Representing

The nature of my work is fluid. A jack of all trades and master of none. A chameleon of sorts, able and willing to accommodate myself to a variety of situations and needs. Not perfectly, of course, but still it’s a gift I have been given that has served me well in a variety of ministerial and professional endeavors. In Southeast Asia I feel like that gift is stretched to the limits at times, and yet God is good and provides moment by moment what is needed.

This week I embark on a different sort of work. I won’t be teaching. I’ll be listening. A lot. Meeting people and learning about who they are and what they have been doing and looking for ways we might be able to work together. I’ve been asked to represent the LCMS and the SE Asia region at the celebration of the Thai Concordia Lutheran Church’s 20th anniversary. This church body has several congregations throughout Thailand, and years ago the LCMS had a hand in some of Lutheranism’s efforts in Thailand. My boss couldn’t make it so he asked me to go in his place.

For the next week I’ll travel from Bangkok to Phuket in the south of Thailand to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Each area is a center of Lutheran work and I’ll have the opportunity to learn in each place. I’ll be traveling with about 50 other people from a variety of organizations with roots in SE Asia and Lutheranism. Lutheran Hour Ministries has representatives from several different countries. Lutheran Heritage Foundation will also be there. There will also be delegates from other church bodies – Lutheran Church of Canada, Lutheran Church in the Philippines, Lutheran Church in Singapore. I’m excited for this opportunity to expand my understanding of Lutheran work in the region in the past, present, and hopefully future.

So it’s different than the majority of my work, but it will be interesting in that difference as well!