We have a path forward – trying to secure tourist visas to Indonesia for the first of the year.
How do you start down such a path, though? We know one other LCMS family that has deployed there (and hopes to again in short order) but they have a work visa, something that isn’t an option for us right now because of Covid. So we start somewhat from scratch in case what we learn can be helpful to others down the line.
We know that if are able to get into Indonesia, we want to start our language training ASAP. So first I contact the school where the Wood family studied English in Medan. I also explored the possibility of another language school in Bandung on the island of Java, near the capitol city of Jakarta. Another missionary family studied there several years ago but the school appears to be closed now.
I received a response the next day from LCE – Language & Cultural Exchange based in Medan. One of the owners took the time to write a personal and fairly extensive response, which I appreciated! I responded quickly that we were definitely interested in attending and would need their help to understand how that process worked. I look forward to hearing back from them and seeing how quickly we might arrive!
The Nelson Family Indonesia 