A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1200, 4th Edition by M. C. Ricklefs Another partial book review, this time because I didn’t finish it. I barely started it, but it’s obvious it’s far more detailed and in-depth than what I need right now. While I feel I have a good, broad-brushstrokes familiarity with the major… Continue reading Book Review (Partial) – A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1200
Book Review (Partial) – Healthy Resilient & Effective in Cross Cultural Ministry
Healthy Resilient & Effective in Cross Cultural Ministry by Laura Mae Gardner, D.Min I call this a partial review for two reasons. The first is the copy I was gifted from long-term overseas Bible translators is a pre-release copy that only has the first eight chapters – roughly the first half of the book. Secondly, I… Continue reading Book Review (Partial) – Healthy Resilient & Effective in Cross Cultural Ministry
Experienced & Encouraging!
A blessing in our work is talking with others who have experienced living and working overseas, particularly in the service of Christ and the Church. Gena attended a small Lutheran Bible college (no longer existing) in Washington state for her Associate’s degree in Biblical Studies. There she made friends with a young woman also starting… Continue reading Experienced & Encouraging!
Which Way Forward?
We remain in flux. Like more than a few church workers, we’ve been unable to deploy overseas to our intended destinations because of the ravages of Covid. We wait, anxious and hopeful to go but uncertain when that will be or what it will look like. For the last month our hope was perhaps church… Continue reading Which Way Forward?
First Wall
Well, we’ve hit our first wall. After a flurry of excitement and urges to get our visa submitted for possible expedited approval into Taiwan, we received our application packet back from Taiwan’s Los Angeles office basically unopened. A missed voice mail confirmed they were not going to process our visa at this time. We’ll have… Continue reading First Wall
Book Review: Serving Well
Serving Well: Help for the Wannabe, Newbie or Weary Cross-Cultural Christian Worker by Jonathan and Elizabeth Trotter Recommended by a friend who had it recommended to him, this is not my favorite read. The style is not one I’m very fond of, overly friendly and informal with useful tips interspersed with emotional self-disclosures. I think this… Continue reading Book Review: Serving Well
Just the Facts
I’m too young to have seen many of the original Dragnet episodes. It was not nearly as favored in syndication where and when I was growing up. But the famous line of Just the facts, ma’am (even if erroneously attributed or cited) has become cultural parlance of a sort (or at least it was the… Continue reading Just the Facts
Helping Out
I’m admittedly an idealist at times, something that tends to clash with what I refer to as my realism (not pessimism) about life. One of the ideals I had as we cast loose of our settled life to start traveling and sharing with partners around the country and waiting for deployment to happen was that… Continue reading Helping Out
Reading Ramblings – October 17, 2021
Date: 21st Sunday after Pentecost – October 17, 2021 Texts: Ecclesiastes 5:10-20; Psalm 119:9-16; Hebrews 4:1-13(14-16); Mark 10:23-31 Context: A challenging group of readings in a culture where earning and buying is how we are taught to define our worth. In a culture where display of what we have accomplished (or what we want others… Continue reading Reading Ramblings – October 17, 2021
Book Review: Introducing Indonesia
Introducing Indonesia – 3rd edition, published by the American Women’s Association, 1975 This was a short and fascinating read. Short mostly because at least half the book is a phone directory of services and businesses in Indonesia – particularly the island of Java and the city of Jakarta – that might be of use to an… Continue reading Book Review: Introducing Indonesia
The Nelson Family Indonesia 