I know what some of you are thinking. You’re coming here for money. How do I know this? Because I sat in the pew for more years than I was in the pulpit. I remember having all sorts of people come to the various congregations I was a part of. And it was always obvious… Continue reading Before We Arrive at Your Congregation…
Category: Change
Home Service Planning
This month we’ll start the long trip back to the US for our first Home Service. The trip will span three days and take us from Medan to Singapore to San Francisco and then finally Phoenix. Finally in the sense of that’s where we’ll be based for our time in the US. But our travels… Continue reading Home Service Planning
Grateful
This is from Gena, based on her recent experience in a rural area of Cambodia. I found myself standing in front of a small simple hut outside a village with a group of others under the intense afternoon heat of a Cambodian dry season day.. A man stood before us with his hands tucked self-consciously… Continue reading Grateful
Fear
There was a murder in our neighborhood last night. My colleague JP had just taken his 6-year old son Isaac to the bathroom. I was left at the outdoor table with Lin, Isaac’s 10-year old Cambodian neighbor buddy. We are out on a lunch together while our wives are away in the villages doing ministry… Continue reading Fear
Concordia International School – Hanoi
The final leg of this two week journey is Hanoi. Here I visited with the leadership of Concordia Interantional School Hanoi (CISH). It’s always a joy to visit here as the staff is truly world-class, serving Christ by witnessing to the love of Christ through their care and teaching of their students. While there are strict rules that… Continue reading Concordia International School – Hanoi
Regional Gathering
Each year (as of post-Covid) the Southeast Asia Region gathers as a family. Not just called workers but spouses and children all meet up together for a time of reunion and reconnection. Each year it’s in a different location. Our first one – last January – was in Cambodia. This time it was in our home town of Medan.… Continue reading Regional Gathering
Tastes of Home (Sort of)
You meet a lot of people overseas. Part of this is due to being a foreigner and in Indonesia and particularly in Medan, locals are fascinated by orang putih atau bule (white people or Westerners) because it’s not a major tourist city and there are so few of us. Another reason for meeting people is the natural… Continue reading Tastes of Home (Sort of)
You Can’t Always Get What You Want….
Quoting the Rolling Stones for Christmas is inarguably unorthodox, to say the least. But that theme (rather than the song) has been heavy and prominent in this, our second Christmas in Indonesia. Things don’t go according to plan. Sometimes you don’t have a plan. Other times you have a plan and it doesn’t matter because it isn’t going… Continue reading You Can’t Always Get What You Want….
A Visit to an Embassy
Have you ever been to a US Embassy? I hadn’t, until this week. Frankly, for the vast majority of any population, the need or even the ability to visit an embassy of their country is negligible. After all, there aren’t any US Embassies in the US to visit. Embassies only exist elsewhere, in other countries. The formal presence of a… Continue reading A Visit to an Embassy
Never Say Never
If three years ago or so someone had told me I’d soon be an expert on airports throughout Southeast Asia I would have laughed in their face. Sure, I might visit occasionally if the opportunity arose, but an expert? Ha! What are the odds of that? Still incredibly slim but, in this case, God held… Continue reading Never Say Never
The Nelson Family Indonesia 