Category: mission
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Continued Eruptions on Mt. Sinabung in North Sumatra
After being dormant for hundreds of years, Mt. Sinabung in North Sumatra, Indonesia awoke with a bang in August and September 2010. The eruption caused thousands of people to flee their homes and created a temporary crisis. The mountain calmed until September 2013, when more eruptions—and new crisis—began. Hundreds of eruptions occurred over the following […]
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Photos from the last few months
More updates about the last few months that I experienced in Indonesia. There was a lot packed into March, April, May, and June, so here’s a tiny preview: I helped with some retreats: And then we got to refresh with a nice panorama of Lake Toba: There were some special Sunday worships from the HKBP […]
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Preaching
I am back in the US now, and it is long overdue to catch up on some blogging about my time in Indonesia. At the end of March, I was invited to preach in a congregation in Medan, the capital city of North Sumatra, and some 7 hours from my usual residence in Balige. Actually, […]
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Ministry with victims of Mt. Sinabung eruption
Before Easter, I had the opportunity to visit some refugee camps for those who have been displaced by the recent eruptions of Mt. Sinabung in the Karo regency of North Sumatra. After hundreds of years without any activity, Mt. Sinabung erupted again in 2010, causing mass evacuations and refugee camps. People were allowed back, but […]
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Presentations in the Village
Time for an update. Busyness plus persistent computer and internet problems have limited my time and access to get posts on this blog. Sorry, for those who have subscribed and want to hear about what I’m doing. Last month (March) I again had opportunity to go out with my students. The 51 students split into […]
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Much needed update
A lot has been happening in the months of silence on this blog. For one, I was able to have some time in the States over Christmas and New Years. When I returned to Indonesia in January, I still had paperwork to clear up with immigration, and had to make a quick trip to Jakarta […]
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Advent at the Equator
As much as I’m looking forward to spending my holidays in North America, I’m kinda loving this tropical climate at the equator. The daily warm sun, the ever growing plants and trees, abundance of fruit all year round, and even the torrential rains which are now more often than in June. Here is no bleak midwinter—it is now the rainy season—and although we can still light candles in the night, the amount of daylight is nearly the same as it was 6 months ago.
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One Year
Just like hiking the rugged terrain of the Cascade mountains of Washington state and the mountainous rainforest of Sumatra, I experience the joy of summiting peaks and the pain of dark valleys in my current life. This description is not anything extraordinary, as I know these kind of ups and downs in life are a […]
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More of the Unexpected
“…I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:36 Quite unexpectedly one Sunday morning, I found myself walking through the streets of Balige toward the local prison. I was accompanying the 3rd year class of students at the deaconess school, who go into the community every Sunday and attend various churches, often […]
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Ready for the Unexpected
Be ready for the unexpected. That’s a lesson I’ve learned here. Not that I’ve never had something unexpected happen in my life, but in this life in Indonesia, I’m often called upon to do something I didn’t previously plan on. And here, it can mean living and doing something without much detail or knowing what’s […]