With a baptism in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and a visit to the LCMS international school in Hanoi already planned, I was a bit surprised when the week before departing I was contacted by our Regional Business Manager, Sam Borgwardt. He asked if I could come to Taiwan the following week – in between my two trips. … Continue reading Detour to Taiwan
Category: Culture
Baptism!
My parish congregations in the US were predominantly comprised of retirement age folks and beyond. I did far more funerals than I could have ever imagined realistic, but only what seemed like a handful of baptisms (and fewer weddings!). So baptisms are an exciting thing for me still. Which is good, because James was excited for his… Continue reading Baptism!
Nearly New Year in Singapore
When the regional gathering came to a close, I volunteered to accompany the visiting pastor – Rev. Roger James and his wife Amy – on the first leg of their long journey home to the US. They had a nearly ten hour layover in Singapore and offered to conduct or join in worship with our small… Continue reading Nearly New Year in Singapore
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
Partnering in the Philippines
The last leg of my 5-week jaunt across South and Southeast Asia is to the Philippines. As second homes go you could do far worse than the Philippines, which is good as it’s my third trip there in almost as many months. There is great opportunity to partner with the Lutheran Church in the Philippines… Continue reading Partnering in the Philippines
On the Road Again
Today was a travel day. It took about seven hours to travel from southern Nepal back to Kathmandu through the hills. That included almost an hour of traffic just getting into Kathmandu! Fortunately, most of the drive was beautiful. If you look carefully you can see the carefully constructed fields for growing rice. These continue… Continue reading On the Road Again
The Nelson Family Indonesia 