Timothy and Heidi Olson
Tim and Heidi Olson, along with their two kids, Luke and Emily, are serving in Craiova, Romania, and are partnering with Alfa & Omega Church. The Olson’s mission statement is to equip, encourage and come alongside our Romanian brothers and sisters in Christ to impact the unreached southern area of Romania for Christ. Despite the fact that most Romanians claim to be Christians, the reality is that this is more tied to their national identity, and very few Romanians know anything at all about the saving power of the Gospel and look with distain on the Biblical call to repentance.
The Olson’s never planned to be missionaries, but after a vacation to Romania in 2017 to visit friends, they felt God calling them to Romania. After that visit and seeing the need for the saving gospel of Jesus in Romania, God kept bringing the verse Isaiah 6:8 to mind.
“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.””
With that verse in their mind and hearts, they began the journey towards moving to Romania. They had planned to move in April 2020, but with the global pandemic, the move was delayed until June 2021. During that time, God taught them patience and to trust in His sovereignty and perfect timing.
Currently, in the Olson’s partnership with Alfa & Omega Church, they are serving the church wherever there are needs. In addition, this church partners with another church in the nearby village of Brădești, about 30 minutes outside of Craiova. The Olson’s are helping out with a weekly kids’ program at this village church that focuses on a night of teaching the kids spiritual truths, memorizing scripture, serving a meal to them, and playing some games. Alongside that, the Olson’s host a weekly Bible study at their home that is open to both fellow foreigners and Romanians, where they do in-depth studies through different books of the Bible.
Missions have not been an easy journey, and many times, the Olson’s have called it a roller coaster. Nevertheless, God has always been faithful to confirm He has them exactly where He wants them and they are blessed with all the people he has brought along to partner with them on this journey. You can partner with the Olson’s through finances, encouragement, and prayer. The Olson’s send out a monthly newsletter with updates and current prayer requests; if you would like to receive a copy of Tim and Heidi’s monthly digital newsletter, you can sign up at this mail chimp link https://mailchi.mp/6c6b984527c5/olsonnewsletter or you can click the contact button above to send them an e-mail and they will add you to the list.
Partnership by prayer is always one of the best ways to partner with their ministry, so you can pray for them in the following ways:
1. Pray for the family’s ability to converse well in the Romanian language – learning a language is not easy but they strive to be able to communicate at a heart level with those that they work with
.2. Pray for strength and endurance. The Southern Romanian region of Oltenia is a very hard ground with a high turnover rate, but God is working here and the Olson’s would love your prayers to help sustain them in their ministry.
3. Pray for God to be glorified in the Olson’s ministry and that their family would grow in their knowledge of our precious Savior and all that He has done and that they would be faithful servants to God in all that they do.
4. Pray for the city of Craiova, the village of Brădești, and the region of Oltenia to be impacted by the gospel and that God would water and grow the seeds that are being sown in this region.