Olson’s Opportunities to serve the Lord   October 2019           

Dear Partners and Friends,

Grace and peace to you. We are sincerely grateful to those who stand with us in giving and praying for the prison ministry that God called us to 15 years ago!

Here is a bird’s eye view in two photos of us ministering at a recent Spanish service and pastoral visit at a correctional institution.

Join us for Praise and Prayer:

1. Praise God the used car we bought five and a half years ago continues to run fairly well at 200,000 miles.
2. Key inmate leaders are leaving prison. Pray as God moves others into their positions.
3. In the past, any prisoner could attend our Bible studies as long as they spoke Spanish, no matter what their religion. At one prison now, only Protestant inmates can come, reducing our class size from 25 men to 5-8. The larger setting was great for evangelism, but a smaller group is God’s will for now. Pray for effective discipleship with believers.
   Many men are giving their lives to Jesus and growing in Him!
4. Praise God for the good communication we have with prison chaplains.

Investing Our Time

We are doing weekly Bible study with another couple on what the Bible says about anxiety in Philippians 4:4-9. It’s a blessing as we share and put God’s instructions into practice.

Our home church did a neighborhood outreach, which we participated in. Kathy is on the Missions Bd and their fall conference, “Catch the Vision for Missions” is Oct 12-13. 

God brings many counseling opportunities for us with incarcerated men, and for Kathy with released women, etc. 

We receive invitations to speak, write articles and do ministry video updates. 

God sends volunteers at times to serve with us in prison. Would you like to come? Contact us to find out how!

Here’s what inmates are saying:

”Praise to the Lord Jesus Christ for coming into my life!”

“I have faith and expect God to work in my life. I ‘took’ before, now I want to ‘give back’.”

“My faith is hanging by a thread, but I’m here (in the service) because of you guys.”

“I’m asking God for strength to close old doors and walk through the new.”

“Pray for us to follow His path and for us to mend relationships.”

“I am excited that the Lord saw fit for the devotional I wrote to be published.”

“Despite being in prison, thanks to this place, I am able to know God in a personal way.”

Jesus is the center of our lives, so we want every inmate to know Him and serve Him! 

On behalf of each one that we share the Gospel with, thank you. Your partnership in the prison ministry has eternal impact for them! We continue to lean on the Lord and His wisdom, and look forward to hearing from you soon! 

God is so good,

Carl & Kathy