When the regional gathering came to a close, I volunteered to accompany the visiting pastor – Rev. Roger James and his wife Amy – on the first leg of their long journey home to the US. They had a nearly ten hour layover in Singapore and offered to conduct or join in worship with our small… Continue reading Nearly New Year in Singapore
Category: Travel
Regional Gathering
Each year (as of post-Covid) the Southeast Asia Region gathers as a family. Not just called workers but spouses and children all meet up together for a time of reunion and reconnection. Each year it’s in a different location. Our first one – last January – was in Cambodia. This time it was in our home town of Medan.… Continue reading Regional Gathering
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!
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….
A Visit to an Embassy
Have you ever been to a US Embassy? I hadn’t, until this week. Frankly, for the vast majority of any population, the need or even the ability to visit an embassy of their country is negligible. After all, there aren’t any US Embassies in the US to visit. Embassies only exist elsewhere, in other countries. The formal presence of a… Continue reading A Visit to an Embassy
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
Finished with Filipinas. For Now!
Today we brought our training in the Philippines to a close. The last week we’ve been in lovely Baguio, enjoying the cool climate and teaching these ladies at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Baguio. Sandra has done the bulk of the teaching each day, while I offer a closing each day reviewing Luther’s Small Catechism.… Continue reading Finished with Filipinas. For Now!
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
On the Road Again
Today was a travel day. It took about seven hours to travel from southern Nepal back to Kathmandu through the hills. That included almost an hour of traffic just getting into Kathmandu! Fortunately, most of the drive was beautiful. If you look carefully you can see the carefully constructed fields for growing rice. These continue… Continue reading On the Road Again
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!
The Nelson Family Indonesia 