Thomas & Nicole Olney are working among First Nations in Thompson, Manitoba, Canada.

Their latest up-date from June 2022 is here:

Dear friends and family,

God is good! As a result, we have many things to be thankful for. We are thankful that our girls have finished school for another year. We are thankful for God's continuing provision for us. Even as the world around us is moving ever further away from him, he remains faithful to those who place their trust in him, and in the blood of his son, Jesus Christ. We are thankful that we are starting staff training for camp this week, and that we will have campers on site once again this summer. We are thankful for the safe arrival of Thomas' brother's first child this morning. And we are thankful for each and every one of you who prays for us, and stands with us in the work God is doing in northern Manitoba.

Yes, we are on the cusp of staff arriving for a week of staff training, with campers showing up on the following Monday. It has been a busy spring of getting camp ready. With our former camp director moving away a couple years ago, and our new one only arriving a week ago, a lot of details have fallen to Thomas, many of which he was only dimly aware of before this. Things like ordering parts for the drinking water treatment system, coordinating with the public health inspector, and lining up deliveries of gas, diesel, and propane.

One big factor this spring was the lack of work groups to help get camp in shape. In the past, we have usually had one or two groups travel to the camp every spring. This year, we had two groups lined up to come from southern Manitoba, but they both had to cancel because of the rain and flooding. Fortunately, a friend in Thompson was able to pull together a good group for a Saturday, and much was accomplished, for which we are very thankful. The group even included a good diesel mechanic who could service the camp tractor and generator.

One of the biggest difficulties for Thomas this spring has been an ongoing back... strain... injury... problem. We have been able to guess at some contributing factors, but some of the specifics remain unknown. Whatever the cause, he has had significant lower back pain, sometimes needing to stay flat on the couch for several days at a time. It has also caused some major sciatic pain. He has been getting physiotherapy, and there has been some steady improvement since it started, just very slow. As long as he doesn't make a wrong move, or lift the wrong thing, anyway. Given the physical requirements of working at camp, especially doing maintenance, this has been a big frustration.

While camp itself is, for the most part, ready to go, other details are less than ideal. While we are starting staff training in a very short time, the number of people we know are coming is not a big one. We know we are not the only camp in this situation, but after a couple years of not being able to open, many camps are finding that their regular staff from years past are not returning. For Midway, this summer, we are down to less than half of what used to be normal. Especially for male staff. To be blunt, the only senior male staff we have right now are the camp director and Thomas. This means that one or both of them will need to step away from their regular responsibilities to help lead a boys cabin.

So, for this summer, please pray for the running of Midway Bible Camp. Please pray for Thomas, and the health of his lower back. Please pray that we have the staff that we need. We very much expect that we will be turning away campers, and so, if you have any interest in coming up for a week or two, please contact us. If we can get a few more people for a week at the end of July or beginning of August, we could potentially run an extra cabin, especially for the guys side.

Thank you for all the love and support you show us. In his infinite love and wisdom, God has chosen to accomplish his purposes through his church, and we are so very thankful that you have decided to be a part of God's work.

Thomas and Nicole and family