I was blessed to lead Word & Sacrament this past Friday evening in Singapore for the first time since February. Although our full contingent wasn’t available, our small gathering of four (including me) was still beautiful. We met in a different room than we have for the past year. Once I began regular ministry visits… Continue reading Worship in Singapore
Category: Vocation
Fast Food Theology
If somehow you were to be teleported to a McDonald’s, opening your eyes in this particular one, in the Bukit Bintang district of Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia, one of the largest tourist areas in all of KL, you’d be hard pressed to know where in the world you were. The McDonald’s would be familiar enough.… Continue reading Fast Food Theology
Great Discussions
My work in Malaysia continues with a weekly Saturday night online and in-person (as my schedule permits) Bible study based on the lectionary readings for the next morning. It was a joy to gather again with half a dozen or so brothers in Christ, mostly in their early to mid 20’s, for an evening of… Continue reading Great Discussions
It’s the Little Things
It’s the little things, people say. It sounds trite but that doesn’t mean it isn’t often true. Big events stand out more. We anticipate them more. Spend more on them. Expect more out of them. But it’s the little things that fill each day of our lives and can make those days and those lives… Continue reading It’s the Little Things
Home
And just like that, it’s over. The planning and anticipation of the past year is over all too soon. The weeks fly by. Faces and smiles and tears blur together in a Impressionist reverie. Was it all real? When we arrived in the States we were amazed at how natural it felt. Granted, we’ve only… Continue reading Home
Discerning
I think back to them still, more than two months after first meeting them. Who could have predicted such an encounter and opportunity? Who could have foreseen the Holy Spirit’s web of connectivity being spun in time and space and lives? My seminary classmate who invited me out to his community in central Colorado likely… Continue reading Discerning
Homeward Bound
Concluding our time in the Los Angeles area we next headed north. Homeward, as it were. As close to home as we’ve ever known. Nearly eleven years spent in the idyllic locale of Santa Barbara, California. The American Riviera. An exquisite, beautiful bubble of wealth mixed with a healthy strain of surf culture. It’s where… Continue reading Homeward Bound
Orange Lutheran High School
We were very excited to be invited to present to three classes of high school students at Orange Lutheran High School in Orange, CA. Orange is a suburb of the sprawling Los Angeles metropolis and our experience at OLU was nothing short of eye-opening and incredible. OLU has an entire missions program. Interested students can… Continue reading Orange Lutheran High School
Westward, Ho!
Today we begin the second and final major leg of our home service travel. This time we’ll be just in the state of California, between Los Angeles and the Central Coast of Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez, Goleta, and other places and names that used to mean home to us but now are part of scrapbooks… Continue reading Westward, Ho!
Back to Base
We finished in Minnesota and after dinner with a friend and former colleague, headed back to Arizona. Our travel was fantastic and we’re so glad we got to see everyone we did. It never feels like enough time, but simultaneously it seems like an eternity. Traveling is rarely just a matter of distances, it also… Continue reading Back to Base
The Nelson Family Indonesia 