Merry Christmas from the Olsons!

Jesus, Our Prince of Peace!
¡Jesús, Nuestro Príncipe de Paz!
Isaiah 9:6

This Christmas 2010, we greet you warmly from cold Wisconsin as we again celebrate the coming of our Prince of Peace! Our greatest need was forgiveness of sin, so God sent us the Savior, Jesus.

Our church choir sang these words in a cantata once--“He broke down the barrier created by our sin and ended the war that was going on within. Hallelujah, He is our Peace! Hallelujah, Jesus is our Peace!”

What a beautiful plan--by putting our faith in Jesus, we have peace with God. (Romans 5:1,11) Also when we surrender to Him, He is willing to take our worries and give us the peace of God. (Philippians 4:7)
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God has called us to offer His peace to prisoners.
His calling has been both a joy and a challenge which has caused us to desperately seek His direction every day. It also means that we desire God’s peace and love to flow through us to others.

We have tried to be faithful to His calling by building our love relationship with Him and by sharing the Gospel. Each year, hundreds of prisoners are impacted through in-prison Bible studies and pastoral visits, mainly in Spanish, representing thousands of miles driven and thousands of hours invested for Him.

God says His Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11) and that not one word of all His good promises has failed (Joshua 21:45), so we trust He is at work, even when we don’t see all the results yet.
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Please pray with us for:
*God’s comfort to prisoner’s hearts this Christmas as they are separated from family, and courage and strength
as they enter the new year. Also wisdom for us in preparing and presenting Scripture lessons to counsel them.

*Both incarcerated and released prisoners to stabilize and connect with a local church and mentor, to truly be that “new creature in Christ” and go forward spiritually, not returning to old friends/ways of thinking/acting.

*The Lighthouse ministry is officially closing, as the owner put the home up for sale. We believe seeds of faith were planted in the hearts of the ten ladies who resided there. Keep praying! Our deep thanks to those who helped them.

*Lord willing, there will be provision for a January road trip to Tecate Mission to report. We very much appreciate the used car donated to us in April, but which now needs new tires.

*We are grateful for God’s faithfulness to our family and proud of their accomplishments! Pray for His blessings in their lives, Kathy’s parents and Carl’s brother and his wife at this time.
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We thank God for YOU!
We praise God for the fellowship He has given us with you and for your partnership in the ministry. Our Grandchildren
The Lord promises you a wonderful “return”, in more ways than one! We’d love to hear from you!
May Jesus be your Peace this Christmas, and may He use your life for His glory in 2011.
Carl and Kathy Olson
“I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:36
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Serving with Tecate Mission International ~ POB 1000 Tecate, CA 91980 ~ 619-468-3355 ~ www.tecatemission.org