While I was gone the family was busy not just with visas but with preparations for Christmas. We were ecstatic to find out (back in September!) that Christmas decorations (including artificial Christmas trees) could be purchased in Medan. The kids were particularly excited to make the place feel a bit more festive for the Advent/Christmas… Continue reading Christmas in the Tropics
Category: Vocation
Chiayi City, Taiwan
My time in Taiwan was highly productive. Firstly, I was able to see the LCMS SE Asia headquarters. It’s nice to be able to visualize the place and the people there a bit better. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a bit more concrete-ness in a job that is at times highly intangible. Secondly,… Continue reading Chiayi City, Taiwan
Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
As I was off traveling, the family needed to renew their visas. Currently because of travel we are staying in Indonesia courtesy of Visitor on Arrival visas. These are good for 30 days from the date of entry into the country, and can be renewed once for another 30 days. While there are other, more… Continue reading Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
New Ground
Yesterday for the first time I covered new ground, literally. I left Singapore headed not back to Indonesia or Malaysia, but north and east to Taiwan for my first visit to LCMS headquarters in Chiayi City, Taiwan. As it’s the rainy season for many places on this side of the world, it was cloudy and… Continue reading New Ground
Sharing in Singapore
My second visit to Singapore was a bit sooner than I expected. But with Christmas season coming, and then January busy for many people over here recovering from the Western New Year celebration and preparing for the Chinese New Year celebrations, folks there wouldn’t have been available until February. And when I realized I could… Continue reading Sharing in Singapore
A Long(er) Trip
Today I head out for a week-long trip, the longest of my travels thus far in Southeast Asia. Although there will be longer trips ahead, this is an important start. It’s a testimony to how far we’ve come in the last nine months. I can leave Gena and the ‘kids’ here in Medan knowing they… Continue reading A Long(er) Trip
Thanksgiving II
Our second Thanksgiving took place yesterday afternoon and evening. Pre-Covid, our language school had a habit of hosting a cross-cultural Thanksgiving experience for their students. This year, they expected 120 people to attend to learn about American Thanksgiving and get a small taste of traditional American Thanksgiving food. At least as close to traditional American… Continue reading Thanksgiving II
Thanksgiving I
Living overseas you know things will be different. You don’t always know which things or how they’ll differ, but you know in a general way life is going to be different. One of the more obvious differences is holidays. Each country and culture celebrates their own holidays. Some overlap, others don’t. Thanksgiving is one that… Continue reading Thanksgiving I
Scholastic Life
The biggest aspect of our lives in Indonesia at this point is language learning. Five days a week from 8:30am to 10:30am we are in formal classrooms. Gena and I are in one class, the kids are in another, but we’re all at the exact same place, covering the same material. In Unit 4 we… Continue reading Scholastic Life
LCS & TTC
Gotta love acronyms, right?! This afternoon I was blessed to meet with Bishop Lu Guan Hoe of the Lutheran Church in Singapore (LCS). Bishop Lu assumed his position in 2021 and I was happy to congratulate him in person. While the LCMS and the LCS are not in formal partnership, we have a shared Lutheran… Continue reading LCS & TTC
The Nelson Family Indonesia 