GOD'S LOVE FOR AN ORDINARY MISSIONARY
	Eric Olson from Norway, who ministers in prisons, hospitals and orphanages in the Kola Peninsula (Russia), mailed us this precious testimony: We had just returned from a very long road trip to the new jail in Olenagorsk,
	to the local church, to the prison in Revda, and to three hospitals. The Lord touched people all along the way. But I was at the point of total exhaustion. I had to do the driving, the preaching, arrange all the details and make all the decisions for the team of five. At 22:00, I decided to go back to the apartment I was using to get some needed sleep, and as I walked out to my car on the street next to Galina's apart-ment, my heart sank. Someone it seemed, had bumped into my car! I observed a terrible dent on the door about a foot and a half long, 6 inches wide, and an inch and a half deep. I just stood and stared, realizing that someone had done something terrible to my car! I knew from previous experience that even in Russia, a gash like this would cost at least a couple of hundred dollars to fix, and I was down to my last 2 000 roubles, or 65 dollars! With my sunken head and heart, and tired body I got into the car, giving this situation to the Lord and bidding Galina farewell until the next morning's scheduled meeting in prison number 17. I then with an empty tank decided to stop at the gas station just down the street and fill up. I got out of the car and again in my dejection, took a glance at the dent in the back door on my side of the car. I went around and filled the tank, and there went another 400 roubles. At this point, I went in to pay and came out a few minutes later. As I was getting into the car, I suddenly noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I had to take a second look! The dent and damage on the side of the car was gone! Immediately, wondering if I was dreaming, I wiped away the road dirt with my hand and took another look. The metal surface was smooth, absolutely like new! I was so tired and began to wonder if I was seeing things. Yet, something was bubbling up inside of me. It was like the joy and excitement that a kid feels at Christmas waiting for the presents to be opened. So in my near ecstasy and yet dream-like state, I decided to go back to Galina and get her to look at the car. Within a span of 10 minutes I was back, and Galina walked out to look at the car. As she looked, her eyes were as big as saucers and her smile just as wide. "Eric, what did you do?", she asked, nearly yelling. I began to explain to her exactly what had happened. "I did nothing! I came out of the cashier's office and just saw that it was fixed!" She then asked if I wasn't joking. I had to tell her repeatedly that I was not. She wanted to go to the other side of the car to look if there wasn't a dent. She still would not believe me. "Galina, I will swear on the Bible that I did not do anything to that car!" She wanted to know if I had prayed for this, and I said 'no' again, I had done nothing! By this time, joy and celebration was getting so intense that Olya, Galina, and I were unable to hold back our laughter and smiles. God had done a miracle! As the story spread to friends and the rest of those who had gone on the trip with us, I heard something later that absolutely melted my heart. Serge, an inspired and Spirit-filled ex-prisoner, whom we met in the Revda prison a year earlier and who was now released, had come with us to minister on the trip. He had seen that I was exhausted earlier that day, and in his heart he felt compassion for me. He had seen that I was giving a lot away to others and he had prayed this prayer: “Father, I pray that You will just reveal Your love to Eric in a very real and special way.” Well friends, my Father has really done that! And this missionary believes it with all of his heart! Maybe now I will begin to understand that His love is deeper than the oceans and higher than the sky and that He has even more love than that - it is limitless, endless and infinite! Source: Eric Olson through Joel News