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Olson
Family Update |
George & Ginny Olson |
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We are rapidly approaching graduation from phase I of the
training here in Wisconsin. By the time many of you receive this, we will
have already graduated and be on our way home to Texas for the summer! It has been a joyous past 2 years, and we
thank all of you that have upheld us in prayer as we learn these things in
preparation for ministry overseas with New Tribes Mission. The
past 6 months held a big academic challenge for us. We dug into the book of
Revelation to see God's plan and purpose for the ages. We looked intently
into the Pastoral Epistles and studied heavily the concept of a New Testament
Church. We looked intently into the Bible's descriptions of the spiritual
realm, regarding the subject of angelic and demonic powers. But mostly we
have studied heavily the identification truths in scriptures, exploring what
it means to walk in a relationship with Jesus Christ, and understanding the
incredible blessings He has poured out upon us. |
Isaac plays the tribal role! |
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We had no grand adventures this time around. No near-miss airplane disasters. We had several joys, however. We got to see 12 junior high kids put their faith and trust in Christ, understanding fully that it was not by their own efforts, but by His completed work on the cross that they are saved. It has been very good to apply the truths we learn in classes in a place like Junior High youth ministry. Ministry with Junior High kids requires a very active faith. I (George) do not naturally relate to kids Junior High age, so I had to constantly walk by faith. |
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When we graduate here, we
will go to Texas for the summer, where we will do another round of traveling,
visiting and volunteer work. Our travel schedule is as follows: |
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May 24 – Jun 4 |
Belton, TX |
If
you read carefully, you will notice that George is scheduled to be in
Thailand for the first 2 weeks in August. We have some friends opening up a
new work in Northeast Thailand, George will be going with two other
missionaries to help in the construction of their residence there. A missionary's residence is a very
important aspect of his or her ministry, because it makes the difference in
how you interact with the people you are trying to reach. This trip will also
give us the opportunity to get a good look at some of the other tribal works
that are happening in Thailand, and help determine if that is a direction the
Lord might take us in the future when we finish our training.
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June 5 – June 8 |
San Antonio, TX |
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June 8 – June 21 |
Kingsland, TX |
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June 22 – July 12 |
Belton, TX |
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July 13 – July 20 |
San Antonio, TX |
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July 20 – July 27 |
Kingsland, TX |
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July 27 – Aug. 18 |
Belton, TX |
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(July 31 – Aug. 14) |
George in Thailand |
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Aug. 18 – Aug. 24 |
Carlsbad, NM |
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Aug. 24 – Aug. 26 |
Driving |
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Aug. 26 – June 2004 |
Baker City, OR |
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On to Baker
City, Oregon, on the Oregon trail! Baker City, home to Hell's Canyon, the deepest
river gorge in North America. From the Baker Chamber of Commerce:
"Numerous museums, many ghost towns, and the walking tours of Historic
Baker City recall our rich and colorful history of the Oregon Trail, gold
mining, timber production, and ranching." |
Why
Baker City, Oregon?
So
you may be asking, do they need missionaries there? No, this is phase 2 of
New Tribes Mission training for tribal missions, the Missions Institute. The purpose
of the Missions Institute is to disciple and train us in cross-cultural
church planting skills. We will spend about 8 months on the campus there, one
month at a jungle camp in the mountains nearby, and then 6 weeks in a summer
partnership program with a church next summer. So, looking at the church planting timeline, you can see where
we are now… |
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One
course we took this past semester at Bible School was the "Introduction
to Church Planting" course, which was basically a 3 week preparatory
course for next year. In this course, we talked about many aspects of
cross-cultural and tribal church planting. How do you decide where to start?
How do you learn their culture? How do you learn their language? How do you
build relationships with the people you are ministering to? How do you
prepare for presenting the gospel of Christ to a heathen animistic culture?
What are some common mistakes missionaries make? How do you present the
gospel of Christ without slamming their own belief systems, even though their
belief systems are wrong? These are
all things that we will study in detail over the next year. And we also remember, this is a team
effort. You all, in your prayers and support for us as we go through this,
are a very important part of this ministry. |
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Let us together not forget that we do this out of
obedience to and for the glory of God the Father through His Son Jesus
Christ. In Jesus Christ alone is the way of salvation – there is no other way
(John 14:6, Acts 4:12). Jesus commanded His followers 2000 years ago to take
this gospel, this message of salvation through faith alone in Jesus Christ,
to all the nations (Matt 28:19-20). Today, there are still over 4000 people
groups who have not heard the gospel of Christ. Thank you for taking part and
helping us to reach one of these nations that has not heard in your prayers
and support for us. |
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