Today was a special day for our family. Everyone (except Paul!) graduated from language school! Although I had to drop out after the core program (6 units of study), the rest of the family continued for the final 3 units. Their studies culminated in a 2000-word research paper and oral presentation – all in bahasa… Continue reading Graduation!
Category: Culture
A Busy Tuesday
Normally my schedule is busiest when I’m not in Medan, but today was a welcome exception! I had a lunch meeting today with the missions executive for the Lutheran Church of Australia, Rev. Matt Anker. Rev. Anker does a lot of work in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Singapore and I’ve been hoping to meet… Continue reading A Busy Tuesday
God Provides
It wasn’t the night I expected. I awoke shortly after falling asleep, realizing something wasn’t right. After tossing and turning for a while I realized I had some sort of food poisoning, most likely. The already-short night was tragically spent mostly not in bed sleeping. By the time my driver arrived I was dressed and… Continue reading God Provides
Into the Wilderness
Today I embarked on a 7-hour drive from Medan to the southern side of Lake Toba. I’ve been invited to be the guest preacher and teacher for the GKLI, the partner Lutheran church we work with in Indonesia. Formerly my colleague, Rev. Wood, has done the honors but he and his family are currently in… Continue reading Into the Wilderness
Back to KL
Today I flew back to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore. Another good day for travel! My short visit in Singapore was fruitful in several different ways. Most importantly, I received word while in Singapore that my Indonesian work visa has arrived! This simple detail is an immense source of relief after a year or worrying and… Continue reading Back to KL
Broadening Relationship Circles
Living overseas as an expat and minority of a larger culture and nation means you think about things you wouldn’t at home. How’s that for the understatement of the decade?! 🙂 For one thing you tend to notice other expats, others who obviously (or less-obviously) are not native to the local culture. Those relationships become… Continue reading Broadening Relationship Circles
Updates
It’s the beginning of the month already here in Medan. It’s hard to believe how quickly time passes in weeks and months and years while at the same time dragging by in terms of seconds and minutes. When we last heard from our intrepid heroes….no wait, that’s the wrong update. Never mind. Word has it… Continue reading Updates
Meals & Relationship
We were invited by a mutual friend of our family and another ex-pat family to come to her home this past Saturday. It was sort of an extension of Eid al Fitr, the celebration that marks the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan and their month of daylight fasting. Technically Eid al Fitr fell… Continue reading Meals & Relationship
Tokyo
Saturday evening we flew from Okinawa to Tokyo. Sunday we met the Jastrams for worship in Shinjuku, a suburb slightly west of downtown Tokyo. We experienced a traditional Lutheran worship in Japanese. The small congregation was very warm and welcoming. The building where a congregation of the Japanese Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC) meets. A fairly… Continue reading Tokyo
CISH
I’m in Hanoi, Vietnam for my second visit with Concordia International School Hanoi (CISH). Celebrating a dozen years of operation, this is one of three LC-MS international schools in Asia (Hong Kong & Shanghai) and Southeast Asia. It’s a blessing to get to visit with the staff of this amazing educational institution again. We enjoyed… Continue reading CISH
The Nelson Family Indonesia 