You guys! We’ve hit our first financial goal in getting to Kenya and we are super, super excited to share it with you! Ready?!
We have raised enough funds to cover all of our one time costs!
This is HUGE! Obviously we could not be celebrating this milestone without all of our supporters, so we send out a ginormous THANK YOU to every single one of you who have already joined us financially. We want to give you each a giant hug! Also, Sam has a message for you…
Now, what does this mean exactly? Let me tell you. It means that all of the things we need to pay for just one time, not every month, have now been covered through financial gifts. Curious to know what some of those expenses are? Here are a few…
Plane Tickets & Moving Expenses. Getting over to Kenya and then back again after two years.
Legal Fees & Papers. So they actually let us into the country. That would be nice.
Furniture. Beds. A kitchen table. A few things that make a house a home.
Trainings. We’ve already spent one week in training at our mission’s headquarters and we’ll spend one more week there this summer. Then, right before we leave for Kenya, we’ll study as a family for four weeks at a cross-cultural training facility in Colorado Springs.
Language School. We plan to attend a 2-3 months of intense Swahili language school as soon as we arrive in Kenya. This will be vital to the long-term work we will be able to do there and the relationships we will be able to build.
So what’s next? Now we continue doing what we’ve been doing. Visiting churches, meeting with friends, speaking with small groups. We love sharing our story and our vision for what we’ll be doing in Kenya. With that, we invite people to pray about joining us financially. We won’t be paid by the hospital in Kenya, so we need to raise everything for our first two years there before we leave. That can be done two ways. The first is through one-time gifts. The second is through pledging a specific amount each month. We currently have 28% of our monthly budget pledged.
Our next major goal is to reach 50% of our monthly expenses pledged. Why 50%? That is when big things happen. First, we can register for our last two trainings. Second, we will be eligible for health insurance through our mission organization. We are currently paying for insurance ourselves, as Pete is working as a freelance ER doc. Being on the mission’s health insurance will take a pretty big burden off our current budget, allowing us to pay Pete’s medical school loan faster, something we want to have finished before leaving for Kenya.
We are thrilled to share this news of having our one-time costs covered! Thank you for trusting us to be good stewards of these funds. We look forward to sharing more updates in the near future!
Do you know of a group, church, or family who would be interested in hearing more about what we’ll be doing in Kenya? Please use this contact form to send us an email.
At long last, I am so happy to share details and photos from The Mango Gala!
On Thursday, January 14, Pete and I were honored to host a gala to celebrate our upcoming journey to Kenya and share in-depth details about what we will be doing when our family moves to East Africa. My dear friend, Anna of Along an Inland Sea Photography, very graciously captured these photos of the night.
About eighty friends, new and old, joined us at Greysolon Ballroom. A bit of a snowstorm the same evening prevented more from joining us, but we had a wonderful time with those who were able to make it through the drifts.
Ella was given a very special job with our dear Luke and Hannah. She welcomed guests and carefully hung their coats in the very cute little coat room. Greysolon is filled with sweet spaces and lots of character.
Following a time of hors d’oeuvres and conversation, everyone took their seat for a program.
Pete began by telling stories of working in the hospital during our earlier two months in Kenya and sharing details about what he’ll be doing when we return.
I was able to share what I believe I’ll be doing when we get to Kenya, including homeschooling the kids and working with a new special needs clinic.
Ella also had an opportunity to share her memories of Kenya and to talk about what she’s most excited for when we return. She often tells us she wants to play with the neighbors she remembers from when she was three. Ella is so very articulate on stage. We were so proud of her!
After the program, we were able to talk individually with just about every person who attended the event while Randy Lee and a few members of his band played some very excellent jazz music. A special detail? These were some of the same musicians who played at our wedding reception over eight years ago!
I snapped this photo of Ella dancing with Daddy. I think she felt quite grown up at the gala.
The exciting news following the gala is that we have now reached 27% of our monthly financial support! I’ll be sharing the details on that number and what it means in the next few days.
We want to thank every person who joined us for The Mango Gala! We know many others hoped to make it, and we are so thankful to you, as well, and ask you to continue to pray for us. If you weren’t able to join us but would still like details on how you can financially partner with what we’ll be doing in Kenya, please visit our mission page at www.wgm.org/olsen or send us a message through the contact tab at the top of this page. We are always happy to answer any question you may have. Thank you!
Just over a month ago, Pete told me he felt God was showing him a path that would take us another step toward Kenya and living more simply. This journey has been ongoing for us. We started by getting organized. Then we got a dumpster to clear out junk. Finally, we had an estate sale to sell everything but what we were using regularly. We sold the house and bought a furnished condo on the lake. Then we went down to one vehicle and had a six-month spending freeze. In the year-and-a-half we’ve been in the condo, we’ve tried to keep from accumulating more things, but let me tell you, it’s hard! We don’t intentionally go out to buy random things that will become clutter. In fact, we always have a “to be donated” box in our laundry room that fills faster than I expect it to. Friends and family have bought us experiences as gifts rather than little items, which we have loved and so greatly appreciate. Additionally, I go through nearly everything every couple months to keep our belongings under control. But even with all that, I was not at all surprised when Pete told me we need to pray about another step toward simplicity.
So pray we did. And in that praying, we felt that the time had arrived to prepare our condo for renters. This is something we didn’t think we’d be doing until we were also packing our bags for Kenya. However, when we looked at the numbers, we realized this plan could cut our monthly budget tremendously by allowing renters to move in and pay our monthly mortgage. Once we felt that this really was something God was putting in front of us, I began looking for inexpensive rentals around town. After a week or two of searching, I found one sweet little rental that feels as though it’s been waiting for us. It has two bedrooms, one bathroom, a small kitchen, and a cozy living room, all in 1,000 square feet. It’s right along the Lakewalk, where we can ride bikes and go on runs and walk the five short blocks to my favorite local coffee shop. We’ll have a yard and a shared garage and the little house sits right along the route of Grandma’s Marathon, one of our favorite events of the year. It is exactly what we were looking for.
We are leaving our condo furnished for renters, so nearly everything we put into our new place is temporary. I’ve had great luck finding a dresser and a bookshelf and bunk beds on Craigslist (which means Sammy is moving to a big bed!). All other items have come from IKEA, Target, Amazon, thrift stores or are things we don’t need to leave in the condo. It is our main goal to begin living even more minimally with this move. With very little closet space, we will all reduce our wardrobes. The kids already have a fairly small amount of toys and books, which helps. Our kitchen will be stocked only with what we use on a daily basis. Pete and I feel confident that we want to live minimally as we continue forward, and we are excited about it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean this an easy thing to do.
I do trust that this is what God has for us. My heart feels joyful with the idea of clearing more clutter from our home and our lives. But I love our condo. I love waking every morning and peering out over Lake Superior to discover her always-changing mood. Enormous ships move through her waters and sea planes fly over her surface. We fall asleep to the sound of the waves, even on these bitterly cold nights of winter. Our condo is new and beautifully furnished. We have space to host friends on a regular basis and to let the kids play freely. As much as I adore the space we call home this week, it does not compare with following every step that God puts in front of us. I have lived enough years and followed (or not followed) him enough times that I find it a bit easier, and certainly far more exciting, to follow his path and plan without as much questioning as I once did. So in one week, when Pete is off for the weekend, we will make our official move out of the condo and into our new house. Pete and I often sing to each other, “Home, let me come home // Home is wherever I’m with you.” And we believe that. Where we’re together, celebrating life and living our days, that is where our home is.
As we get ready for this move, will you please be praying with us? We’re taking the step to move out and allow renters to come in, but we don’t yet have those renters. We’re working with a management company who is very familiar with our building, and we’re praying for the right renters to come in as soon as February 1. I will be working on preparing it for renters while Pete is away in New Mexico the remainder of this month. Also, please pray we settle well in our new home. I love to decorate and make a space cozy, so I’m really looking forward to that part. We first took Ella to the new house before New Years to help her mentally and emotionally begin the transition, and she’s gone shopping with me for her new bedding and such. She seems to be doing well with the idea of the move, and the promise of having the top bunk makes her want to be there already!
So we’re off on a new adventure! We will surely keep you posted on our progress in the days ahead. I’ve said it before, and I certainly mean it…we are so happy to share this journey with you!
In just 10 months, we hope to be on our way to Kenya where I will be training young, Kenyan family medicine residents to help them become Kenyan doctors who will work in the most remote areas of Kenya, South Sudan and Somalia. They will provide essential medical care in some of the most remote areas of the world – areas I cannot access.
Tenwek Christian Hospital is a 300-bed hospital located four hours west of Nairobi. People get primary care at Ministry of Health dispensaries and health centers but when they need surgical or specialized care, Tenwek is known throughout the whole region (around 1 million people) for its compassionate care. The care is provided at the most reduced cost possible, often supplemented by grants from Christian organizations. Supplies are extremely limited and often consist of donated medical equipment from various companies and organizations. We utilize well whatever is made available to us so that we can deliver the best care for the least expensive cost to the patient, many of whom are quite poor. Kenyans walk two to three days from the surrounding region for the medical care they desperately need. There are about twenty ex-patriot doctors and a small but growing number of experienced Kenyan physicians at any one time training family medicine physicians, general surgeons and orthopedic surgeons. I will be one of those twenty.
There is certainly risk involved for our family. Kenya is the site of recent mass shootings and bombings. Christians have fled from the north part of the country where El Shabab, a Muslim extremist group, has been exterminating those who claim to follow Jesus. We will be in a slightly safer region of the country in the Western highlands of Kenya.
Recently, the questions I have received by many have intensified, correlating with the reports of violence in the region.
So why? Why go there?! Work here and serve another population of underserved or stay somewhere in the States. Certainly, there must be need here!
It’s true. There are needs everywhere in the States from Native American reservations to crowded urban areas to small, rural towns. But God hasn’t called us there. He’s called our family to Africa, so that’s where we’ll go. I am called as a physician and Angela is called as a teacher. He’s calling Ella to offer the gifts he is still building within her. Sammy’s ministry within the special needs community has already begun. God has called us as a family, a family that hopes to expand once we arrive in Kenya through adoption – another part of the ministry we feel called to by God.
Why don’t you just make large sums of money and donate it to the hospital. Certainly, a physician’s income would allow you to give a lot of money!
That would be one option. In Kenya I’ll be making 5-7% of what I would earn as a physician in the U.S. But we know without question that our family is supposed to be on the ground in East Africa to share his love in person, train up physicians to continue this ministry and even extend it into areas where Christians (and white people – Wazungu), cannot go without the constant threat of death.
How is fundraising going? You must be fully supported by now, right?
Many of you have also asked about our fundraising. Honestly, it’s been a difficult road. Our family requires recurring funds for transportation, food, shelter, children’s education and yes, even a salary (part of which is saved for missionary retirement). Specifically, our missionary budget has been set at $7875/month. While this number seems high (it certainly gave us sticker shock!), we have a detailed sheet accounting for every penny and are happy to share with anyone who asks.
I am writing this because after contacting everyone we know, speaking at churches, Rotary, Kiwanis, local woman’s groups and many others (and continuing to do so), we have been able to raise just 15% of our required budget. We cannot set a date to move our family to Kenya until we have created a stable base of recurring support that meets or exceeds our expenses.
So, please help us. Provide the recurring support we need to help people across the world who you’ll never meet. People whose basic needs for food, water, shelter, safety and medical care are threatened daily. Needs we intend to meet and exceed.
As of today, 12/29/15, we still need to raise a monthly amount of $6,690. We are asking each of you to pray about an amount you can provide to support our family to carry out the ministry above.
That would be:
1) $100/month from 16 people
2) $50/month from 75 people
3) $25/month from 59 people
One of the beautiful parts of ministry is that God never calls us to do it alone. He calls each of us to pray, to give and to go. You probably don’t feel called to move to Kenya, but you can still join what God is doing there by supporting our family in this work. We need ministry partners who will stand by us and pray for us and provide the financial support needed to make this work. We can’t do it alone and right now we really need your help. Please partner with us to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters living in Kenya.
With gratitude and in the name of Jesus,
Pete
I’m ready to support your family. How do I do it?
Start here: wgm.org/olsen. On that page, you can easily create a recurring contribution using a credit card or set up an automatic payment from your bank account.
I want to know exactly where this money is going.
Great! You can email me at pete.olsen@wgm.org and I will send you the exact budget provided by World Gospel Mission. It provides a detailed explanation for every penny spent on the mission field and demonstrates that we will be good stewards of the funds we receive. Every donation goes directly to the Olsen family’s ministry and won’t be spread across multiple accounts.
I need to know more before I can give to your family.
We understand. Reply to this email and we’ll have you over individually for coffee and dessert. We can go into far more detail and provide you with pictures of the work we’ve done and our detailed plans for our future ministry. I will show you the specific areas I will be teaching while Angela can tell you more about homeschooling and opportunities at a local teacher training school.
One additional way you can learn more about our journey to Kenya is by attending The Mango Gala on January 14. It will be a night of live music and dancing, and we’ll be sharing our vision for our move to East Africa. Please join us! You can RSVP by emailing mangogala2015@gmail.com.
See all those amazing photos above? Those are just a few of the pieces in our upcoming auction! Our auction will raise money to help cover the expense of our plane tickets to Kenya in the fall. Each ticket costs about $2,000, which means our family of four will need roughly $8,000 to travel from Minnesota to Nairobi, Kenya and back again two years later. Not only will your involvement in the auction help us to raise funds, but every piece in the auction would make a perfect Christmas gift! We’re holding the auction next Tuesday and Wednesday so that winners will receive their product in time for the holiday. An awesome cause AND awesome gifts?! Absolutely!
Where is the auction? The auction will be held on Instagram. If you already have an Instagram account, simply click over to our feed @TheMangoMemoirs to follow us and then check in after the auction begins at 7pm CST on Tuesday, December 1 and start bidding!
If you don’t yet have an Instagram account, it’s really easy to set one up. You’ll need the Instagram app (I’m not sure whether or not you can just do this over the Instagram website) and then you can create a free account. You don’t need to download any photos or make your profile pretty if you’ll only be bidding on items. Simply search for TheMangoMemoirs profile, click follow, and come back after 7pm on Tuesday or any time before 9pm CST on Wednesday. Click ‘comment’ under a photo and leave your information to bid. It’s that simple! Feel free to leave comments or email me at themangomemoirs@gmail.com if you have further questions.
How do I bid?
Bidding opens at 7pm CST on Tuesday, December 1 and closes at 9pm CST on Wednesday, December 2. Scroll through the items on our feed to find a few things you might like. To bid, click on the photo and then on the comment button. Place a bid at least one dollar higher than the previous bid, include your PayPal email address, and tag the person who placed the previous bid. Each item is open for bidding until I write CLOSED and announce the winner. This may mean some items will be available shortly past 9pm as I work through to close the items.
How do I pay?
You will be sent an invoice from me through PayPal within 24 hours of the end of the auction. You will then have until midnight on Saturday, December 5 to pay the invoice. If you are unable to do so, the item will go to the next highest bidder. We want to make sure everything gets paid for and sent out in plenty of time for Christmas!
Will we find out how the auction went afterward?
Absolutely! As soon as all items are closed, we will add up the final amounts and make an announcement of how much of our airfare has been covered. We could not do this without you and we want to share all the news with everyone who is supporting us!
What if I don’t get an item? Can I still donate?
YES! We only have so many items in this auction, and we know not everyone may end up with something. There will be an opportunity to make individual donations following the auction. We will post more information about that on Instagram. As always, you can also make donations straight through our missions organization at wgm.org/olsen. Every part of your donation in either place goes right into our Kenya account.
Do you have other questions?
Feel free to post other questions in the comments on this post, on our Facebook page or on Instagram.
One thing we have really enjoyed as we prepare for Kenya is getting to work with some incredibly talented, inspiring people. One such person is Jack Lind. Jack had a video production company for many years and recently offered to work with us on a video about our vision for Kenya. Today we are thrilled to share the finished piece with you. Thank you so much for your support on this journey!
