The Nelson Family Indonesia

At least it will have been by the time I return.

Today I head out for a three-week stint abroad. Traveling in and out of Kuala Lumpur with buffer time for some catechesis with a young teacher there, the bulk of my time will be spent in the Philippines. The Lutheran seminary I visited in March invited me to teach for two weeks. Meaning I must condense two quarters of classwork into two weeks, which will be exciting to say the least! Still, the opportunity to assist the small faculty of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Baguio City, Philippines is an opportunity I wouldn’t want to pass up. More exciting still, they have 3-4 first year seminary students which is a wonderful blessing as they try to recover from the effects of Covid in their country.

Baguio City is not a hard place to spend time. In the mountains of the Philippines, it’s a 5-hour bus ride from Manila. But that puts me in the hills, where palm trees and pine trees exist quite harmoniously on the hillsides, and temperatures are considerably cooler than Medan and Indonesia. So much so that I brought my sports coat as well as a light rain jacket, just to be prepared!

I’ll be teaching their incoming seminary class Introduction to the Old Testament, and that’s a heavy responsibility in two short weeks. But I have a fairly good idea how I want to tackle it and I know the Holy Spirit will provide. I’ll also be teaching their second-year students a course on Christian stewardship, an important topic more future (and existing) pastors could undoubtedly benefit from. I’ve also agreed to review their updated catalog, preach at least once at the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP) in town, and lead chapel for the seminary students at least once. That should keep me fairly occupied!

Prayers are appreciated for Gena and the kids in my absence. They’re more than capable and able to handle the long absence, but it’s the longest we’ve been apart in some time. They’re supportive of my work though, which is a huge blessing. To complicate matters a bit more, the family will actually be out of Medan about the time I get back. Alec and Mika have to renew their visas since they aren’t covered under my work permit (they’re over age 18). Additionally, Mika is going to have some medical tests done for her chronic back pain before she heads back to the States in October. All good stuff, it just means a long time apart!

It’s going to be a busy fall in terms of my travel and work which is exciting and at times a bit overwhelming! Still, God provides and I’m excited to be of help to so many people in so many places!