About 1:21 pm (local time) a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Java in the central western region, a bit south and east of the capital city of Jakarta. The epicenter of Cianjur has suffered destroyed and damaged buildings, and there are an estimated several dozen dead and many more injured. This is not… Continue reading Prayers for Earthquake Victims
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!
Christ the King
We worship at an English-speaking congregation that isn’t Lutheran. Given the choice between attending a more Lutheran service in Bahasa Indonesia when we can’t understand it at all, or dealing with doctrinal and traditional differences where we could hear the Word and be part of Christian community, we opted for the latter. It has been… Continue reading Christ the King
Scholastic Life
The biggest aspect of our lives in Indonesia at this point is language learning. Five days a week from 8:30am to 10:30am we are in formal classrooms. Gena and I are in one class, the kids are in another, but we’re all at the exact same place, covering the same material. In Unit 4 we… Continue reading Scholastic Life
LCS & TTC
Gotta love acronyms, right?! This afternoon I was blessed to meet with Bishop Lu Guan Hoe of the Lutheran Church in Singapore (LCS). Bishop Lu assumed his position in 2021 and I was happy to congratulate him in person. While the LCMS and the LCS are not in formal partnership, we have a shared Lutheran… Continue reading LCS & TTC
Singapore Connections
For the next few days the family and I are in Singapore. I’m meeting with another Lutheran denomination there as well as see a seminary campus they draw pastors from. The family is coming with us as part of our continued home schooling for our younger two (paid for from our personal funds, not from… Continue reading Singapore Connections
Watching Others Work
There are, of course, many other Christians beyond Lutherans at work in Medan and Indonesia. As we grow our network here we get to meet them and sometimes learn more about the work they’re doing. For instance, I had no idea there were Eastern Orthodox in Indonesia (Antiochan Orthodox, to be more precise). Then I… Continue reading Watching Others Work
Fall in the Tropics
It’s that time of year again. Leggings. Sweaters. Scarfs. Hints of cool weather turning less subtle, leaves on the trees yielding to mortality in blinding beauty. Pumpkin spice…well…everything. It is that time of year, but you wouldn’t know it here. Same heat, same humidity, same sun, same rain – and palm trees are not deciduous,… Continue reading Fall in the Tropics
Healthy & Planning
We’re all past whatever ailments dragged us down for a week or more. Thank you for your prayers! We were also able to get our wall repainted, the electrical outlet checked out, a new gas cannister and a newer, heavier-duty regulator and we’re back in action kitchen-wise as well. We’re in our third of four… Continue reading Healthy & Planning
The No Good, Horrible, Very Bad Week
Pretty inspiring, huh? That’s why I swore I wasn’t going to post this week. Who wants to listen to something like that? Who wants to hear about struggles and illness, about how Satan can grind you down? Good Lord, most people have enough of those issues in their own lives and the lives of their… Continue reading The No Good, Horrible, Very Bad Week
A Difficult Weekend
Hot on the heels of a great time with friends visiting last week was a pair of national disasters. The first occurred about 2:30am in the morning, Saturday. Centered to the south of us a considerable distance, an earthquake rated about a 6 on the Richter scale struck. Thankfully there was only one fatality and… Continue reading A Difficult Weekend
The Nelson Family Indonesia 