A Look To The Future

As my family and I look to the future, we are faced with many questions. One of those questions concerns the selling of our home. There are several factors we have been considering in making this decision. One of those possible factors we have examined carefully concerns the time line for possible deployment. One thing I do not want to do is move my family to Texas and then immediately leave them for a year or longer. Recently I was told that the likelihood of being deployed immediately after graduation from Chaplain school is extremely high. So, with that in mind we have decided to keep our home in Tennessee at least until after Chaplain school and probably for much longer. Please pray for my family as we look at the possibility of facing at least fifteen months separated. We are however excited about all that God is doing in our lives and we are overwhelmed by His goodness.

4th Infantry Division

I was browsing the 4th ID chaplain's page last night and found this video made to honor its Purple Heart recipients. I Hope you enjoy it.

4th Infantry Division Video

Turkey Anyone?

With all the anticipation of being all "I" can be in the Army hanging so heavy on my family, it is easy for us to miss out on some of the more important things in life. One of those more important events took place this week when my second son turned ten years old. While I have been dreaming about joining the Army, he has been dreaming about hunting wild animals! My family and I live on twenty wooded acres in beautiful East Tennessee. On our land, and in the many fields surrounding our home, can be found all sorts of wildlife including deer, turkey, bobcats, pheasants, and many other animals. Daniel for years has wanted me to teach him to hunt. The only problem is that while I am decent with a rifle, I have never taken the time to learn to hunt. So for his birthday, my wife bought him a beginners turkey hunting set including a mask, gloves, a decoy turkey, and a male and female turkey call. You would think we had given him a million dollars. He now spends at least an hour in the woods every day calling turkeys, and this morning one actually came out of the woods looking for him. There is no stopping him now. I suppose that when I return home from Florida, I will have to dress in my new ACU uniform and hit the woods with him and see if we can bag a turkey.

4th Infantry Division, Fires Brigade, 2-20th Field Artillery

Here is the answer to a question that I and many others have been asking. What unit will I be attached to? After talking to the Deputy Instillation Chaplain at Ft. Hood today, I was told that I would be attached to the 4th Infantry Division, Fires Brigade, 2-20th Field Artillery. http://pao.hood.army.mil/4id/

Update from Florida

Happy Birthday

John Mark - 3

March 10th

Daniel -10

March 13th

Two more birthdays have come in my family. It is amazing to see how fast they grow up. I am so blessed. I am looking forward to returning home and being with my family once again. God has been so good to us as we follow after Him. Here are a few things that you can keep in prayer for us:

• My father as he undergoes daily treatments for his cancer
• My wife and children as they adjust to the many changes going on in our lives
• Our church as they look for a new pastor to lead them
• My physical condition as I train and prepare for the army (I will turn 39 this month)

Thanks to all of you who keep in touch. It means so much.

Proposed cutbacks for the Army

The Power Of Technology

I am feeling a little home sick today after having been away from home for two weeks. As I began to dwell on the fact that come June, I will be away from my family for three months, and after Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership School, I will more than likely face at least a year away from those I love the most. But as I thought about that, I was reminded that Technology has so radically altered what it means to be separated. It wasn't too many years ago that to be separated meant to have almost no communication except by mail. But now, to be separated is really only a physical absence because the advent of the Internet and cell phones has made the globe a smaller place. Over the last two weeks, my wife and I have talked at least twice a day, and have shared pictures with each other from our days activity.

Here are five of my children in the van at the grocery store yesterday. The sixth child is taking the picture with the cell phone.

My wife sent me this picture this morning so that we could share breakfast together.

I guess it isn't so bad after all! But I sure can't wait to get back home and squeeze my babies again.

Destination: Ft. Hood Texas

Ft. Hood Texas is the home of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, the 3rd Corps, and in six months, the home of the Olson family. I received a call today from a chaplain in Washington DC informing me that God had great plans for me in Texas.

I never would have guessed five years ago that at the age of 39, I would uproot my whole family and run off to a distant country (Texas) to begin an exciting new adventure in my life. But one desire I have is to be where God is; to join Him in what He is doing; to bring glory to Him through the very obedience of my life. God is so good!!!
So, here is my schedule for the next six months:

Now through March 24th - In Florida working with my father
March 24th - 28th - Dayton, Tn. with my family
March 29th - April 5th - Jamaica Mission Trip
April 6th - April 30th - Back in Dayton with my family
May 1st - 14 - Back to Florida to work with my father
May 14th - 17 - Dayton
May 18th - Ft. Jackson South Carolina to see JR (a young man from my church) graduate from boot camp
May 19th - June 2 - Vacation with my family
June 3rd - August - Ft Jackson for Chaplain Officer Basic Leadership Course (CHOBLC)
September - Report to Fort Hood Tx. for the beginning of my first tour

There it is. I hope you will join me in prayer as God prepares my family and I for all He has in store for us. Here is how you can pray:

• First, pray for the soldiers I will be ministering two at Ft. Hood. Pray that even now God would begin to prepare the hearts of the soldiers there so that we might see a great three years of fruitful ministry.
• Second, pray for those who will have command over me, that God will help me to minister to them as well and to find favor with them as not only a Battalion Chaplain but as a personal chaplain.
• Third, pray for my wife and kids as they spend a lot of time separated from me over the next six months.
• Finally, continue to pray for my father as he battles the cancer within his body. As a matter of praise, we have seen the largest tumor, the one in his left lung diminish by as much as 50 percent. Pray that God would give him grace as he faces some of the toughest days of his life.

I want to thank all of you for all the care and concern you have shown to my family in recent weeks. It has meant more than you will ever know.

Greetings from Florida

Happy Birthday Joshua!!!!

Today is my son's fifth birthday and unfortunately I can't be there. For those of you who know Josh, he is a bundle of joy, excitement, energy, Inquisitiveness , and passion all wrapped up in one little body. I miss him today along with all the rest of the family.

Over the course of the month, my family will celebrate three other birthdays. John Mark will turn three on March 10th, Daniel will turn ten on March 13th, and My birthday in on the 23rd. We love March. It is one long party.

I arrived in Florida yesterday after two days in Jamaica and another in Atlanta with a friend who was my roommate during my freshman year of college. It has been good to see my parents and my grandmother. God has been good to all of them. As most of you know, I am here to assist my dad who is dealing with cancer. This picture of him was taken last night. I appreciate your prayers as God continues to work in his life. I would tell you some funny stories about him here but I know he will read this and then I will be in real trouble. As I sit here writing this, he is at the hospital receiving his fourth Chemo treatment. Earlier this morning he went for his radiation treatment which he receives five times a week. He is beginning to become discouraged become discouraged because of all the discomfort he is experiencing. Please pray that Jehovah Ralpha (God the healer) would fill him with grace and peace as he faces the greatest challenges of his life. God is so good.