It may at first seem counterintuitive, that in the midst of Lent we could find and enjoy beauty. But contrition and repentance are not the same thing at all as boringness or repetition or monotony or ugliness. If anything, our Lenten contemplations should drive us in part by comparison – the aching awareness of our… Continue reading Lenten Beauty
Category: Life
Scenes in Medan I
The area of Medan we know best after three weeks is the small street our hotel/apartment is on – Jalan Listrik. It’s an elbow of a street jutting out to the east and north from a major thoroughfare. This is looking out are window, facing southeast. There are two large complexes directly next to us… Continue reading Scenes in Medan I
Drinking from a Firehose
It’s hard to believe we arrived in Medan two weeks ago. Although we feel so inadequate in terms of language, we’ve learned so much in such a short time. Like this post’s title, we’re at times overwhelmed by the process of learning a language and a culture as well as how to function in life… Continue reading Drinking from a Firehose
Hungry?
Looks good, doesn’t it? Incredibly ripe and fresh. You’d like one. You know it. How would you get it? You’d have to know what it is to begin with, what to call it and then where to find it. You’d do a near-invisible sorting of the many potential places in your area you even know… Continue reading Hungry?
Quarantine Day 2
How painful yesterday was, staying awake after very little sleep the last 48 hours! We were all so exhausted we were all happily in bed before 10:00 pm – probably a first in our family! And while today is painful still, how glorious it was to get a solid eight hours of sleep! While we… Continue reading Quarantine Day 2
Leavin’ On a Jet Plane…Part II
Thank you for prayers and e-mails – the love has been very impressive the past few days! Today we went to the San Francisco Airport again. Our first stop was at the airline counter. Though I had verbal confirmation of our flight changes tomorrow, and though I had a photo of a computer screen showing… Continue reading Leavin’ On a Jet Plane…Part II
Moving Forward
Short Update: It took all day, but we have confirmed reservations to leave San Francisco Tuesday about 12:30pm to change planes in Tokyo and then arrive in Jakarta, Indonesia about midnight Wednesday. Longer, Mostly Unnecessary Excurses and Anecdotal Observations: First off, it’s interesting some of the unexpected freedoms that come with cutting loose your ties… Continue reading Moving Forward
God’s Sovereignty and Covid and International Travel
What does it mean that God is sovereign, that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is not just our Savior but our Lord? We say these words so often in worship and prayer, but what do they mean to us in our lives? What does that look like? For me it has to boil down… Continue reading God’s Sovereignty and Covid and International Travel
We’re Leaving!
Our Covid tests came back negative for all of us this morning. We’ll be leaving for Indonesia this coming Friday morning at 9:00 am, Arizona time. Thank you for your prayers – past, present, and future! All along we’ve had a peace about this final step, trusting that whatever the results were, God was in… Continue reading We’re Leaving!
Leavin’ On a Jet Plane…
At least that’s what we’re praying for – that this time next week we’ll be preparing to board a plane in San Francisco that will take us briefly to Tokyo before the final leg on to Jakarta. We had the option to ship all of our worldly goods (or at least most of ’em) to… Continue reading Leavin’ On a Jet Plane…
The Nelson Family Indonesia 