It was a blessing today to be present for the installation of Rev. Dr. Walter Steele in his capacity as a faculty member at Lutheran Theological Seminary (LTS) in Baguio, Philippines. LTS is the seminary of the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP), one of our oldest and strongest church partners in Asia. Rev. Steele… Continue reading Installation
Category: Travel
Ouch!
Amazing the things I wouldn’t have even known to pay attention to just a few short years ago. How US passports are ranked in terms of global accessibility is probably near the top of that list of things I never knew to even know about. But it’s something I’ve witnessed firsthand in my travel-intensive work… Continue reading Ouch!
September 5 – Celebrations
Life in the Papua New Guinea Highlands – as with many other mission fields – is all about flexibility. Plans are by definition tentative. It’s not a culture where advance planning is a fundamental aspect of things, and ideas about what to do and when to do it can erupt rather spontaneously. So it was… Continue reading September 5 – Celebrations
September 4 – Touring
Today we spent looking over the grounds of Timothy Lutheran Seminary in Birip, and doing a bit of touring in the nearby towns. The seminary is situated on expansive grounds that are lush and, due to our visit no doubt, neatly kept! Visitors are a big deal here in the middle of the middle of… Continue reading September 4 – Touring
Heading to the Highlands
Today we traveled from Lae back to Port Moresby and then from Port Moresby up to the Highlands, landing at Mount Hagen Airport. There we were met by Rev. Dr. Ron & Mary Anne Rall, LCMS missionaries who have served full-time and part-time for over 50 years in PNG. In order to fly on the… Continue reading Heading to the Highlands
A Day in Lae
Lae (pronounced lay) is a major shipping port for Papua New Guinea (PNG) on the northern coast. We came here for several reasons, mostly exploratory in nature. There are two major Lutheran church bodies in PNG – Gutnius Lutheran Church (GLC) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG (ELC-PNG). The LCMS founded the GLC, while… Continue reading A Day in Lae
PNG Domestic Travel
Today was the first of three major transitions we’ll make in Papua New Guinea. We flew from the capitol of Port Moresby, where we initially landed in the wee hours of Friday morning, to the city of Lae. Port Moresby is kind of center on the map above. Look directly north (up) from it and… Continue reading PNG Domestic Travel
Worship and Nature
Today we were blessed to worship at Concordia Lutheran Church in Port Moresby. They were celebrating a grant of several musical instruments by the government to their ministry in addition to curiosity and excitement about our presence. The above is an example of Pidgin, a trade language that is maddeningly close to English at times,… Continue reading Worship and Nature
Port Moresby
Port Moresby is the administrative capital and largest city (population estimated to be nearly 400,000) of Papua New Guinea. As such, it attracts a general attention and acts as a magnet for those all over the country looking to improve their life. As a port city it has attracted both positive (commercial) attention as well… Continue reading Port Moresby
Connections
Six years ago Gena visited Papua New Guinea with her father. It was the first time they returned to PNG after departing in 1983 for the US. During her visit, while at an outstation in the Highlands, Gena was befriended by Bella, a 16-year old PNG girl. She tried to teach Gena some pidgin, the… Continue reading Connections
The Nelson Family Indonesia 