As we wrap up a wonderful time of meeting with fellow workers throughout Southeast Asia, we are not yet heading home. Next up – Hanoi, Vietnam. I have the privilege of meeting with leadership and staff from Concordia International School Hanoi (CISH), one of three LCMS international schools on this side of the world. They… Continue reading On to Vietnam!
Angkor Wat
Our formal programming and gathering ended Thursday evening. The Cimas arranged an optional excursion to Angkor Wat for those interested. We obviously signed up – how often do you get an opportunity like that?!?! It would require a six hour bus trip each way, with one day of exploring Angkor Wat in between. Angkor Wat… Continue reading Angkor Wat
Time in Phnom Penh
We’re staying in the heart of Phnom Penh in one of the few hotels capable of handling a group of our size while located nearby a plethora of places to eat and things to see and do. It’s a bustling, big city. It reminds us somewhat of Medan, though the feel (as a capitol city)… Continue reading Time in Phnom Penh
Off to Cambodia!
Today we leave for the first all-Asia regional retreat to be held in these parts since before Covid. There is much excitement amongst those who have been on the field and remember the last one, and we are excited to get to meet people we’ve only heard by name, seen on Zoom, or communicated with… Continue reading Off to Cambodia!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year from Indonesia! We celebrated Indonesian-style – by launching fireworks on the street outside our house. The din from fireworks going off all over the place throughout the city was impressive at midnight! We pray your New Year celebration is safe and happy!
Merry Christmas!
Moving to the other side of the world necessitates choices. What to take, what to leave behind? There was no shortage of advice from people on both sides of the world about what they found invaluable or what they realized they could do without. But at the end of the day we had to decide… Continue reading Merry Christmas!
Standing Out
We’ve been in country now for nearly 11 months. I’ve learned to ignore the stares (mostly) and turned heads from locals amazed at seeing a bule (Caucasian) way out here in Medan. We have routines of a sort, places we usually go, and after a while you stop thinking about it. This is partially necessary… Continue reading Standing Out
Happy 18th, Mika!
Hard to believe it, but our daughter turned 18 Saturday. Her birth was in Arizona, her first few birthdays were in St. Louis, fourteen of them were in California, last year she celebrated in Arizona again, and now in Indonesia. Instead of a birthday cake Gena made her a bunch of cinnamon rolls. I know… Continue reading Happy 18th, Mika!
Mika’s Birthday!
How can it be that our daughter is about to turn 18? It seems so improbable, such a long time in the making to be over in the blink of an eye. So Gena and I went out to get her birthday present. I thought the store was a short walk away from where we… Continue reading Mika’s Birthday!
Christmas in the Tropics
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
The Nelson Family Indonesia 