Morning dawns hot and humid. Just like every morning in Southeast Asia. Unless it’s raining. In which case it’s hot, wet and humid. Today is sunny, and the lens of my phone is fogged. There’s a theological discussion occurring on the front porch when I make my way out with tea to wake up and… Continue reading A Reformation to Remember
Category: Theology
Into the Mountains
The small village of San Roque is located in the mountains about two and a half hours out of Davao City. Pastor Roeske has arranged drivers who will meet us and take us there. He directs me to meet him at a local Lutheran church – Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church. It’s located on the… Continue reading Into the Mountains
Samantha*
Summertime, the first week of July, 2012. Our second anniversary of my second pastoral Call, this time to the California seaside community of Santa Barbara. But we were living about 15 miles south of there in a sleepy little beach town called Carpinteria, where we were renting a house about half a mile from the… Continue reading Samantha*
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
Bangkok
Bangkok is a massive city. Founded 500 years ago it sprawls now over 600 square miles with a population of over 9 million. I first visited Bangkok eight years ago with my wife on a trip to do some teaching and visit friends of ours in Vietnam. We made a brief stopover in Bangkok for… Continue reading Bangkok
Representing
The nature of my work is fluid. A jack of all trades and master of none. A chameleon of sorts, able and willing to accommodate myself to a variety of situations and needs. Not perfectly, of course, but still it’s a gift I have been given that has served me well in a variety of… Continue reading Representing
Baguio Seminary #2
For the second August in a row I’ve been privileged to be a guest instructor at the Lutheran Theological Seminary (LTS) in Baguio, Philippines. This seminary serves the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP), a full altar-pulpit fellowship church with the LCMS. This year instead of two courses I taught three – one to each… Continue reading Baguio Seminary #2
Traveling Buddies
My job is to travel. But I usually do this alone. This month however, I was blessed to have two traveling buddies! Deaconess Sandra Rhein and teacher Melinda (Mindy) Thews met me in Manila, Philippines prior to our joint journey northwards to Baguio for a week-long Deaconess/Sunday School teacher training. Sandra and I have worked… Continue reading Traveling Buddies
The Nelson Family Indonesia 