My job is to travel. But I usually do this alone. This month however, I was blessed to have two traveling buddies! Deaconess Sandra Rhein and teacher Melinda (Mindy) Thews met me in Manila, Philippines prior to our joint journey northwards to Baguio for a week-long Deaconess/Sunday School teacher training. Sandra and I have worked… Continue reading Traveling Buddies
Category: Vocation
Typhoon Chasing
Well, not intentionally! My longest trip this year (other than our time back in the US in the spring) will be this trip to the Philippines. I’ll be in-country for three weeks, not including travel time on either end. Initially I’ll be providing pastoral care and teaching during a deaconess review session for over 80… Continue reading Typhoon Chasing
A Morning Walk
This morning Gena and I went on a morning walk. We’re trying to push ourselves to be out and about more often, even though the heat and humidity in Medan is constantly oppressive and makes any outdoor foray an immediate opportunity for sweating profusely. But our dog benefits from the walks as well and she’s… Continue reading A Morning Walk
Transience
One of the many books we read before deploying overseas talked about the difficult nature of relationships amongst ex-pats. While it can be easier to make friends overseas, when people of a similar cultural background are fewer and more inclined to seek one another out, those relationships may not last very long. At least in… Continue reading Transience
Worship in Singapore
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
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
The Nelson Family Indonesia 