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...

I am reminded of the Norman Rockwell painting of a family going on vacation. They are in the family car and everyone is smiling and happy. The family dog has his head out the window and he enjoying the wind in his face. Then the second caption is this family returning from vacation. They are slumped in their chairs and exhausted–no smiles except the family dog. He has his head out the window with the same enjoyment of the experience as he...

It started with a small ticking sound in the motor. We were going the speed limit and made it to Valdez where I spoke to a wonderful group of friends. We left that beautiful place with a stunning blue sky and climbed Thompson Pass and passed the crazies in the mountain climbing competition.  They called it an event but after seeing how high on the mountain those snow machine tracks were–it looked more like insanity to me. I am just not...

The flights do not always land at this outpost in Alaska. My flight landed after breaking through the cloud cover over the south side of the island. This is a very famous place for it’s beauty, world-class fishing and largest bears in the world. Kodiak is a town of just over 7,000 residents and the great Kodiak Brown Bear. I did not see any of the bears but I did meet some awesome people who call “the island” their home. I had...

Shocked, taken back, surprised or amazed would be the words I would use to explain what happened last week.  I was invited to speak to a church group about the work in Indonesia.  It was a beautiful day and the salmon were in the Kenai River. There were two very attractive reasons to enjoy the rare combination of this Alaskan summer instead of going to a church meeting. The crowd was smaller than normal but it was a sweet time to be together in...

The sky was brilliant blue and the snow and ice was melting. You could see the hope of change on the faces of the residence of Fairbanks. The spring seems to thaw more than snow. Today was a good day to express thanks to the gathering of Fairbanks Rotarian’s. Esther Scarborough spoke for IFC/Hohidiai as she highlighted the clean water project that this Rotary Club helped finance. The question we all asked was, how could a group in the...

Standing in the frigid wind on Thompson Pass at sunset was a spectacular site. Hendra Pontomudis, principal of Hohidiai School and Danny Galbraith, a volunteer teacher at the school, could only marvel at the breathtaking beauty before them. They had just left an amazing group of people in the coastal Alaskan hamlet of Valdez. Valdez is known for the rich history of being a staging area for the early gold prospectors and today it is the terminus...

Rain–tornadoes–scorching heat–B-2 bombers–amazing people were all a part of the recent trip I took to Illinois, Missouri, Arizona and Idaho.  The best part of the month long trip was meeting some amazing people. The meeting in the living room of my friends, David and Valarie, was how it all began. Followed by the best time with Stan, Rosann, P.J. and the friends at Koke Mill. We had lots of laughs and the interest was...

Over the last month, IFC has had two dinners with our partners.  We met with a group in the beautiful city of Valdez. This was a special time with friends and the drive to Valdez was full of animal sitings and stunning scenery. There were many animals close to the road–we saw five moose, eleven caribou, a bear and a wolf.  It was an extra blessing we saw the wildlife and enjoyed the drive to Valdez.  The interest and kindness of our...

I am waiting in another airport in the U.S.  It really doesn’t matter where.  There is a distinct commonness to them all.  You check in at the counter outside the security area to a hopefully smiling agent, then find the security line with your boarding pass in hand. You are being examined for any suspicious behavior as you pass security.  Once you take off your jacket, belt, and shoes and then get the nod to proceed past the security zone, you...