Quoting the Rolling Stones for Christmas is inarguably unorthodox, to say the least. But that theme (rather than the song) has been heavy and prominent in this, our second Christmas in Indonesia. Things don’t go according to plan. Sometimes you don’t have a plan. Other times you have a plan and it doesn’t matter because it isn’t going… Continue reading You Can’t Always Get What You Want….
Author: mrpaulnelson
I've been blogging for over twenty years on one platform or another, and my favorite topics are cross-sections of faith and culture and everyday life. I'm an ordained minister with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod - among other things. Welcome!
A Visit to an Embassy
Have you ever been to a US Embassy? I hadn’t, until this week. Frankly, for the vast majority of any population, the need or even the ability to visit an embassy of their country is negligible. After all, there aren’t any US Embassies in the US to visit. Embassies only exist elsewhere, in other countries. The formal presence of a… Continue reading A Visit to an Embassy
Never Say Never
If three years ago or so someone had told me I’d soon be an expert on airports throughout Southeast Asia I would have laughed in their face. Sure, I might visit occasionally if the opportunity arose, but an expert? Ha! What are the odds of that? Still incredibly slim but, in this case, God held… Continue reading Never Say Never
Finished with Filipinas. For Now!
Today we brought our training in the Philippines to a close. The last week we’ve been in lovely Baguio, enjoying the cool climate and teaching these ladies at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Baguio. Sandra has done the bulk of the teaching each day, while I offer a closing each day reviewing Luther’s Small Catechism.… Continue reading Finished with Filipinas. For Now!
Partnering in the Philippines
The last leg of my 5-week jaunt across South and Southeast Asia is to the Philippines. As second homes go you could do far worse than the Philippines, which is good as it’s my third trip there in almost as many months. There is great opportunity to partner with the Lutheran Church in the Philippines… Continue reading Partnering in the Philippines
Flight Adventures
Today I left Nepal and headed back to more familiar stomping grounds of Kuala Lumpur. Hard to believe I can call Kuala Lumpur “familiar” at all when I couldn’t have found it on a map just a few years ago! I was nervous about my trip to Nepal. Nervous in terms of safety. It seems… Continue reading Flight Adventures
On the Road Again
Today was a travel day. It took about seven hours to travel from southern Nepal back to Kathmandu through the hills. That included almost an hour of traffic just getting into Kathmandu! Fortunately, most of the drive was beautiful. If you look carefully you can see the carefully constructed fields for growing rice. These continue… Continue reading On the Road Again
Mission Accomplished!
We concluded our training in southern Nepal today. The participants really enjoyed it and appreciated the opportunity to study the Apostles’ Creed in greater depth. Of course there were other conversations and questions and discussions over the four days as well. These people are hungry for the Word of God, and to understand it and… Continue reading Mission Accomplished!
Sunday as Monday
In Nepal there is one day off each week – Saturday. So people worship on Saturday, and on Sunday schools and businesses are once again in full swing. So we are starting our training today, which seems strange but really doesn’t make too much difference. After our training concludes about 4:30pm we head back to… Continue reading Sunday as Monday
Worship
It was an early morning today. The first worship of the day was at 7am. Michael has come down with a head cold so I volunteered to preach at the earlier service so he could sleep in. Rabindra drove us out of the city and into the countryside. The ever-present dust and smoke and pollution… Continue reading Worship
The Nelson Family Indonesia 