If you are in the Duluth area, Pete and I would like to invite to you to a very special event on November 5. We will be hosting a gala to share our hearts and vision for our upcoming move to Kenya, East Africa. The night will include live jazz music and hors d’oeuvres in the beautiful setting of the historic Greysolon Ballroom. There is no cost to attend and free valet parking will be available, so go ahead and wear those fancy heels!
If you do plan to attend, we simply ask you to RSVP by sending an email to MangoGala2015@gmail.com. Please feel free to email us there, as well, if you have any questions about the evening or you can post in the comment section on this page. I will have more information available about the online auction as the event approaches.
We are currently working hard to raise ongoing support for our first two years in Kenya. We have reached just 4% of our necessary funds so far, so we have a ways to go. For more information on how to commit to supporting us, please visit our page at wgm.org/olsen. Thank you!
The gala will make a perfect date night for you and your honey,
which is why we ask you to attend without children. Thank you!
There are so many things I want in life. I don’t mean material things. I mean I want experiences and growth and big, exciting adventures. Sometimes I find myself wishing these things would just happen instead of finding a way to actually pursue them. They just seem like so much work or like they’re way too big for my singular being. The biggest thing, though, is that I’ve found myself continuing to wish, rather than taking action, because I’m afraid of making the changes I know are necessary to make those wishes reality.
Nana explains the tradition of the wish bone at Thanksgiving
Yesterday, I woke at 3:30am, my stomach in knots, knowing that I had to take action. Like it was time to stop wishing and actually move forward on something. I tried to ignore the frenzy of thoughts running through my head, but at 4am, I gave in. I grabbed my computer and started writing. I felt like God was giving me the playbook on how to move ahead on a wish I had been mulling over since the end of summer. It was something that was a bit scary to me, so I hadn’t pursued it or really even told anyone about it. Silly me thought I could tuck it under the rug and it would go away. I really should know better by now. I’ve tried to do this so many times in the past, and God just brings it right back in front of me, but in an even more ‘now you really have to pay attention’ sort of way than if I had gone after it from the beginning. After I wrote it all out, my mind calmed enough to allow me to go back to sleep for a couple hours. And then came time to tell Pete.
Ella & her auntie take a break from their game to make a wish
“Pete, I have to read something I wrote last night. Like at 4am. I’m pretty sure God is telling us something.” There, I said it, but at the same time, I was hoping to keep it to myself so I could avoid actually pursuing this thing. Of course he was super interested and wanted to hear about it right away. That’s when I started shaking. I felt a mix of crazy excitement from knowing we’re going to do something huge and being really afraid of all the unknown parts of what this could mean for our family. I was incredibly thankful I had written everything down in the night, because otherwise I would have backed out, saying it wasn’t really a big deal. I would have minimized it. Instead, I sat next to him on the couch and read it word for word.
I would love to share the 4am writing with you, and you probably want to know what it was, but we’re still working through it, so I’m going to save the details for just a little longer. I’ll tell you though, that we spent nearly the entire day yesterday working through it all. Pete had the day off and Ella was home sick, so we tucked the kids in for naps and a little iPad time while Pete and I ironed out all that we could. We took lots of breathing breaks that, yes, involved plenty of “Jesus, come right now and show us how to do this” prayers. By dinner last night, I had a headache from thinking so hard, so we ordered pizza, turned off all the lights, and all cuddled on the couch to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. And then, we all fell into bed.
This morning, I’m still feeling a few knots in my stomach. I’m nervous. But God certainly didn’t say that following his plans would be easy. Last night before I fell asleep, I read an advent reading from She Read’s Truth (do you know about this?! details below) and was reminded, “[Jesus] is our Bread from Heaven, the Bread of Life we are told to hunger solely after – the only thing we need, every day.” We are reminded of that in John 6:41 and 48. So today I’m leaning on that promise, working through the knots in my stomach, and still very excited about our family’s next step.
Ella’s sweet focus as she wished
I mentioned She Reads Truth, which is a really fantastic resource for women seeking Jesus through daily devotions and Bible reading plans. I use the app on my phone nearly every day. You can read the devotions on their website for free or download the app and pay a couple dollars a plan. They also have the devotional plans available in gorgeous print version that can be ordered on their website. Their Instagram feed is also quite encouraging.
Disclaimer: I haven’t been given anything at all to talk about She Reads Truth. I’m just that in love with what they have to offer!
When we began to prepare for our estate sale in July, we didn’t know where it would lead us. All we knew was that we felt we were supposed to go through all of our possessions and pray about the next step. Pete and I laughed together at the freedom we were feeling as we picked out the few things we wanted to keep. It was so far from how I usually feel about my possessions! Family asked what we would do without any of our furniture and most of the kids’ toys and and so many other things. The simple answer was that we had no idea. But we did know we needed to keep praying about it.
About a week after we went through the entire house, we felt like we needed to look into other housing options. We love our home, and we thought we would have it for many more years. However, there are issues with renting it while we’re in Kenya. One, we’re not technically in a renting zone. Two, it’s 90 years old and requires ongoing upkeep. And three, if a family moves in and we come home from Kenya, are we going to kick them out for the few months we’ll be in Duluth? Probably not. We would have to find another place to live. Why have the house if we can’t stay in it? So the search began.
Sammy loves the lake!
We started, as we often do, by dreaming and praying. (We’re big dreamers!) I’ve been interested in the tiny house movement, though there aren’t many options for that in the Duluth area. We looked for small cabins, and then came across ESCAPE cabins made in Wisconsin, 400 square-foot portable homes that completely appealed to both of us. The idea of being that small and simple sounded magical. The issue was where to put it while still staying close enough to Pete’s hospital. We began looking at pieces of land on the edge of town, but then we would have to deal with water and sewage hook-up, clearing a space for the cabin, and creating a driveway. Land around here is not cheap. And then what would we do with it while in Kenya? So we continued looking and praying.
At that point, we felt that our move was supposed to be a way for us to simplify, so we counted out houses and stuck only to condos and apartments. I did, however, want to have a space for the kids to play outside, whether in the grass or at a nearby playground. We chose to look at renting or buying and, on a date night in late July, we drove around town looking at possibilities. We checked out multiple nice apartments, even though they are primarily for college students. Then we looked at a nice condo building, though there was no space for the kids to play. Then we drove through an area with fairly new rentals, but I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the kids’ safety in the neighborhood. It was 11pm by that time, and we weren’t feeling entirely encouraged. We jumped on the Interstate to head home, but as we drove by one more condo building, one that was far nicer than what we’d been imagining for our family, we decided to swing in and take a look. Really, it was just to lift our spirits.
Remember I said this was at 11pm? Some of the condos in this area are used as vacation rentals, so we thought there might be someone at the front desk. Indeed, there was a gentleman who told us all about the condos and then let us walk through a few of the empty rentals on our own. They were beautiful, and so very cozy, and perfectly situated right on the shore of Lake Superior. We left that night, feeling a little more encouraged, and sent an email to our real estate agent, the same one we’ve been working with for ten years, to let him know some of our thoughts on moving forward with a move.
We soon discovered that there were two units for sale in the complex. Upon visiting them, we immediately ruled out one and fell in love with the other. All this time we continued to pray. We wanted to make sure we weren’t getting ahead of God’s plan for our family. As we prayed, we felt He was telling us it was okay to move ahead, so we took it step by step, continuing to make sure this was the right thing. As we quietly started to share the news with close friends and family, it seemed that the move and purchase of this condo was the right thing for our family and our plans for the future. With that confirmation, we submitted an offer, which was accepted, and a closing date was set. Friends, we will be closing and moving on September 5, less than one week from today!
we’ll be doing a whole lot more of this!
With the purchase of this condo, it seems that God is aligning his plans for our future. The condo will serve as a furnished vacation rental while we’re in Kenya, managed by a company that takes care of many of the units in the three buildings that make up the association. That way, it will be available whenever we’re back from Africa. Our minimal personal belongings will be stored securely in a room down the hall from our unit. No kicking out a family or finding a short-term place to live! And the whole selling everything in our estate sale thing? Well, that’s been taken care of. When we submitted our offer, we also asked if the owners would be willing to sell it furnished. Amazingly, they agreed, so all the furniture that was selected for that particular space is already in place. What an answer to our prayers! Because it’s a part of an association, we don’t have to do any yard work or snow clearing in the winter. And remember what I said about needing a place for the kids to play? There is a stretch of green grass directly out our patio. It is only that stretch of grass that separates our new home from the lake that we so dearly love. It also happens to be right on the Lakewalk, a beautifully paved trail that runs more than three miles along the shore between our place and Canal Park, lined with coffee shops, restaurants, the iconic lift bridge, and ends at a beautiful playground. We plan to walk, bike, and run the trail regularly, something we already love doing. Now it will be right out our front door.
There’s one more thing. We learned after our first walk-through of the condo that the owners have another one-bedroom unit right next to ours. They aren’t ready to sell it at this point, but when they are, we’ve expressed that we would be interested in purchasing it. Can you guess why? Someday, a ways down the road, we want to have the option of providing Sam with his own apartment, if that is what he wants. He could live right next to us, yet have his own place. That makes our hearts very happy. Honestly, I get a bit teary whenever I think about the possibility. Of course, we don’t know just what it is that God has planned for Sam, but we love having the option!
So, we’re moving! We had no idea this was a part of the plan at the beginning of the summer. We couldn’t be more excited about all that is to come. We’ll move next weekend, and then the estate company will come in to prepare for the sale. At the moment, the sale is set for September 19-20, which I’ll confirm on a future post. We’ve been doing projects inside and outside our house to prepare it for market, so we hope to list it very shortly after the sale.
We’re exciting to share pictures of the new place once we make the move! We continue to be amazed and incredibly grateful of the path God has set before our family!
A little more than four years ago, Pete suggested we go through a few of our things before moving from our two-bedroom apartment in Minneapolis to our three-bedroom-plus-lots-of-storage-space house in Duluth. I agreed it might be a good idea and worked alongside him as we opened boxes we hadn’t touched the entire year we had been in that apartment. We laughed and shared memories from our high school year books and summer camp photo albums, put on old sports jerseys and a shirt I sewed in college. Many things went back into boxes, while we were satisfied to simply take pictures of other items instead of continuing to actually move them from house to house. The boxes took days for me to sort. I felt emotionally tied to everything held in those cardboard containers. Pete encouraged me to do as much donating, photo-taking, or tossing as I could manage. When the movers arrived a few weeks later and said we had noticeably downsized since the move twelve month earlier, I was proud. I had parted with enough items to feel we were going to begin a touch lighter on Lake Superior.
We settled into our new house and, well, you know what happens when living comfortably in one place for an extended period of time. Kids grow through multiple sizes of clothing, they collect toys and games and mountains of books. As a family we gather tools and trinkets, kitchen gadgets and hobby supplies. Furniture moves in and collections of all sorts grow. After being in our cozy house for three-and-a-half years, I started to feel I needed a change. Not huge, but a little organization was definitely going to be necessary. So last winter I started reading blogs on how to get organized, I put together a Pinterest board, and I found an inspiring book that helped me feel like I could get things in order. I was tired of constantly putting things away and spending valuable time apart from my kids while trying to make my house look nice. Looking back now, I see that my need to organize was only the beginning of something deeper.
After spending weeks attempting to get my house in order, I still felt like it was out of control. If only I could get it organized and keep it that way! It felt like an impossible task, though just months earlier I had very little trouble with it. I realized that I was spending just as much time before the big organization binge trying to keep things neat. And it was starting to get to me. I began to feel anxious looking at the baskets of toys and piles of clothes surrounding me. I felt guilty knowing I had boxes of untouched craft supplies and unfinished house projects that I couldn’t seem to find time to squeeze in.
And then, two or three weeks ago, I started to feel an urge to separate myself from all the material stuff around me. I brought it up to Pete, who has always desired to live fairly minimally, by asking if we could get a dumpster for a week or two. (Can I tell you how happy he seemed with that question?!) We couldn’t start right away, though, because I was working on my sister’s wedding. While waiting the couple weeks until the wedding, we got to pray a lot about what exactly God was doing in my heart. We both felt that this wouldn’t just be another organizing stint. This would be much, much more.
We’ve known for years that we would have an estate sale before our big move to Africa. We don’t want to put piles of our things in storage and not have them used for years at a time. We still have a year or two before that move, though, so imagine our surprise when we strongly felt God telling us to prepare for the estate sale NOW. What?! That doesn’t make any sense! But we couldn’t shake the thought. I felt like the sale was confirmed in the fact that I got really excited about it. Such a change from my sorting in Minneapolis when I emotionally could not part from more than a few items. By the time we were able to start last Monday morning, I was actually giddy. All I can say is that was not from my own will. I have always loved my stuff and wouldn’t even consider tossing or selling something that I might be able to use in the next couple years. I know that God is preparing our hearts for Africa, but the timing of this is not at all what I expected.
I’ve had a few friends ask, “But an estate sale means you sell everything in your house, right? Why would you do that already?” My answer: yes, and we don’t exactly know yet. We do hope to sell nearly everything. If you see it in our house, it will likely be for sale. Book cases, books, dishes, pictures, bedding, toys…everything. We’re not leaving for another 18-24 months, so we’re praying about how this will play out. We may use the opportunity to clear our belongings and put the money toward a few items that we need and will really use. God has revealed a few details that we will share when the time is right, but for now, we’re trying to listen carefully to what God has for us. We know that His plan and purposes are so much better than our own. And that makes me incredibly excited.
I usually consider Jeremiah 29:11 far overused and fairly cliche, but I’m trusting what this verse says right now. “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” We already believe with our entire beings that God has a great plan for our family. I absolutely trust that this place God has called us to – living minimally – will not harm us, but that it will bring us peace and that it will draw us closer to Him. And the prospering part? I’ve felt deeply that God is freeing me from the guilt and busyness of my material possessions so that I can embrace each moment with my beautiful family. Ella will love having more of my undivided attention before and after school when she begins kindergarten in September. Sam will thrive when we’re able to have more of our day together to do fun and developmental activities. Pete will be able to rest in our home after stressful shifts in the ER and I can be more of the attentive wife I know I was created to be. And for me? I will be able to soak in life. Not the life that my material things give me, but the life that He has already given me, free from so many unnecessary distractions. I tasted this life for two months in Kenya when we had only a few of our things with us. That taste was incredible. What an amazing thing that we will be able to experience something similar here, in this city we so dearly love, right now.
God is so good! I am humbled to be chosen for this life. I truly am.
Later this week, I’ll be posting a few tips I’ve learned on getting organized and making the separation with our material goods a little easier. Also, if you’re interested and live in the area, I’ll announce when the estate sale will be as soon as we know. Please pray with us on this as we’re still working out the details with a few local companies.
We shared the big details of our trip out to World Gospel Mission headquarters a couple weeks ago, but I’ve got a few other photos and details from our trip I’d love to share. First off, we left all the kiddos in Duluth except for six-month-old Kai, which was perfect since we then still had a baby to cuddle. Pete and I felt like we were on a spectacular date weekend. Yes, perhaps there were interviews and psychological inventories, but we had no kids, we weren’t staying at our house, and meals were provided. Sounds like a date to me!
I sure do love this mama! We may only live 10 minutes apart now, but I can’t wait till we share a yard in Kenya.
When we got to WGM headquarters, it was not all serious interviews and questionnaires and personality inventories. It was a really fantastic weekend of getting to know other families heading into missions and eating big meals, meeting the WGM board and some of the staff, playing ping pong, and constructing giant towers of noodles and masking tape. Oh yes, noodles. The guys built one and the gals built another, all with the intention of comfortably and safely cradling an egg. The highest tower won. Check out how tall the guys went. Yes, they won.
But look at the sturdiness of our somewhat shorter tower. Our egg could have lived nestled on our tower for the duration of its life. Not so for the tallest tower. The guys kept their egg safe for a few moments before removing the it from its perch. It wouldn’t have had a chance if we had to keep it in place all night. We said our tower reflected our maternal capabilities. It kept the egg cozy and safe. We had nothing we needed to prove. The guys, on the other hand. Well, they felt the need to go crazy with their tower. Typical.
Being at headquarters brought back lots of memories for me. I was in that same place exactly 12 years prior, as I prepared to leave for my year in Honduras. In fact, some of the current volunteers under the same program (Volunteers In Action) were finishing orientation as we arrived. Among them was this lovely girl, Tita. I was so thrilled the moment I spotted her! Twelve years ago, I taught Tita as a missionary kid in Honduras. Now she’s preparing to spend the next year working with missionary kids at headquarters, meaning that she will be teaching our kids when we visit for training sessions this winter! I find it hard to believe that one of my very own students will be teaching my kids. Seeing her made me feel that we really are a part of a big family at WGM.
After a whirlwind of a weekend, we were back at the airport waiting for flights early Sunday morning. As we sat playing games and chatting with other soon-to-be missionary families, I realized that this is the first of what will likely be many, many airport sessions with friends and family as we fly thousands of miles around the world. I can’t believe this is what we get to do with our lives! I know that not many families may be called to move as far away as we are, but I absolutely could not have it any other way. It won’t be easy leaving our families here, but we are incredibly blessed to be able to have such fantastic mission families alongside us on this path.
A bit of catching up? Sounds like a plan! Here are a few recent photos.
And this, because who can resist a dancing Sammy? (music by my brother, Jake, and his band, Dead Guys)
You’ll have to click here on the link. For some reason, it’s not just popping up right here on the screen. Sorry, friends!
We are beyond excited to share that we have officially been appointed as missionaries to Kenya!!
Wait, didn’t we already know we would be going to Kenya? Yes, that has been our hope, but after lots of questions and paperwork and applications and a weekend of interviews in Indiana, we have been accepted with an organization that will be working alongside us to actually get us there. They will be coordinating all of our training, guiding our fundraising, and working out the mountain of details that a family of four needs to take care of when moving halfway around the world. We thought it might be easiest to answer lots of the questions around this big announcement through a little Q&A session. So, here it goes.
Q: What organization did you end up choosing?
A: Now that it’s official, we’re thrilled to be able to say that we’ll be signing with World Gospel Mission (WGM), an organization that has missionaries all over the world. This is the same organization I spent a year and a half with in Honduras beginning in 2002. I’ve stayed in close contact with many of the missionaries I met during my time there and have been able to see their relationship with WGM. We love all that the organization encompasses and their vision for the future of Kenyan medicine. Personally, I am blown away with the way God has orchestrated the path to WGM. I had no idea 12 years ago that I would end up working with them in this capacity!
A: Absolutely!! They’ve been accepted with WGM, too!
Q: When do you think you’ll be leaving for Kenya?
A: It is our hope to leave in early 2016. Of course, we hold our timeline with an open hand, knowing that things can change at any time.
Q: Why can’t you leave sooner?
A: As much as we would love to be able to head back to Kenya right now, we have a lot to get done before we can make the big move. First, Pete needs to finish his two-year contract in the emergency room. We’ve wanted to have those two years of a steady income in order to work on paying off our student loans (his medical school and my grad school) as well as our house. A second reason is that there is a lot of training we’ll go through before moving. Training will cover things like raising funds, educating our kids in another country, and working cross-culturally. We’ll officially begin all of this training in January 2015. It typically takes about a year to go from that point to the mission field.
Q: Do you plan to live in Kenya for a long time?
A: We do. We hope to be in Kenya for as long as we feel God is still using us there, which we pray will be a very long time.
Q: Where exactly will you be living in Kenya?
A: We’re still working out the details of where we’ll be. We have a few ideas, but a lot can happen between now and when we actually move. Overall, we’d love to be in a rural community with a hospital that trains new doctors.
Q: Do you have to buy your own house when you get there?
A: Nope, that will be taken care of for us by WGM. It’s possible that, in the future, we’ll want to build our own house, as some of our friends have done, but that’s a ways down the road. We do plan to keep our house in Duluth and rent it while we’re away, though we plan to sell most of what we own before leaving for Kenya.
Q: Will you be homeschooling the kids?
A: Yes. Living in a small, rural community will require me to teach the kids at home. This is very common for missionary kids. We want to make sure they are learning everything they need to know to transition back to the States well in the future and to possibly attend college here someday. I have no doubt that Ella will keep us on our toes with homeschooling and I’m so looking forward to teaching Sam in a style that will fit him best. Because of this, I’m very thankful to have my Masters of Education and some amount of special education experience, as well. I will be attending specialized training before our move so that we can meet our children’s educational needs the very best ways possible. No only will I be homeschooling our kids, but it is quite possible that I will be a part of coordinating the education with other missionary kids who are at our same location.
Q: What about Sam? Will he be able to get everything he needs?
A: Of course, this is one of our main concerns with our move. Through the last two years, we have been going after as much as possible. Things like physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, music classes, and social learning opportunities. These early years are critical to his development, which is why we are glad we’re not moving sooner. Educationally, I will be able to meet most of his future needs, which may, at times, require assistance from the many resources and contacts I’ve accumulated since my undergrad days. Physically, we’ll see how he does. We plan to wait and see what resources we’ll have at the hospital in our area, because physical and occupational therapists may be available. If they are not, Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is quite advanced and will surely have further options for him, if necessary. However, if we do run into a time when we feel Sam needs more than we can offer him through any of these routes, it will be possible for us to return to Minnesota to concentrate on specific needs. It helps tremendously that we are not going into this without guidance. We are in contact with multiple families who are currently or have recently raised children with special needs on the mission field. I think it will always be a learning experience for us as parents, but we have the confidence that God has called us to this unique path and that He will continue to guide us.
Do you have more questions? Feel free to comment on this post or on our Facebook page & I’ll try to get them answered.
After years of praying and dreaming, this is a huge step toward Kenya. Please continue to pray for us as we move forward. We can not make this move without your prayers and support!
