Philadelphia Baptist Church, Bankston
Fayette Baptist Association
Favorite Verse: I Thessalonians 5:16–18
Favorite Hymn: “He”
Hobbies: Writing, reading, exercising and visiting older people
Family Status: Husband of 47 years, Don; children, Donna Speaker and Alan Olive; two grandchildren
A catastrophic medical event in 2004 resulted in Gay Nell Olive suffering double pneumonia and being on a ventilator, strokes on both sides of her brain, an abnormal EEG, a heart attack, dialysis, congestive heart failure and an infected heart valve requiring surgery for aortic heart valve replacement and closure of a hole in the heart. For three months Olive, who is 67, was hospitalized; she underwent therapy through 2012. In 2006, she learned she has two inherited blood clotting disorders that Olive now knows affected her three pregnancies (one of which was a miscarriage). She is certain she is alive today as a testament to God’s glory, mercy and sovereignty. For 10 years her ministry has been telling about that mercy and God’s plan for each of us.
Q: When and how were you led into your ministry work?
A: I recognized God’s mercy in my life. Reflecting back on all the things I had survived and my children survived (before birth), it just makes chill bumps run up and down me. (Everyone is) alive today for only one reason. The more we share the mercy that is in our lives, the more He is glorified.
Q: What does your ministry work demand?
A: It demands that I keep my body healthy, eat properly and exercise everyday so that I can share God’s mercy with people, so that I can get better and better. … I told my husband I like to think about it as mercy beyond the cross.
Q: What do you get from your ministry work?
A: I feel like I’ve been recharged. I feel like I’ve been plugged right into the Lord. It’s rejuvenating to share God’s awesomeness and glory. It just fills you. You’re sharing this (with others) but you get so much more in return.
Q: What difference will this ministry work make for you in the future?
A: It will help me to know that I’m accomplishing the purpose that God has for me and my life. It’s easy to be depressed and feel that it’s useless to do anything anymore. I think this ministry will help me get out and meet more people
Q: How do family members support you?
A: They all support me. They all love the Lord. I am so thankful for my family, my husband and for my children and their love for the Lord. I know they share my story.
Q: What difference has Jesus Christ made in your life?
A: Jesus is the reason I’m alive, the reason we all are alive. I don’t know how anybody could have survived what I did without Him in their life. I don’t know how they can survive today’s world without Him. Jesus is not only my Lord and Savior; He is my Friend.
Q: What influences in your life pointed you to Christ at the beginning of your faith journey?
A: My mother and father because they took me to church. I was 11 when I began my walk with Jesus. I went to Girls in Action (GAs) and Bible drill and was in Young Woman’s Auxiliary (YWA). I was in the speaker’s tournament at Shocco (Springs Baptist Conference Center). “Be Not Conformed to This World” was my speech.
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