From our WMF President

Psalm 119:114

"You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word."

This world does not give us much to hope for, does it? People don’t. Riches do not. Jobs do not. Government does not. Even churches cannot.

You say what . . .churches cannot? Remember churches are made up of people. These people are human, they are sinners. They deal with many of the same problems you do. So, if you are putting your hope in a church, I’m afraid you could be sadly hurt.

What about your family? Certainly you can have hope in your family. Certainly we must love them. But remember these humans in the family may fail us too. They may even hurt us. They may even not want anything to do with us. Why? - Because they are sinful humans as well.

What about riches? Riches can be here one day and gone the next. Just think about the stock market crashes, the depression, the economic recession we have been in the last few years. How many of you lost money in your retirement accounts? I did – it was very frustrating for me to see the little money I did have invested, almost disappear and it still has not gained much back.

Jobs? For some of you the question is what job? Perhaps you had a job, or someone in your family did and because of the recession or some other reason, it was lost? Jobs are hard to come by in this economy. I am grateful for the job I have but I certainly have not put my hope for the future in it! It is providing for me and my family well but every day I must thank God for that job.

What about government? We must be thankful for the freedom that we have in this country to worship God as we please. We can be thankful for the leaders in our country who are Christians. We must pray for ALL of our leaders, Christian and otherwise. Pray that the one true God would speak to their hearts and that they would obey Him. Can we put our hope in this freedom? We don’t know how long we will be able to worship God as we see fit in this country. It could be here today and gone tomorrow. But prayer is our responsibility as Christian citizens of the United States of America.

This sounds pretty negative doesn’t it? What is the object of our hope?

The Psalmist says, "You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word." Where can we go when all else disappoints? We must go to the Word of God. We must go to God our refuge and shield. It is to Him we can turn when others fail. He is the great Provider. He is the great Refuge. He is our Shield.

Short-Term Missions Update

Friends and Family,


August has been a great time to really focus on the long lasting impact that we see God making in the hearts and lives of the people here in Brazil . August 11th, we started working on a project to benefit ALL of the Free Lutheran churches here in Brazil , which God has really opened up the door for in the process of it going forth!



This project is the revising, editing, contributing to, and updating of the Manual Evangelico here in Brazil, which is the book used in the churches for understanding AFLC doctrine, training in Confirmation, New Member classes, Sunday School, and Bible Studies. It truly is a widely used booklet with an impact at various different levels. The reason why we have been trying to edit this book, after three people have already previously tried unsuccessfully, is that currently the book hasn’t been updated since 1985, and has many grammatical errors scattered throughout the book from as early as the 1956 edition. The book had no longer adequately related to the changed culture and needs of the church regarding doctrine. This updated Manual will be able to more adequately meet the needs of the congregations here and be useful for solid Biblical training in the Word of God and in AFLC doctrine! The extra 120 pages that we have added to the booklet (originally 80 pages) more adequately explains our position as Free Lutherans, and meet the needs of the changing culture around us.



After working 10+ hours a day on this material at times, we look forward to sending the book to be printed September 15, Lord willing, and have it in the hands of the church leaders here by the Annual Conference. Please continue to pray for us as we push forward in this project, as we hope to present this book published at the Annual Conference here in Brazil on October 9th. Our prayer is that the Lord would use it to train His church.During this last month, we have also had the opportunity to travel 10 hours north to our AFLC church in Campo Grande ! This church was originally was designed by Jonathan Abel when he was the Pastor there and it is a beautiful church with some great people. Going on the trip with Pastor Joel, the President of the AFLC in Brazil , and Pastor Silvio, the Vice President, was really a great opportunity for both of us. We were able to hear from there perspectives what the AFLC needs to be doing here in Brazil to keep growing and what sort of different ministry opportunities that have been presented. So many people that we talk to have the heart to continue to help the AFLC here grow and it’s such a great opportunity to be able to work alongside them.



While we were in Campo Grande we were able to participate in the praise team and do another song of special music. Nathan also had a chance to share a word with the congregation about living a life honoring to Christ and what it means to be a Christian. The church is looking to plant another church in the community so we continue to pray that it all goes smoothly for them.



Looking ahead, we go forward with anticipation of the Annual Conference coming up in the month of October. Pastor Kevin Olson will be joining us here for two weeks in October and will be the keynote speaker for the Annual Conference here in Brazil . Both of us will be looking to present our published version of the Manual Evangelico at the Annual Conference as well as a presentation of the Ambassador Institute training, which Nathan has been working on translating into Portuguese. Please pray for warm receptivity for both presentations, as well as a uniting Conference, as the AFLC here in Brazil strongly looks and seeks for direction from the Lord.



With these prayer needs, we also would ask for you to remember us financially, with our ongoing expenses of $200 a month for rent, as well as the cost of transportation to and from the congregations we are visiting and ministering to. We are also looking at paying for our trip home, and are currently not a stage where we can afford that financially.

Thanks again for remembering us in prayer! God bless!

Nathan Olson & Jon Nelson

If you would like to support us in our ministry here in Brazil , please send your support to :


(Nathan Olson & Jon Nelson)
AFLC World Missions
3110 East Medicine Lake Blvd
Plymouth , MN 55441