Nils and Andrea Olson, BFI missionaries to Japan, write, “We want to thank you all for your encouragement all these years. Thanks for continuing to believe with us for this continuing miracle here in Munakata City, JAPAN.
Oh, Lord, let the big surprise happen quickly, like when my Dad would be driving the car and all us five kids would be making so much noise he would tell us all to be quiet with the word, “Shhhhh, be really quiet, okay? Shhhhh.”Â
We would all quiet right down to a silence that could almost be felt, wondering, “What in the world?”
Then out of nowhere, in an bolstering voice, “BOY IT’S QUIET IN HERE!” . . . to scare us all into a giddy laughter of “Daddy, do it again!”
Nils reports details of finance and the contract to be signed in January 2013. Here is a rundown of where their church stands in the purchase of church property.
Current property fund balance: Â¥ 10,464,840 — $ 124,204.38    
Set aside for 1st downpayment: Â¥ 10,000,000 — $ 118,687.32
Balance toward next payment: Â¥ 464,840 — $ 5,517.06
Set aside for emergency needs: ¥ 737,920 — $ 8,758.18
Price of property:  ¥ 38,985,000 — $ 462,702.51
Downpayment 1/28/2013: ¥ 10,000,000 — $ 118,687.32
BALANCE to pay: Â¥ 28,985,000 — $ 344,015.19
We will sign the contract to purchase the property upon our return from Seattle-Denver in January. The contract will be signed before the end of January, so tentatively signature date is set for Monday, January 28, 2013.
According to the contract, the next payments of ¥10,000,000 will be due on January 30, 2014, January 30, 2015. The remaining balance of ¥8,985,000 will be due on due January 30, 2016. The contract will state that the least amount we must pay in a year is ¥7,000,000 ($ 83,081), the balance being added on and payable in the last payment on January 30, 2015. If we are not able to pay ¥7,000,000, then the contract will be ended and we will have to go back retroactively to the last payment and pay monthly lease fees of ¥90,000 ($1,068) per month.
Mr. S——- (our policeman elder) accompanies me in all meetings, so be assured I am not doing this on my own. The realtor and land owner are also pleased with his help. The realtor will also help the church in establishing our religious corporation status during the next three years. Once the property is completely purchased, it will be transferred over to, or donated to the Munakata Bethel Christian Center Religious Corporation.
The realtor has told me that official Japan Tax Office people are amazed that such a purchase of property is being done solely on personal relationship ties between the landowner and Olson. This is unheard of, so they say. God led us to this family when we arrived in Munakata over thirty years ago. God has used this family to establish the church in the community — our roots have been deeply established in the city. When we realized it was God’s leading to move to Munakata from Kurume more than thirty years ago, the Holy Spirit spoke to us through Les Frye when elders/deacons laid hands on us after a Sunday night service saying, “I will give you my favor, my favor, my favor in the city.”Â
The faith I have to see this property purchase come to pass sooner than the contract details is NOT my own. I believe it is the actual faith of the Holy Spirit Himself operating in me. I have only experienced this faith one other time in my life — that was when God spoke to me and said, “Lease property and build.” The property we leased was the property we are about to purchase. As for the building, it was paid for within one year and without bank or believer loans. We sang an old song many, many years ago in Bethel Chapel Choir at Mirror Lake — “We’ve come this far by faith, trusting in the Lord. We’ll not turn back.” I cannot see God dumping us after all that He alone has done in establishing Munakata’s Bethel Christian Center.
Editor’s note: Donations for Munakata Bethel Christian Center property fund can be sent directly to: El Tora CABE (BFI), 1121 244th St SW Unit 27, Bothell, WA 98021-8546. Please designate in your MEMO:Â MBCC Japan Property
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.