As I’m moving between countries it’s always wonderful to take time to stop and see friends. Passing through Singapore I was able to catch up with this scurrilous group. In Kuala Lumpur I always make time to see James, the young man I baptized and now provide some mentoring to. Over the past few years… Continue reading Passing Through
Category: Vocation
Philippine FORO #2
I’ve mentioned FOROs here before. No, it isn’t an acronym. It’s a Spanish word for forum or meeting. Yes, I have to capitalize it. People above my pay grade have made that decision. Life goes on. The name doesn’t really matter, though. Voted on in convention three years ago, the FORO model started in the… Continue reading Philippine FORO #2
Another School Year
A good chunk of my life has revolved more around the ebb and flow of academic year than calendar years. Between my own somewhat elongated educational endeavors, then working in and around universities for close to 20 years, my internal clock was pretty well attuned, and my ears would prickle not at the approaching season… Continue reading Another School Year
Celebrating Children
This weekend I was invited to a celebration. A graduation, no less, for the Concordia Special Needs School in Macau. This school was founded years ago by LCMS workers in Macau as the only school devoted to children with a wide range of physical and mental challenges. While there are other such schools now, we… Continue reading Celebrating Children
International Life and the Joy of Visas
Living overseas is a fascinating thing in nearly every respect – historically, culturally, linguistically, logistically. You learn so much more than you ever anticipated, and you’d better learn it, because your continued viability overseas depends on you learning and following some very specific rules. Passports get you in and out of your home country. In… Continue reading International Life and the Joy of Visas
Retreat – Day 1
We began again with breakfast at the Old Latin School. Have I mentioned that German breakfasts are THE BEST BREAKFASTS IN THE WORLD?!?!? I became convinced of this while visiting friends over 20 years ago in Ulm, and I’ve never changed my mind – or had reason to even consider changing it. Don’t get me… Continue reading Retreat – Day 1
Meetings – Day 2
We concluded our leadership meetings today. We didn’t finish everything on the agenda – ha! – but we did finish the time we had allotted to do so. More work to be done in the future, but good still has been done. Good news includes we are finishing the year almost exactly on budget target,… Continue reading Meetings – Day 2
Meetings – Day 1
It doesn’t feel like Sunday, yet it is. We had worship this morning which was very good, and normally that would help anchor my sense of time and date. But we’ve been so many places in the last nearly three months that even this is not enough to fully secure my sense of time. Breakfast… Continue reading Meetings – Day 1
En Route to Wittenberg
Gena and I will leave this evening for Wittenberg, Germany, where we’ll join the entire Asia team for our annual gathering. It will be a time of learning and discussion and fellowship. There will also be two intensive days of leadership meetings beforehand that include five of the Asia team plus our interim Regional Director… Continue reading En Route to Wittenberg
It Is Finished
We brought our home service to a conclusion yesterday with Crown of Life Lutheran Church in Sun City West, Arizona. Relatively in our old back yard of Phoenix, Crown of Life have been partnering with us since we first began in 2021, and it was a great note to conclude a fantastic home service with.… Continue reading It Is Finished
The Nelson Family Indonesia 