Pastor Matthew Wood and his family visited Pacific Hills Lutheran Church last November, lead a presentation on his planned work in Indonesia and preached the sermon "Keeping Jesus Front and Center".
Green Light!
We have been greenlighted to deploy to Indonesia. This is great news! All of your support has been to get us to our destination to work with the Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church. God has answered our prayers for safety on the road, health and wellness, and for funding. We are fervently packing and getting our home ready to sell. Our goal is to deploy as soon as possible!
Our family has officially received the “Green Light” to deploy to Indonesia. In August we were originally told that the green light might not come until May! So this is a tremendous blessing to be able to deploy two months early. This is possible only because the Lord has blessed us through all of you! The Lord is working through your prayers, your encouragement, and your gifts. Thank you!
We are now shifting gears from doing as many presentations as possible to packing and working hard to sell our house. We will be ready to leave by the first week of March. From America we will fly to Taiwan where we will go through orientation for the Asia region and work on our Indonesian with a professional instructor. During this time we will apply for social visas to Indonesia and procure housing in Medan. Please pray for our smooth transition!
Pastor Matthew Wood
Follow the Wood Family
Matthew, Kali, Laurel, and Eleanor will serve in Medan, Indonesia with LCMS International. Matthew supports The Indonesian Christian Lutheran Church, by mentoring pastors, providing continuing education, and overseeing translation projects.
You can read the Epiphany 2019 Wood Family newsletter (The S.E.A. Side) by clicking on the link below:
- Download a Prayer Card for Rev. Matthew Wood and his family.
- The Wood Family website is just getting started at www.seaside.asia. More information will be available in the coming days.
- Sign up for their newsletter or read past newsletters.
- Follow their travels on Instagram (www.instagram.com/seasidewoods)
Meet Pastor Eben Ezer
In January I attended the Theological Symposia at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This event is chalk full of papers, lectures, and opportunities to learn and grow as a theologian. The best part is the people you get to meet. For most pastors, and for me, that would normally be old seminary buddies or other pastors they know.
This year was an exceptional blessing for me because I got to meet pastor Eben Ezer who serves an Indonesian Christian Lutheran congregation in Jakarta. He is an invaluable resource for us and I will be working closely with him on various translation projects for the GKLI. We spent time getting to know each other and discussing the challenges and opportunities for the GKLI in Indonesia. What he and other pastors are thirsty for is the Gospel, solid teaching, and encouragement in the Faith. Look for an interview with Eben Ezer in a forthcoming issue of the Lutheran Witness!
Pastor Matthew Wood
