I had the opportunity to meet an unexpected visitor this week! A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from a man at one of our first supporting congregations, Peace Lutheran Church Camarillo. Our connections with this congregation go way back – to my first pastoral Call just out of seminary. I was called to… Continue reading Oh, the People You’ll Meet!
Category: Partners
Renewing Old Connections
My wife was born in Papua New Guinea where her parents served in LCMS missions. I’ve been hearing their family stories about that formative decade overseas for over 30 years now, 20 of them as part of the family by marriage. And one of the recurring characters in those stories were their teammates on the… Continue reading Renewing Old Connections
Orienting Change
December began with a trip back to the Philippines. Normally I don’t go there this time of year but there is a special occasion – an introductory orientation trip for a missionary new to Asia but not to the mission field. Rev. Dr. Walter Steele and his wife Robyn will be transitioning from the Africa… Continue reading Orienting Change
New Year, New Responsibilities
Work on the mission field is always in flux. At times I’m surprised that, after close to a century doing ministry work in Southeast Asia we lack things that seem basic and obvious, more extensive systems to capture the work being done and connect it with previous work and future work. Part of this is… Continue reading New Year, New Responsibilities
Reconnecting in KL
For those who live and work and travel in Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is just KL. Short and sweet, despite the sprawling massiveness of the city. This is my portal to the rest of Southeast Asia and I know the airport almost better than the shape of my house in Medan. This time, because… Continue reading Reconnecting in KL
Growth in Hanoi
We were blessed to have time in Hanoi this past week, providing care & support to the staff and leadership of Concordia International School Hanoi (CISH). This time we were blessed to participate in several larger staff events, allowing us to have more focused time in conversation with different people. One of these events was… Continue reading Growth in Hanoi
Isaac*
Today we met with Isaac (not his real name). Isaac is a refugee living in Medan. He has been here seven years awaiting sponsorship to his desired country – Canada. He was away from his home two years prior to arriving in Indonesia. He left a wife behind in his home country, a country where… Continue reading Isaac*
Chiang Mai
Our last stop is in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mail. As with everywhere we’ve visited, it’s lovely. Lush, green. Plenty of rain here in Southeast Asia! In fact, a week before we arrived Chiang Mai was hit by a typhoon that submerged sections of villages outside the city center. By the time we… Continue reading Chiang Mai
Phuket
After three days in Bangkok, it’s time to move on. The TCLC has major centers of work in three areas of the country. Bangkok is the central area of Thailand, and now we’re moving on to Phuket in the southern section of Thailand. All the logistics of travel and accommodations in-country have been arranged by… Continue reading Phuket
Welcoming
When you live overseas you develop an awareness of newcomers and other folks making the transition from other lives and places to this new one. While we work hard to interact with locals, it’s just a reality that ex-pats also keep tabs on one another and we hear about new arrivals. SungHo is one of… Continue reading Welcoming
The Nelson Family Indonesia 