Olsen Newsletter December 2012
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Transcript of Olsen Newsletter December 2012
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S E R V I N G I N E C U A D O R
One of the most defining things about my time inCosta Rica were the relationships I formed withabout eight men who live or work in thecommunity surrounding the language school. TheFARO program is designed to push you outsidethe walls of the school and regularly apply thelanguage and grammar youre learning within thewalls of the school. To reinforce what werehearing and learning, we were required to writetwo reports in spanish on each of ourconversations every week.
I would meet these men on two occasions each
week, and after catching up and visiting I wouldintentionally discuss a specific topic with them,ranging from food toCosta Rican holidays,to the Catholic Churchof Latin America, tothe truth of the Gospel.
These men became myfriends. It was a joy toget an intimate lookinto their lives, tolearn of theirexperiences with thechurch, to laugh withthem, and to speak
words of encouragement, plant seeds, andhelp soften some of their difficult experiencestheyve had with the church.
In mid-November I had an opportunity toreally apply what I had been learning. I wasasked to preach in spanish at the church wed
been attending. Two of the men who I talkedwith regularly attended the church-- one ofwhom was a very new believer. Though I wasa bit nervous, I received great feedback afterpreaching and God was faithful to provide mewith the words needed while stretching me to
very tangibly apply what Id been learning.
After spending close to eight months in Costa Rica,
we have finally arrived in Ecuador! Though we are
incredibly excited to finally be in the country God
has called us to,
during our time
in language
school it became
very clear to usthat we were
right where God
wanted us. The experiences and opportunities w
had in Costa Rica were immense, and God caused
lot of internal growth in us as well as a ve
measurable ability to now speak spanish well. A
we finish this year, we praise the Lord for our tim
spent in Costa Rica; for the language weve learne
the relationships we formed, the ministries we g
involved with, and the lives that were impacted the name of Christ. We hope you get a glimpse
that through this letter.
Jim with Carlos, one of the men from his
weekly FARO route.
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2
Please Pray For Us1. That we would get over ou
colds and lingering sickness
2. That God would lead us to
the right home by the end of
January
3. Continued growth in our
ability to speak and converse
in spanish
nnn
Jims FARO Route
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C E L E B R A T I N G I N C O S T A R I C A
To follow us or give online visit: www.olsensinecuador.com . [email protected] . Call us for FREE in Ecuador at 607.256.6894
Roblealto
Roblealto is the name of an orphanage ministry
ere in Costa Rica. They care for kids who dont
ave parents, in the traditional sense of an
rphanage, but they also offer much more. Many
ealthy, functional families have chosen to have
omes on the Roblealto property and rather thanunking in a room filled with other orphans , they
ve with the families,. There is a school on the
rounds, as well as a day program for children who
re currently in bad home situations. Kids with
isciplinary problems, abuse, or emotional issues
will often come and live at Roblealto for periods of
me to grow, heal, and be ministered to.
We had the pleasure of organizing and being
nvolved with a huge Christmas party for all of the
hildren who are associated with Roblealto. We
ought presents for each child, provided games, did
ace-painting, read the story of Christs birth, and
uzy helped prepare hundreds of Christmas cookieso each child could have a sweet
Christmas treat. It was an
ncredible event to show the
ove of Christ to these young
oys and girls.
Empleada Christmas Party
One of the volunteer opportunities I (Suzy) was
able to participate in during this last trimester was
to serve as the Student Coordinator for empleadas.
The empleadas are a group of women that work as
maids in many of the students homes. Many of
them are from Nicaragua and left to escapeeconomic poverty. They truly are a blessing to the
families they work for and are able to help students
through the many difficult language and cultural
transitions.
In addition to coordinating a weekly bible study
(in Spanish) for the empleadas, I planned the annual
empleada appreciation event. This is a special party
that the empleadas look forward to every year and
it is a unique opportunity for the students to express
our gratitude for the important role that they play in
our families and how they, too, are an integral part
of Gods plan to help us as we study spanish to
reach the nations.
This years event was a Christmas-themed
coffee hour complete with carols, typical
American holiday treats, a christmas craft, and
a meaningful time of prayer for each of these
ladies. Many of the empleadas commented on
how much they enjoyed themselves. Although
we did not employ an empleada, I was able to
get to know many of these women well and I
praise God for the new friendships and the
lessons Ive learned from them.
Local Gift Giving
During our time in Costa Rica, we attend
small neighborhood church that meets
community center a few blocks from our house
congregation warmly received us and we
many new friends at this church; we will truly
our Costa Rican church family. During ouSunday we were able to share a few words of th
with the congregation and they presented us w
few gifts by which to remember them.
In addition to this, the church participated
gift-giving program with a local organization
works in a very poor neighborhood not too far
where we have been living. During our last Su
two representatives shared information o
significance that these gifts play in their min
This organization was started and is now run
by Costa Ricans. We were honored to be par
congregation that values reaching out to othe
their own area, even though many of the peoplattend our church do not have much m
themselves. It was a great reminder that G
already working in the places we go to and
others share our desire to come alongside the
church to encourage and participate in the mi
that God is already leading and directing.
The photo above is of the congregation with
the gifts given to the organization, which
distributed at the Christmas parties in the
neighborhoods they serve in.
The kids from Roblealto at the Christmas eve
R o b l e a l t o L o c a l G i f t G i v i n
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