S E R V I N G I N E C U A D O R

OlsensTh e

We’re back in Ecuador! After spending three months in the US, it has felt great to get back into a rhythm of life and ministry here in Ecuador. Having said that, it was an incredibly encouraging time to be in the States and have the opportunity to sit down face to face with friends, supporters, family, and churches…all of which are integral to our ministry here. We were especially blessed to learn that one of our sending churches (First Lutheran Church of Fargo, ND) has formed a team that will be coming down this summer to work and minister with us at El Refugio! There are also two other churches that we’re in serious conversations with who plan to send teams in the summer of 2016. It’s a joy to see how God is stirring in the hearts of individuals and moving them to join with us in what God is doing here in Ecuador! Upon arriving

back in Ecuador, we were welcomed home by a house under construction, a car that had been broken into while we were gone (which is still in the shop), and the uncertainty of how long we would be able to legally stay in the country as we began the process of applying for residency. There have been trying and stressful moments, but we feel certain that this is where God wants us. We find peace in knowing that He has called us and He will provide for our every need.

Every spring we host a team composed of young adults from a camp in Speculator, NY that are taking part in a discipleship program called ‘LIFT.’ They stay longer than the average team, allowing them to spend significant time at two of our ministry partner sites: the towns of Chaco and Oyacachi. I had the pleasure of heading to Oyacachi with the team for the three days they spent there. As a family we have taken many trips to Oyacachi to deepen El Refugio’s relationship with the town, church, and Pastor. During this visit we held two evening services, were given two opportunities to put on programs at the public school, and partnered with the Compassion Int’l feeding program that takes place at the church. I led a number of games, translated testimonies, a sermon, and numerous conversations. It was a completely different dynamic being with a group of 35, rather than just our family of 4. The energy that filled the town as the kids soaked in the love of these young adults was so apparent. Three days isn’t a long time, but the depth of investment was intentional and the children of this town desire to be loved and receive it so openly. I sat down with the Pastor on a couple of occasions during our time and greatly appreciated his take on the benefits of short-term teams: a much wider base of individuals in the community are willing to engage with foreigners; even those on the fringes of society come out and interact with them [us], and these individuals are often hardest for the church to draw in.

Back in the Saddle

L I F T in O ya c a c hi

March 2015

Members of the team from Fargo coming this summer

To follow us or give online visit: www.olsensinecuador.com . jimandsuzyolsen@hotmail.com . Call us for FREE in Ecuador at 607.256.6894

t h e c h u r c h i n 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, we’ve 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. I’ve 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 I’ve 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. We’re excited to see how God continues to use this for His glory!

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!

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 s top be ing a construction zone as soon as possible.•For our church involvement: Pray for growth within the church , un i ty w i th in 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 ha ve se vera 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 peop le in these towns throughout the year and that we would till the soil well.

E s p e n i s E a t i n g & s l e e p i n g !