Tomorrow morning (Friday) we begin our trek home to Medan, Indonesia. For the last three weeks our family has been in the US so Gena, Mika & Caedmon could attend the LCMS Youth Gathering in Houston and I could spend some time reconnecting with some partner congregations. We were also able to spend some time… Continue reading Three Busy Weeks!
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 Home
This summer LCMS teens from around the country will gather together – as they have every three years for nearly 40 years – for the National Youth Gathering. What’s different about this one is that for the first time (as I understand it) a scholarship is available to enable families serving the church overseas to… Continue reading A Visit Home
Pesta di Rumah!
Indonesian culture is a very neighborly and communal one. Emphasis is placed on togetherness in many different forms rather than individualism. While this is shifting as Western culture is increasingly available via media and the Internet, communal consideration is still paramount with the family standing at the center of it, as God intended. So when… Continue reading Pesta di Rumah!
More Relationships
Since Indonesia began allowing foreign nationals to come back into the country on short-term visitor and socio-cultural visas, foreign nationals have been doing exactly that – coming back into a country they have been unable to get into since early on in the Covid pandemic. While Medan is still not a tourist hub and bule… Continue reading More Relationships
Continuing to Build
It was warm today. When there’s no cloud cover and the sun shines more brilliantly than perhaps anywhere else on earth, it’s hot. Steamy hot. And yet we made our way home through the market as usual. And as usual, the men gathered in the shade provided by a small tarp sat huddled around the… Continue reading Continuing to Build
Pasar Priggan
We live just south of one of the few surviving traditional markets or pasar in Medan, Pasar Pringgan. Walking through this market is a fascinating blend of what Indonesia has probably been like for decades, and the country it is becoming. A mix of old and new, adapting and accommodating each other with a degree… Continue reading Pasar Priggan
Mega
When you go to Walmart, or Target, or Home Depot, or any other number of retail establishments, you expect when you walk in there will be someone you can ask questions of, someone to show you where things are. Sometimes you have to hunt them down, but they’re there. Somewhere. Here in Medan, when you… Continue reading Mega
Kopi Kru
We chose our rental house based on several factors – proximity to our language school (we can walk there in 15 minutes), proximity to the University of Northern Sumatra (USU) where we hope to make contacts and friends, and proximity to a traditional market, in this case, Pasar Pringgan. The Pasar lies between our house… Continue reading Kopi Kru
More Guests
Overlapping Deaconess Rein’s time in country but missing actually visiting with her was Regional Director for Southeast Asia, Rev. Charles Ferry. He visited with us on his way further westward to assess the situation in Sri Lanka, which has been troublesome to say the least. Our workers there, Rev. Steven Mahlberg & family, are safe… Continue reading More Guests
Out of Town/Country/Hemisphere Guests
It’s been a busy week. Sickness for most of the family capped it off, but there were some great moments in between! We were blessed to have Deaconess Sandra Rhein in-country to meet with Rev. Wood and the hymnal committee working on the first Indonesian Lutheran Hymnal. Undoubtedly a productive meeting (though because I’m nowhere… Continue reading Out of Town/Country/Hemisphere Guests
The Nelson Family Indonesia 