Hannah Olsen

I am thankful that I have had the privilege of enjoying the Gospel for seventy-nine years. I was born in Norway, in the Land of the Midnight Sun, and brought up in a Christian home. When I was just a girl, we came across the ocean to America.

We always had a time during the day when we were supposed to pray or at least be quiet. One day, during this time, I heard my mother upstairs and went to pray with her. She had something on her mind, so she told me to go pray by myself, and she would pray by herself. She had never said that before. I went back to my room and got on my knees. I was so broken-hearted that she wouldn’t let me pray with her that I began to cry. Then a Voice spoke to me and plainly said this was nothing to cry about, but rather I should cry that my sins were not forgiven. I thought I was a Christian already, so I was speechless. I tried to continue praying, but couldn’t say another word.

Later that evening, we were going to have family altar time before bed. I didn’t want to pray, but I had to kneel down. God used the time to speak to me. Although I was not yet twelve, I had turmoil in my heart. I wrestled with God, still not wanting to pray. Then He broke the fetter. As I submitted my will to Him, opening my mouth to pray, His power came down. He had mercy on me, forgave my sins, and saved me. There was such peace and happiness in my heart that I started to praise Him, and then my whole family started praising Him. After we had quieted down and were finished praying, Mother said, “Hannah, what happened to you?” I said, “I got saved.”

I was seventeen in 1906 when I first heard of the power of God, the Latter Rain Gospel, falling in Los Angeles, California. I realized my need for more of God, and I was a hungry soul. I began to seek for the deeper experiences. The Lord sanctified me and a short time afterward, poured out His Spirit on me in the wonderful experience of the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

In 1908, a group of us came together and formed an Apostolic Faith Church in Seattle, Washington. Then, Florence Crawford, the founder of the Apostolic Faith, asked me to come to Portland and take part in the work there. I went, and the Lord’s service was very precious to me. I thought I was as near Heaven as I could be on earth.

My heart is filled with gratitude for all God has done for me. I have been sick many times, but God has touched my body and given me the strength I needed. In 1967, I took very sick out at the campground. I didn’t know if I would live or die, but the ministers prayed for me and God healed me.

There is only one purpose in my heart these days, and that is to be ready to meet the Lord. I love Him as never before.

Hannah Strom Olsen was a faithful worker in spreading the Gospel for many years. She participated in the “All Nations” meetings that were held on Saturday evenings in the basement of the church at Front and Burnside. She also helped in the street meetings Monday through Saturday, arriving early to pray and then going out with the workers to share her testimony, sing, and play her guitar. On Sundays she regularly attended three street meetings, a devotional meeting, and three church services. She gave her last testimony at the age of ninety-one.