:00.001-07:00

Was at Emily's again tonight, with a new bag idea. This time I did most of it myself!! I'm so proud of this creation! The second picture makes it look like it's on fire!!

Sisterly Crafting

2008-05-31T12:11:00.001-07:00

The other night I went to sister Emily's and Jason's after a somewhat emotionally draining day. Emily has been creating and crafting, scrap booking, and sewing like crazy lately and I was starting to feel left out. I got a brilliant idea to design a book/messenger bag for when I start school again! I wanted something big enough to hold text books but not so huge that I would lose things in it...I started "furiously" sketching ideas, trying to design what it would look like and how I would make it. At first, I was very possessive of my new "baby" but then realized that my sewing skills are pretty minimal. Emily graciously offered her help and together, with the help of some diet coke and tortillas to fuel our creative energy, we created my bag! She took some great pics capturing our excitement, but here are my pics of the final product. It was the perfect outlet and perfect company to finish the day that didn't start so well.

And Here I Start...

2008-05-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

I decided to start this blog because since being home (returning from 5 months in New Zealand) I haven't really been writing any updates, feeling that my "adventures" here weren't really worth writing down compared to my adventures overseas. However, I have changed my mind and realized that what goes on here at home is still my life, and is still worth sharing or at least writing down. Also I have discovered over the past couple of years as I grow and mature and magically turn into an "adult" that my life is humorous and it's okay to laugh at myself. Therefore, I think it will be a nice outlet on the bad days and the good days to write the humorous, the not so humorous and the random tidbits from my life, in this blog.