This morning I had a great opportunity to meet with a Bible study of 20 or more guys from both local congregations in Norfolk as well as other communities within a drive of 30 minutes or so. They’ve been gathering every other Tuesday for 13 years to study various books of the Bible (they’re currently… Continue reading Tuesday Bible Study & Strategizing
Category: Vocation
Monday School Tour
This morning I had the opportunity to meet with the spiritual director of the Lutheran high school in Norfolk. The facility is impressive, catering to a student body of roughly 150 students between grades 9-12. Two gymnasiums, a large music room and plans to expand with a new life sciences area and additional classrooms are… Continue reading Monday School Tour
A Busy Day!
Today was our busy day – and a great one at that! It began with Bible study at 8:45 am at Grace Lutheran in Norfolk. We had the chance to share about LCMS work around the world and my anticipated work as a Theological Educator in Southeast Asia. Afterwards were some questions and discussion. Then… Continue reading A Busy Day!
One-on-One
A lot of how we were prepared to build a network of partners focused on meeting with large groups of people – congregations. I’m sure from one angle this makes a lot of sense. If you talk with a lot of people at one time it’s a more efficient use of your time and there’s… Continue reading One-on-One
Visits?
As we work to line up opportunities to share the work of the LCMS internationally and our anticipated work in Southeast Asia, the going is slow. What’s a priority for us is (understandably!) not so much of a priority for other pastors and leaders. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t visit with you! Thanks to… Continue reading Visits?
Move Completed!
Well, the first one at least! Monday afternoon we completed packing and left Santa Barbara. By Tuesday evening the truck was unpacked, with our few remaining belongings in a storage unit and access to where we’ll be staying for the next three months accomplished. We’re grateful that the massive sell-off and give away of most… Continue reading Move Completed!
Fun With E-Mail
So we completed our first newsletter and were all ready to mail it out today. Then we discovered that the mail program recommended to us didn’t allow you to attach documents to your e-mails! Aaack! We reached out to someone with more experience with us in this area and she directed us to another mail… Continue reading Fun With E-Mail
First Visits
We’ve been blessed to make three congregational visits this month as we finalize our time in California and prepare to pack and move away. Two in-person visits and one online presentation to congregations we are somewhat familiar with, and that I’m friends with the pastors of. We’ve never been worried about the visitation and presentation… Continue reading First Visits
Orientation Completed!
Another week here in St. Louis at the International Center, the second week of our mandatory orientation. While last go-around focused on helping prepare people to make presentations to congregations, this week focused more on considering and preparing for the monumental shifts that come in relocating to another country. Spiritual and emotional health need to… Continue reading Orientation Completed!
Envy
It’s hard to know what to talk about at this point in our preparations for overseas church work. It isn’t as though things aren’t happening, it’s just that they aren’t the exciting sorts of things that partners are looking forward to hearing about. We aren’t deployed to the field yet. We don’t have beautiful pictures… Continue reading Envy
The Nelson Family Indonesia 