Just a pleasingly organized vending machine right? This one is at the airport in Manila, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). But if you’re able to zoom in a little closer, you’ll see that these are not juice boxes or candy or other snacks. Rather, they’re a variety of self-tests to check if you contracted… Continue reading Vending Options
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!
Blessings in Baguio
On February 28th I winged my way eastward, from Medan to Kuala Lumpur and on to Manila. There I met my colleague, Rev. (and soon to be Dr.!) JP Cima. JP and his family have served in Cambodia for the past seven years after spending a decade working in Vietnam. But through the middle of… Continue reading Blessings in Baguio
Community in KL
Today I joined James, the young man I baptized about a year ago, for worship. He attends Good Hope Lutheran Church, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia. We were also happy to make a new acquaintance with Tiffany, a recent transplant to Kuala Lumpur from Taiwan. She’s moved to KL to work… Continue reading Community in KL
Oh, the People You’ll Meet!
I had the opportunity to meet an unexpected visitor this week! A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from a man at one of our first supporting congregations, Peace Lutheran Church Camarillo. Our connections with this congregation go way back – to my first pastoral Call just out of seminary. I was called to… Continue reading Oh, the People You’ll Meet!
Homeward Bound
My flight from Asia to the US was: Medan to Kuala Lumpur to Singapore to Chicago to Ft. Wayne. But tonight as I started back towards Asia my route is a bit longer. Tonight I flew from St. Louis to Chicago. Then tomorrow morning bright and early I fly Chicago to Los Angeles to Tokyo… Continue reading Homeward Bound
Renewing Old Connections
My wife was born in Papua New Guinea where her parents served in LCMS missions. I’ve been hearing their family stories about that formative decade overseas for over 30 years now, 20 of them as part of the family by marriage. And one of the recurring characters in those stories were their teammates on the… Continue reading Renewing Old Connections
Frigid-er January
When I passed through immigration control at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago (first time I’ve gone through immigration there), the immigration officer asked me where I was headed. When I told her Ft. Wayne, she made some sort of exclamation which I took effectively to mean thank-goodness-I’m-not-there-because-it’s-colder-than-Chicago. She was not incorrect. I arrived on the… Continue reading Frigid-er January
Frigid January
January started with a delightful trip to Hanoi, following the All Asia Family Retreat in Taiwan. Gena and I were blessed to worship with our LCMS brethren in Hanoi and bring devotions to the staff of Concordia International School Hanoi (CISH). There were also times of fellowship with staff and leadership there. All of this… Continue reading Frigid January
Parenting Wins
To be a parent is to worry. To wonder. It is a broad avenue to constant uncertainty and self-doubt. In a culture of experts bombarding us every moment through television and radio and the Internet with new or time-tested techniques and products for successful parenting, it isn’t humanly possibly to engage all of them, even… Continue reading Parenting Wins
Family Gathering in Taiwan
Part of the reason our kids could join us for Christmas is because our regional family gathering happened the week after in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Kaohsiung is the southernmost major metropolis in Taiwan. And while I’ve been to Taiwan multiple times to visit our headquarters in Chiayi, this was a new city for me to visit.… Continue reading Family Gathering in Taiwan
The Nelson Family Indonesia 