The importance of going to the sick is at the very heart of our medical work in Indonesia. We call them “Mobile Clinics”. The medical teams will go to a remote village and stay from one day to three months. These clinics provide needed treatment for those in the remote islands and jungle villages where they do not have access to medical care. In a one day clinic the teams have seen over 200 patients. The teams that stay for over a...

This Sunday, Kasih, the little girl with the severe cleft lip/palate, starts her journey to Adelaide tomorrow. This is the culmination of many months of fundraising and coordination (many thanks to Dr Nicole Anderson and Lisa Robinson) for all their hard work in making this happen. Kasih will get first class surgical treatment in Adelaide. Sunday’s trip will be from Halmahera to Manado. Kasih and her Mother will be escorted by a guest we...

I just got the great news from Peter Scarborough, IFC Field Director, that the medical ward (small hospital) in Halmahera is now open. Peter sent the note,”The 16 bed ward – which has turned into a 21 bed ward is virtually complete and the first patients are already in. Many thanks to the Rotary clubs of Gippsland (especially Berwick and Warragul) and the local Gold Mine in Halmahera for this.”This project was funded by these...

This is a sobering report. I just got a note from our medical base in East Indonesia. They informed me that a father of four came to our clinic. He died yesterday from the effects of AIDS. The sad part of the story in that three of his children have also died of AIDS.Our teams go into public schools and warn the students about STD’s. I have witnessed these amazing teams as they tell these students the realities of the sexually transmitted...

I met with Anis, one of our Indonesian staff, and reminded him that he has an important job. He is in charge of finding the lepers and bringing them to our base for treatment. I also told him he is like the servant of King David who was sent to find the lame boy named Mephiboseth. King David’s servant was Ziba. He went to a very remote place to find this lame boy hoping to bring him back to meet King David. When the boy met the King he got on...

Imagine riding in a vehicle that you can see the road under your feet. The cars we had on our base were just a bucket of bolts. Rotted floorboards were the least of their troubles. They all broke down regularly and were on life support more than on the road. Riding down jungle roads in marginal vehicles was always a security concern. We just did not have the money to buy new transportation. We put our limited funds into medicines or building...

The doors to our hospital are scheduled to open in about two months. This will be a great day when the sick can get long-term care at this facility. The hospital is small (compared to Western facilities) but it is a place where the poorest of the poor will get free medical treatment. We already see over 10,000 a year at our clinic just a hundred feet from the door of the hospital. We will have an out-patient facility and an in-patient facility...

Kasih, 11 months old, was brought to the IFC clinic in remote East Indonesia. She had a badly deformed face with a severe cleft palate (a Tessier Cleft) deformity. Dr. Nichole Anderson and Lisa Robinson examined her and felt she needed professional care–she was is bad shape and the risk of infection was high.. That care is being sought in Australia with renown surgeon David David. Please remember Kasih as she will need passport, visa, a...

Peter Scarborough, IFC Field Director recently wrote, “We are looking forward to the patient ward (hospital) being finished in just over 2 months from now. We are also looking forward to the day when the ambulance arrives. We squeezed three guys onto the floor in the back of the car – would you believe that they were found in this state (broken bones, head injuries, and bleeding) by the road! We had another two inside the clinic...

Our team had three consecutive days of flights canceled. It was not frustrating because we looked for the good and filled these days meeting people. These three days were filled with divine appointments. I have learned not to get up tight or fretful but walk through the doors that open.It was during the three day pause in our travels that we met a woman who taught us all about life and death. Her name is Hawila and she was the mother to Gloria....