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March 2015
The
Olsens
the
c h u r c h
in
c a l a c a l i
Our church involvement has really increased since getting back. Last
year our pastor was absent from the church for about 8 months, as his
paying job sent him to the coast for that time. Though difficult, this
change prompted individuals of the church to step up, get organized,
and invest more time in being involved. Though this period began with
difficulty, the involvement led to genuine growth within the church. The
Pastor returned about two weeks before we left for our time of furlough.
Since arriving in January, weve observed that everything returned to
normal when the Pastor returned. There has been a lack of leadership,
disconnectedness, and poor communication. In March I decided it was
time for me to involve myself and provide some direction and leadership
to move towards unity and growth.
Though at this point only two leaders meetings have taken place, I
can already see a hunger developing to dig in and start working towards a
healthier church. Ive led both of the meetings, and had the opportunity
to preach this past Sunday as well. I took the opportunity to share some
of the same ideas and themes with the congregation that Ive been
exploring with the church leadership. I was warmly received following
the service, and truly believe that God is preparing this church to be a
real light and presence in our community.
Another exciting update is that we have a thriving youth group at our
church that just started
formally meeting this year.
There are 20 - 40 youth that
show up each week. Last
month they came out to El
Refugio for the weekend
and had a significant time of
bonding and growing in
their faith. Were excited to
see how God continues to
use this for His glory!
E s p e n
is
E at ing
&
Prayer Requests
For our visa process: We're
applying for a residency visa.
Pray that we're able to get all of
the proper documents from the
US fast enough and that Ecuador
accepts everything.
For our car and home: Our
car was broken into in October
2014 and we're still waiting for it
to get fully repaired. Our home is
under construction and we're
praying they continue to move
forward working hard so that our
home can stop being a
construction zone as soon as
possible.
For our church involvement:
Pray for growth within the
church, unity within the
leadership, and for increased
involvement in the community.
Fo r re l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h
ministr y par tners in the
j u n g l e : We h a v e s e v e r a l
locations in the jungle that we go
to with short-term teams in the
summers. Pray that we would
build strong relationships with
the people in these towns
throughout the year and that we
would till the soil well.
s l e e p ing !
This may seem like a silly thing, but to us it has actually been a
huge deal! During our time in the US, Espen had a very difficult
time settling into a rhythm of sleeping well. As we suspected, upon
returning home and being able to establish regular nap and bed
times (in the same bed!) he began sleeping through the night. The
next hurdle has been eating, as any and every food we attempted to
introduce would result not only in incredibly funny faces, but also
screams, gagging, and extreme crying. Mid-March Suzy tried to
feed him some broth from a local restaurant and he liked it. He
even voluntarily opened his mouth, requesting more! It has been a
huge relief to see our happy little guy settle into good sleeping and
eating habits! Please continue to keep him in your prayers!
To follow us or give online visit: www.olsensinecuador.com .
jimandsuzyolsen@hotmail.com .