News reports indicate Indonesia is adjusting foreign visitor quarantine requirements in light of the newly discovered Omicron Covid variant. What was a three-day quarantine period for a short period earlier this month is being expanded to a seven-day quarantine. It is still possible to enter the country (at least from the US. Citizens of countries… Continue reading Shifting Sands
Category: Change
A Promising Start!
This afternoon we had a Zoom meeting with the owner of a language school in Medan. This school was utilized by the Woods when they deployed to Medan a couple of years ago and comes well-recommended. The owner outlined the process we’ll go through to be admitted to Indonesia on a short-term basis. Visitor visas… Continue reading A Promising Start!
Starting the Process
We have a path forward – trying to secure tourist visas to Indonesia for the first of the year. How do you start down such a path, though? We know one other LCMS family that has deployed there (and hopes to again in short order) but they have a work visa, something that isn’t an… Continue reading Starting the Process
A Path Forward
Thanks to a great conversation with the Regional Director for Southeast Asia (now my boss) this morning, we have a roadmap and timeline of how to proceed. For the first time since June and our physical departure from the place we called home for 11 years, we feel like we can begin tangible planning for… Continue reading A Path Forward
Book Review (Partial) – Healthy Resilient & Effective in Cross Cultural Ministry
Healthy Resilient & Effective in Cross Cultural Ministry by Laura Mae Gardner, D.Min I call this a partial review for two reasons. The first is the copy I was gifted from long-term overseas Bible translators is a pre-release copy that only has the first eight chapters – roughly the first half of the book. Secondly, I… Continue reading Book Review (Partial) – Healthy Resilient & Effective in Cross Cultural Ministry
Experienced & Encouraging!
A blessing in our work is talking with others who have experienced living and working overseas, particularly in the service of Christ and the Church. Gena attended a small Lutheran Bible college (no longer existing) in Washington state for her Associate’s degree in Biblical Studies. There she made friends with a young woman also starting… Continue reading Experienced & Encouraging!
Which Way Forward?
We remain in flux. Like more than a few church workers, we’ve been unable to deploy overseas to our intended destinations because of the ravages of Covid. We wait, anxious and hopeful to go but uncertain when that will be or what it will look like. For the last month our hope was perhaps church… Continue reading Which Way Forward?
First Wall
Well, we’ve hit our first wall. After a flurry of excitement and urges to get our visa submitted for possible expedited approval into Taiwan, we received our application packet back from Taiwan’s Los Angeles office basically unopened. A missed voice mail confirmed they were not going to process our visa at this time. We’ll have… Continue reading First Wall
Book Review: Serving Well
Serving Well: Help for the Wannabe, Newbie or Weary Cross-Cultural Christian Worker by Jonathan and Elizabeth Trotter Recommended by a friend who had it recommended to him, this is not my favorite read. The style is not one I’m very fond of, overly friendly and informal with useful tips interspersed with emotional self-disclosures. I think this… Continue reading Book Review: Serving Well
Virtually Settling
As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we remain somewhat in limbo since the sale of our home and the uncertainty of when we will deploy overseas. The usual things that determine where you reside or more technically where you domicile don’t apply to us. We don’t own or rent a home, have utilities in… Continue reading Virtually Settling
The Nelson Family Indonesia 