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
Category: Life
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!
Gathering!
This week was more than a little unusual. It was our second-annual Regional Family Retreat. All the workers from the entire region (along with their families) convened together for fellowship, Bible study, and updates from LCMS headquarters. Last year it was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This year, it was held in Medan, Indonesia! Rev. Matt & Kali Wood, our… Continue reading 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….
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
Flight Adventures
Today I left Nepal and headed back to more familiar stomping grounds of Kuala Lumpur. Hard to believe I can call Kuala Lumpur “familiar” at all when I couldn’t have found it on a map just a few years ago! I was nervous about my trip to Nepal. Nervous in terms of safety. It seems… Continue reading Flight Adventures
Mission Accomplished!
We concluded our training in southern Nepal today. The participants really enjoyed it and appreciated the opportunity to study the Apostles’ Creed in greater depth. Of course there were other conversations and questions and discussions over the four days as well. These people are hungry for the Word of God, and to understand it and… Continue reading Mission Accomplished!
Worship
It was an early morning today. The first worship of the day was at 7am. Michael has come down with a head cold so I volunteered to preach at the earlier service so he could sleep in. Rabindra drove us out of the city and into the countryside. The ever-present dust and smoke and pollution… Continue reading Worship
Traveling
The trip to Kathmandu was uneventful. We visited two more churches on the way. And arriving in Kathmandu around 6pm which I presume is some sort of rush hour, it took us another hour to crawl across town through traffic to our hotel. Then yesterday we clambered back in the 4×4 for a 6.5 hour… Continue reading Traveling
The Nelson Family Indonesia 