Who Am I?...in the non-philosophical sense

"Hi, nice to meet you. My name is Todd Olson. I am from Denver, Colorado. I hope that the following will help you get to know me better."

My Family:
I grew up in a family of four boys; myself being the oldest (and the wisest :-) they just don't know it yet). My brothers are as follows:
Timothy (Tim) March 30, 1984. He is engaged to Heidi Simpson. They will be married Dec. 30, 2006. He is Asst. Manager of the General Merchandise Dept. of King Soopers (local grocery store).
Jeremy (Jer) April 30, 1986. Jeremy works at the same store in the Produce Dept. He is enjoying his fruits and veggies a lot..."pass the ranch!"
Jeffery (Jeff) October 20, 1988. Jeff is in his senior year of high school and is planning on joining the Marines after graduation. Please keep him in your prayers. He also works at the store his brothers work at as a checker...are you sensing a theme?
We grew up breaking windows in the back by playing baseball and windows in front by playing hockey. We all still enjoy hockey a lot. They are all on a team in Denver and I am on a team with my church here in Ontario.

My parents are Don and Lois. My Dad works with Quest, a communications company. My Mom has home schooled us boys from the start. They are very supportive of the direction I am going. I have a lot of respect for them and how they have raised us. Thanks Dad and Mom!

My Testimony
Growing up in a Christian home I was saved pretty young. I grew up in the youth group and very involved with church. I knew the gospel and that I was a sinner and that Jesus paid the price I could not pay. I knew I was saved and knew that God viewed me as righteous but I thought that I could earn favor with Him by doing things (missions, for one). I often told myself, "I know I can't earn salvation but I am going to pretend that I have to." I thought that God would like me better if I lived with that mindset. I think that I tricked myself into thinking that I was a holier person than those around me.
Some background: being raised in the church I had the opportunity to go on multiple mission trips. I went to Mexico several times and to Brazil and China. In junior high, through the discipleship of a pastor in my chruch, John Chesnut, I started thinking that missions was something that I could do. My motives were probably pretty tainted (thinking I'd live under a coconut tree and get some serious brownie points with God). I decided to shoot for over-seas missions. Through junior high and high school my understanding of what missions is grew and so so did my desire to be a part of it. After I graduated high school I had the opportunity to go to China for a second time. This time for 6 months. I was hosted by a missionary couple with 3 other guys. The purpose was to put us in another culture and language and be able to build some realtionships with Chinese people outside of a 2 week context like most mission trips. This time in China confirmed that career missions is what I wanted to do. Almost immediately after returning home in July, '02 I left for Jackson, MI to New Tribes Bible Institute. This is part of the New Tribes Mission training program. It is 2 years of Bible education.
So, NTBI; this brings me back to my spiritual walk and misunderstanding of my relationship with God. Though I knew God and had experienced His salvation from sin I didn't understand what walking with Him looked like on a day to day basis. At the Bible school I was surounded, it seemed, with people who knew less about God but had a deeper relationship with Him. This frustrated me. Through classes, a "chat" with the dean of men and some other circumstances I began to understand that, "...just as you recieved Christ Jesus as Lord (by faith alone), continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7 I was saved by faith in what Christ had already done, what makes me think that I can live appart from Him? I was frustrated in my walk because I was relying on my own goodness for my relationship with God. Through the time at Bible school I bagan to understand that, as the above verse says, I walk by faith just as I was saved by faith. He is the strength behind what I do and the reason I do it; not because I am good or righteous in and of myself but because He has become my righteousness. Anyway, all that to say that I am growing in my understanding of how I live this Christian life or I should say, Christ lives through me. Galatians 2:20

What About Now?
So, after Bible school I took a year off to work and get reconnected with my church. It was a very good time to get to know people again and earn some money and get to put into practice what I had learned (and am learning) at Bible school. That brings me to Canada...which brings me to Patty :-)...but you can read about her in several other posts!
Here's how the New Tribes Mission Training works. They have two Bible schools (but accept credits from other Bible schools/seminaries): one in Waukesha, WI and one in Jackson, MI. The purpose is to send out missionaries with a firm background in the Bible. It is Bible with a missions emphasis...just the way God wrote it! After that two years there is another two years of specific missions and language classes. This is the how-to of missions. How does one plant a church in an unreached people group with an unwriten language where the spiritual belief is Anamism (more on that in a later post)? This two years will train us in everything from the practical side to the spritual side of missions. All the tools and skills and training in the world will not keep a missionary on the field if his/her relationship with God and with the other missionaries is not healthy. I really appreciate the focus on relationships and the care and concern that is given to making sure that we are able to be the most effective and best prepared for whatever the future will bring. (...Wow, this has turned into a long post) Thanks for keeping me in your prayers!

Todd-O