You’re awakened at 3 am by strange sounds. Better still, you’re awakened by your spouse at 3 am, who was wakened a few moments earlier by strange sounds. Now, after trying to make sense of them in the dark, they’ve wakened you. Groggy, you listen to the bumps, scrapes, and thuds emanating from somewhere vaguely… Continue reading Biawat
Adjusting
It doesn’t seem like much but on our first flight from Jakarta to Medan in February it was deliciously unexpected. Just like the in-flight meal on the two-hour flight was unexpected. And after close to 25 hours of traveling and transiting from the US it was a much-needed pick-me-up. A much-needed bit of excitement, as… Continue reading Adjusting
Home!
It was a long weekend. We were up at 6am to catch a 10am, two-hour flight from Phoenix. A 2-hour stop in San Francisco and then a 10-hour flight to Narita, Tokyo where we had 30 minutes to make it to our next flight, a seven-hour flight to Jakarta, arriving at midnight Saturday night Jakarta… Continue reading Home!
God and Covid
I like to try and apply theology to actual life as much as possible. It disturbs me when these two things that are naturally and unavoidably related appear separated. Sermons and Bible studies should not serve as merely intellectual grist for the mental mill but guideposts and signposts in daily life. Failure to make this… Continue reading God and Covid
Back to Indonesia
I doubt I’ll ever lose my amazement at how quickly and how far we can travel so easily. Partly my historian roots and understanding that until the last century (and less!) travel was very expensive, very time-consuming, and very dangerous. Now, with just a ‘mere’ 25 hours of travel time we can be on the… Continue reading Back to Indonesia
Three Busy Weeks!
Tomorrow morning (Friday) we begin our trek home to Medan, Indonesia. For the last three weeks our family has been in the US so Gena, Mika & Caedmon could attend the LCMS Youth Gathering in Houston and I could spend some time reconnecting with some partner congregations. We were also able to spend some time… Continue reading Three Busy Weeks!
A Visit Home
This summer LCMS teens from around the country will gather together – as they have every three years for nearly 40 years – for the National Youth Gathering. What’s different about this one is that for the first time (as I understand it) a scholarship is available to enable families serving the church overseas to… Continue reading A Visit Home
Pesta di Rumah!
Indonesian culture is a very neighborly and communal one. Emphasis is placed on togetherness in many different forms rather than individualism. While this is shifting as Western culture is increasingly available via media and the Internet, communal consideration is still paramount with the family standing at the center of it, as God intended. So when… Continue reading Pesta di Rumah!
More Relationships
Since Indonesia began allowing foreign nationals to come back into the country on short-term visitor and socio-cultural visas, foreign nationals have been doing exactly that – coming back into a country they have been unable to get into since early on in the Covid pandemic. While Medan is still not a tourist hub and bule… Continue reading More Relationships
Continuing to Build
It was warm today. When there’s no cloud cover and the sun shines more brilliantly than perhaps anywhere else on earth, it’s hot. Steamy hot. And yet we made our way home through the market as usual. And as usual, the men gathered in the shade provided by a small tarp sat huddled around the… Continue reading Continuing to Build
The Nelson Family Indonesia 