Olivia

Meet Olivia – see has some wonderful insights toward the end of her “bio” that we all need to think about.  We come back from our mercy work excited and invigorated.  We come back hopefull form conventions and gathering “jazzed up”.  We come back from a rally excited and ready to go and we encounter the apathy that is all around us and it is a real problem.  Preachers go through this too.  We have talked about that in other blogs and will do so again but for now – here is Olivia.

My name is Olivia Tyrrell.  I am twenty years old and the oldest of four girls. My family lives in western North Dakota on a small “farm” (we raise Canadian geese, does that count?) outside the rural community of Taylor, ND. 3. I currently live in Brookings, SD where I am attending South Dakota State University, but in the summer I move home to Emily’s top bunk. My church family is Redeemer Lutheran Church in Dickinson, ND. The location where I grew up is windy, cold, and all the other things associated with western ND, but it is where my home is.
I am currently in my second year of being a full time student studying Pre-Law, Business Economics, and Speech Communications. Someday I will realize that there are too many majors on my transcript and be less busy. I work in the Econ department and work with surveys and other research.
My spiritual formation was most influenced by the ladies of the LWML. WIthout my extended family close by, the ladies of the LWML all over the state became my family. I remember traveling with my mom to the national convention in Oklahoma City, and having more grandmas than a girl could possibly know what to do with. I love every second, but most importantly I saw how women can use all of their talents to be witnesses in both large and small ways. I watched those women be leaders, supporters, encouragers, and nurturers, and it was truly inspiring.
I have had the opportunity to travel the US as part of a competitive speech/forensics team. I have been to most US major cities and several other exciting places across the country. I had the chance to be a part of a St. Andrew’s Mission Society trip to Rio Bravo, Mexico where our group started construction on a church in the dumps of Reynosa. I have also traveled to Canada and Mexico for recreational reasons.
I am most anxious for the return home. I have learned not to come into these trips expecting to change the lives of those we encounter, but instead to expect my life to be changed. Sometimes it is frustrating to return home very excited and driven, and everyone at home does not feel the same excitement.
I expect to leave Kenya all “filled up” with faith. I hope to share that excitement and drive with my community, congregation, and anyone else who is willing to listen.