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Date: 10/29/06 It looks
like the deal on the house fell through… We got up in the morning,
ready to go and sign the lease papers. First, they cancelled the signing because
they were having a fire drill in their office. (I guess it was going to take
all day.) They postponed it to the next day, but the next morning they called
and said they needed to postpone it because that day was a holiday. Oops. So
on the 3rd day we prayed that if it were the Lord’s will for us to
have this house, we would be able to sign the rental agreement that day. We got to their office (it
was very heavy traffic) and were a bit late, but this is normal for the It all added up to this –
we won’t take that house. So good bye to the Some interesting culture
issues happened as we have gone through this. The night before I went to
inspect the property, and I ended up talking with the architect/foreman for
the renovation. He was a decent fellow – he was not from The scriptures are very
clear. It is only the blood of Christ that removes sins – Romans 3:25 – and
the mechanism in which this happens is faith. This is what the word of God
states very clearly. So we pray that we will gain a quick understanding of
the language in order to be an effective witness in this culture. That’s
okay because… Another interesting thing
– we were talking with a woman about cats – a friend of ours is looking to
get cats for his house to help kill roaches and mice and things like that.
She said, “I had some baby cats, but I didn’t want to take care of them so I
threw them on the roof of the house across the street. Now they take care of
them.” Whoa. Is this some strange part
of Philippine culture, that when you want to get rid of your cats you just
throw them on the roof of a neighbor? It will be interesting to find out!!
On another note, please
pray for our health! I have attached some pictures of the filters I put on
the back of fans in our room. Notice how black the filters have become in
just 1 week of collecting dirt out of the air. This is what we are breathing
on a regular basis because of smog in the city!
Much love in Christ to you
all, George for all the Olsons Join our newsletter group.
Click here to sign up. Date: 10/23/06 Lord willing, as of Tuesday we will be residents in a new neighborhood! Well, sort of. We are supposed to sign a rental agreement on a 3 bedroom apartment on Tuesday. Once we sign the agreement, it will take possibly up to 3 weeks to purchase furniture to sleep on, appliances to cook with, and get them all set up so we can actually move in!
Here are some pictures of our new neighborhood and the apartment. The space we are renting is part of a 4-unit stand alone apartment building. Click here to see more pictures. Please be in prayer for us, that - we will have a good transition to a new home - that we will get used to the Filipino culture - our kids will get excited about learning the things they are learning! - That we will be able to build good relationships with our new neighbors and possibly lead some of them to a saving knowledge of Christ - That
we will be able to instill in believers that we meet a sense of the need to
get the Gospel to the tribal groups here in the In Christ, George for us all Date: 10/16/06 Mark 11:23-24 "I tell you the truth, if anyone says
to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in
his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for
him. (24) Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for
in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
It’s tool time! I was standing in line at the Then suddenly, he started. “Hey, you’re George Olson! Can
I have your autograph?” I told him to buzz off, of course. Imagine the nerve
of these May I have your attention please, is there a medical doctor on board? We were privileged to have the experience of a trans-pacific flight with not one, but TWO medical emergencies while in the air. The second, thankfully, was far less serious, when the woman took a glucose injection to stabilize her blood sugar. The first, however, was far more significant, and in the end proved to be fatal. Four rows in front of us, an elderly gentleman was traveling with his wife. They were probably American citizens of Filipino origin. There was some commotion, and then the announcement from above was made. A doctor and some other medically skilled people went up to the area where the man had collapsed. It all happened too fast for Ginny or I to do anything, and people were crowding around, so we sat in our seats and prayed. They tried to revive the man, but to no avail. Apparently he had a heart attack and was gone rather quickly. Since the plane was completely full, they had to do some creative rearranging of seats in order to make room for where to place the dead man’s body. They settled on 3 seats just to the right of Isaac on our row. Fortunately, there were 2 people between him and the dead man, so we really didn’t notice him there. They covered the man up with a cloth, but for some reason, they did not cover his face. I don’t know if that is part of the culture here, but hopefully we will find out soon. We had to stop in God certainly has seen it fit to sow a bit of excitement in our lives as we begin this journey! Thank you all so much for your prayers, and may His name be glorified in all the earth! Other items
Prayer requests This week we will be house hunting. So please keep us in prayer, that we will find the house that the Lord wants us to have, so that we can adjust well to the culture, that our kids will be happy with the house, and that will be a good location for ministering to our neighbors while we are studying the national language. Please also continue to pray for our health as we adjust to the new surroundings, and for the people God has prepared for us to minister to in the future – that they will be prepared to hear the Gospel. In Christ, George for all the Olsons PS – I made a mistake on the last email. Isaac’s blog address is actually http://rawkonpeople.wordpress.com/ Check his blog out! Here are the other kids blogs again: Abby: quiet17.wordpress.com Sarah: sarahblog.wordpress.com |
Fortunately,
we still get to live near the 
Well, we
made it safe and sound! The trip across the ocean was rather uneventful
(what?!?), so I will describe it below. (Warning - you may want to read this
over before reading it to your kids. You’ll see why in a minute.)
We
were able to go out in town our second day and visit the mall for some
shopping. Here is a picture of us heading out. This was not a huge culture
shock, as it looked pretty much like a mall in the