As I was off traveling, the family needed to renew their visas. Currently because of travel we are staying in Indonesia courtesy of Visitor on Arrival visas. These are good for 30 days from the date of entry into the country, and can be renewed once for another 30 days. While there are other, more… Continue reading Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
Category: Change
Thanksgiving I
Living overseas you know things will be different. You don’t always know which things or how they’ll differ, but you know in a general way life is going to be different. One of the more obvious differences is holidays. Each country and culture celebrates their own holidays. Some overlap, others don’t. Thanksgiving is one that… Continue reading Thanksgiving I
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
Illness – Again!
Sorry for the delay in posting. Most of the family was laid out with sickness after our return from Kuala Lumpur earlier this month. I in particular had the joy of dealing with it not just once but twice, after I thought I had recovered from it. Frustrating but not too terribly awful. Fevers at… Continue reading Illness – Again!
Lutherans in Indonesia
Before I joined the international team I would never have guessed at the number of Lutherans in Southeast Asia. While in Kuala Lumpur I had the opportunity to see two different churches that are part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Malaysia (ELCM). Zion Cathedral is located in downtown Kuala Lumpur, shadowed and dwarfed by… Continue reading Lutherans in Indonesia
Biawat
You’re awakened at 3 am by strange sounds. Better still, you’re awakened by your spouse at 3 am, who was wakened a few moments earlier by strange sounds. Now, after trying to make sense of them in the dark, they’ve wakened you. Groggy, you listen to the bumps, scrapes, and thuds emanating from somewhere vaguely… Continue reading Biawat
Adjusting
It doesn’t seem like much but on our first flight from Jakarta to Medan in February it was deliciously unexpected. Just like the in-flight meal on the two-hour flight was unexpected. And after close to 25 hours of traveling and transiting from the US it was a much-needed pick-me-up. A much-needed bit of excitement, as… Continue reading Adjusting
Home!
It was a long weekend. We were up at 6am to catch a 10am, two-hour flight from Phoenix. A 2-hour stop in San Francisco and then a 10-hour flight to Narita, Tokyo where we had 30 minutes to make it to our next flight, a seven-hour flight to Jakarta, arriving at midnight Saturday night Jakarta… Continue reading Home!
God and Covid
I like to try and apply theology to actual life as much as possible. It disturbs me when these two things that are naturally and unavoidably related appear separated. Sermons and Bible studies should not serve as merely intellectual grist for the mental mill but guideposts and signposts in daily life. Failure to make this… Continue reading God and Covid
Back to Indonesia
I doubt I’ll ever lose my amazement at how quickly and how far we can travel so easily. Partly my historian roots and understanding that until the last century (and less!) travel was very expensive, very time-consuming, and very dangerous. Now, with just a ‘mere’ 25 hours of travel time we can be on the… Continue reading Back to Indonesia
The Nelson Family Indonesia 