Thursday, March 28, 2024

Mission possible for Vicki Olton

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MISSON INSIDE OUT is not a well known charity. But the non-profit organisation registered in July will be if its founder Vicki Olton follows through with her plans.

Her intention is to help “create a better you in Christ with purpose, balance and beauty in Christ”.

“I was very sick and I realised what we feel on the outside is really a reflection of what we put on the inside; how we eat, how we treat ourselves, how much exercise we get, and I automatically related that to a spiritual standpoint. You know, what we put inside is what we get out. Inside Out for me is putting all the necessary on the inside so we can, from a christian standpoint, be as beautiful as Christ,” she explained to EASY magazine.

“Then I started to develop the concept of balanced christianity . . . . Working on putting in the right things in your body as well as the scriptures and balancing the godly stuff, as well as realising that that’s not all. There’s also the social aspect to life, the financial and health aspects. All these things make us whole in that you can’t just focus on going to church alone or have your head in the Bible every minute, but you’re not focusing on how you relate to people.

“If you’re not going out and you’re just staying in the house you can’t really get out there and tell others about Christ. It’s about holistic christianity and there are three main areas I focus on. Purpose, helping people develop their focus, and identifying their divine purpose in Christ so that they can be more effective in what they’re here for.

In January 2015, Vicki started a blog called Inside Out Mission and as she continued to blog she realised what she really wanted to do to fulfil her purpose, so she set about registering Mission Inside Out.

“Everybody is here for a reason. You’re here for a purpose and there is something  inside of you that somebody else is waiting on. So it’s really helping people to develop their purpose. The other part is balanced christianity, body, spirit, soul,” she said.

Vicki added: “True beauty in Christ is the other aspect, especially for women. Women have this thing about mock hair and the mock eyelashes, and it really shows up their insecurities about who they are and how God made them to be. In this aspect we focus on your character. It’s not adornment. The word tells us that beauty is not the adornment . . . . it’s about how chaste they are and the character that they have.”

She has also started a storybook project aimed at bringing about true beauty and character in girls and young women.

“I’m looking at young men too, but it’s the young women in terms of how they view themselves and how they view beauty that has my main focus. I realised that a lot of teenaged girls you have to get to them now and get certain things into their minds. I’m developing a story book project and I will go into Sunday Schools and primary schools and give it to various groups.

“Based on the scriptures Second Peter verses three to four, it teaches children what true beauty is. It is not about how you look; yes, that is important and enhancing your beauty is fine, but it’s not something to worship or take over your life. It is really about how you behave and how you respond to others.

“It’s about your character. So what you put in the inside is what comes out to define that beauty. If you don’t have that beauty on the inside, that character, you could very well be ugly on the outside,” she explained.

Vicki said that the focus will be on helping little girls put in the “right behaviour so the right type of beauty can come out” and help curb the mentality that beauty is skin deep.

Funding for the book is an issue but the illustrator has started and she is optimistic it will be published.

Another aspect of the charity she hopes to develop is a programme for teens. She intends to go into schools talking to girls and boys about self-identity, who really are and helping them identify their true purpose.

“We would look at things like their passion, skills and talents and puling some things out of them that they can develop. It is about letting them know that even though they might not be academically-inclined, or maths and English driven,but they are still intelligent.

“That’s another part of purpose. Nobody is stupid. Nobody is dumb. Everybody has been made to be very intelligent by God because God creates all good things, even though some things might end up bad. The aim is to help everybody see that they were created for something good even though they might hear otherwise,” she asserted.

She noted that the aim is to “revolutionise our culture” and change the mindset.

Vicki is looking to up the ante around Christmas.

“There are a number of things that we’re planning to do. Next year, for instance, I want to talk to single women and help them understand the purpose of the wait; you know, waiting on God for your partner and encouraging them to see themselves as valuable.

“Yes, you need a man . . . . The feminists will tell you they don’t but God has a greater purpose that He wants to establish in you, for you and make you whole to get into a relationship. It’s my thing but it would still fall under the mission and helping women to really view themselves in a different way and be more confident and see themselves as beautiful.

“You have women in relationships with men who are telling them they are ugly, they’re nothing and they don’t really see their worth. The worth is greater than what somebody says to you. Help them put in the right mindset . . . put in what God is saying about them so that their actions can change. That’s the inside outside thing that is coming out in the name,” said Vicki. (GBM)

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