Recently someone commented to us that we are in a “publishing ministry” now, and that is increasingly true. God has always greatly used the written word as in the letters of Jeremiah and Paul mentioned above. God gave us the Bible in written form. The advent of the printing press is celebrated as the most significant event of the second millennium after Christ and so it was, as it led to the Reformation and the great dissemination of the Bible. The old adage, “the pen is mightier than the sword,” continues to hold true.
“The Fundamentalist”
We have now sent out 50,000 copies of our newspaper, all told. It is a small paper of eight pages which is the biggest which can be sent out individually at the lowest postage rate. The 3,000 copies sent out every three months are “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). The latest issue has articles on Worship, Pentecostalism, the Evangelical World Alliance, etc. We visit different churches every Sunday to give out the papers to the congregations.
We send a packet with some back copies of our paper to people who sign up for free subscriptions. Here is a recent response to one of these packets: “I received a full amount of material and I intend to read it calmly, as one would savor a delicious dish of food. Congratulations for taking this initiative…”
Security
A continuing prayer request for us is for security in this land of high crime. We don’t want to harp on this too much or, on the other hand, ignore it as if it does not exist and take our security for granted. Bringing this problem to the forefront recently was the murder of a longtime Bible Baptist missionary Marjorie Browning during a robbery in her home in Bahia. The thing which really struck home was the account of her life and death in the official Brazilian Bible Baptist newspaper. The fact that she was murdered in a robbery was completely glossed over as if it was in no way remarkable here in Brazil.
Dr. William LeRoy
On March 22, our predecessor in Brazil, Dr. LeRoy, passed on to his eternal reward after a long and fruitful ministry. He had had a publishing ministry for many years with his newspaper “The Biblical Presbyterian.” He left Brazil in 1991 to take up duties at the home office of the IBPFM. We took up in 2009 with our newspaper, more or less, where he had left off 18 years before. His presence and advice will be missed.
Besides sending out “The Fundamentalist” we have been mailing a few other letters on such subjects as a tribute to Dr. LeRoy, events in the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, and the ICCC (in French and English). Please continue to note that we will be on furlough in the states from May to December. We are looking forward to seeing many of you soon. Thanks again for your prayer and financial support which makes this ministry possible.
In His Service,
Ken & Ira Olson