As I remember it, it was my eighth-grade year at Centralia Junior High School. Some of you guys might remember the hopes of making the starting football team on offense or defense.  Every guy wanted to catch the eye of the coaches. I was no different. The practices were hot and hard. I wondered if I could finish each practice with drills and lots of running, but the driving hope to make the starting team was what kept me going. I was five...

There is a song that has a line–I can see for miles and miles–well we drove for miles and miles and miles. It was nice to be home. It was a valuable trip with new partners and even two new groups opened to us. I have been invited to return to share at the new groups as well. It will have to be next year when my memory of those long driving days are forgotten. Cathy and I drove nearly 8,000 miles. We were in 20 of the U.S. States and...

It was a big effort but a successful day of raising support for our children. The Fall Classic held at Clear Lakes Golf and Country Club was well attended and lots of fun. There was a putting and chipping contest with the winner receiving a pellet smoker and BBQ as the prize. The winning team for the low score shot a 56 for the four person scramble on the par 72 layout–that is excellent play. There was an auction and raffle following the...

Dear Partners— It did not take long for our world to change. We are using language we have never used before, like “social distancing” and we are all doing what we can, as a nation, to limit exposure to the coronavirus. Church services are canceled, restaurants and other non-essential services have closed their doors. These are new days of challenge. Our work in Indonesia has been affected as we have canceled all foreign team visits. Until this...

Leach Field It took eight ‘quick’ days to build the leach field thanks to our construction manager, Opo; the Alaska team and an excellent excavator...

Yes–for all you golfers and those who just hit a little round thing to green patches in a field. We are happy to announce the first IFC Charity Golf Tournament for Saturday, August 24, 2019. This event will be raising money for the construction of a school building for the Hohidiai School. The force behind this event is Jim Ridgway. Jim has a huge heart for the less advantaged and started doing charity golf events three years ago with...

What if you were asked to choose the most important thing in your daily life. I am talking about a physical item, the thing or device that you cannot live without. It is the most used and your top necessity. You might call it a priority. Maybe someone would say, “My iPhone is my top necessity. I cannot live without it.” If you go out and about nowadays, you’ll see people are all looking down at their phones. We could be called...

We are thrilled that over 170 students are now receiving high quality education at Hohidiai School. Our students won first, second, and fifth place in an English reading competition. Well done! Our top grade level this year is Year 7, and we’ll add Year 8 next term. Recently, two brothers began to attend our school. Their blind father asked us to take them in, but instead we offered his wife work and enrolled the children in our school so...

It might be up for debate when you claim someone or something is the greatest. How do you measure greatness? We measure by the best or highest standards of the time. The Koh-I-Noor 105 carat diamond is listed as priceless. It is known as the “Mountain of Light” when it was the world’s largest known diamond. It is currently owned by the British crown. Mt. Everest is the undisputed tallest mountain on the planet at 29,029 feet above sea level....