A blessing in our work is talking with others who have experienced living and working overseas, particularly in the service of Christ and the Church. Gena attended a small Lutheran Bible college (no longer existing) in Washington state for her Associate’s degree in Biblical Studies. There she made friends with a young woman also starting… Continue reading Experienced & Encouraging!
Category: Vocation
Which Way Forward?
We remain in flux. Like more than a few church workers, we’ve been unable to deploy overseas to our intended destinations because of the ravages of Covid. We wait, anxious and hopeful to go but uncertain when that will be or what it will look like. For the last month our hope was perhaps church… Continue reading Which Way Forward?
First Wall
Well, we’ve hit our first wall. After a flurry of excitement and urges to get our visa submitted for possible expedited approval into Taiwan, we received our application packet back from Taiwan’s Los Angeles office basically unopened. A missed voice mail confirmed they were not going to process our visa at this time. We’ll have… Continue reading First Wall
Book Review: Serving Well
Serving Well: Help for the Wannabe, Newbie or Weary Cross-Cultural Christian Worker by Jonathan and Elizabeth Trotter Recommended by a friend who had it recommended to him, this is not my favorite read. The style is not one I’m very fond of, overly friendly and informal with useful tips interspersed with emotional self-disclosures. I think this… Continue reading Book Review: Serving Well
Just the Facts
I’m too young to have seen many of the original Dragnet episodes. It was not nearly as favored in syndication where and when I was growing up. But the famous line of Just the facts, ma’am (even if erroneously attributed or cited) has become cultural parlance of a sort (or at least it was the… Continue reading Just the Facts
Helping Out
I’m admittedly an idealist at times, something that tends to clash with what I refer to as my realism (not pessimism) about life. One of the ideals I had as we cast loose of our settled life to start traveling and sharing with partners around the country and waiting for deployment to happen was that… Continue reading Helping Out
Book Review: Introducing Indonesia
Introducing Indonesia – 3rd edition, published by the American Women’s Association, 1975 This was a short and fascinating read. Short mostly because at least half the book is a phone directory of services and businesses in Indonesia – particularly the island of Java and the city of Jakarta – that might be of use to an… Continue reading Book Review: Introducing Indonesia
Virtually Settling
As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we remain somewhat in limbo since the sale of our home and the uncertainty of when we will deploy overseas. The usual things that determine where you reside or more technically where you domicile don’t apply to us. We don’t own or rent a home, have utilities in… Continue reading Virtually Settling
Beginnings
It’s early morning here on the West Coast. The rest of my family is still sleeping soundly when my alarm goes off at 5:30am. I stumble about, getting dressed, making a cup of hot tea, fiddling with the settings on my phone and WhatsApp – the application I’ll be using shortly to do something I’ve… Continue reading Beginnings
In Faith Dependent, Anderson Island
When we seized the opportunity to spend some time in the Pacific Northwest we also hoped we’d have the opportunity to visit with some Lutheran congregations. Although that focus is slowing somewhat as we pivot in prayerful anticipation of our visas being issued, it’s still a joy to meet fellow Lutherans and brothers and sisters… Continue reading In Faith Dependent, Anderson Island
The Nelson Family Indonesia 