I am sure most of you have heard of the devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. The loss of life and destruction was vast. We kept hearing the death toll rising and the heroics of those tireless rescuers. I have several friends who live there and just got a note from Peter and Katherine, his wife . Peter volunteered at our base in Halmahera in 2004. He and I were roommates for about a week. Peter is a doctor and what I remember was...

The road was clear until we drove into Delta Junction (Alaska). We went to Valdez over the weekend to meet with some of our partners and to speak to a group of supporters. We had a wonderful time. It was so beautiful and the drive was safe–all the big animals (moose, caribou, bison and bears) stayed off the road. We did see a lot of tracks but only saw two lonely moose.We had driven 360 miles on the road to Valdez and the next day we...

It happened very fast–one of our trusted staff members is here in the U.S. Hendra is known by many of those who have come to Indonesia on short-term teams. He is a gentle but strong young man.He first came to the U.S. in December 2009 when he escorted Tison to the Fairbanks. It was really cold and Hendra stayed for two months to assist with Tison’s transition. He made lots of friends and was able to share about his vision to start...

I went to Los Angeles to support Esther Scarborough, IFC Medical Director and co-founder, as she was going to be the speaker at a group of leaders. She was going to fly in from Kentucky and land at 4 p.m. drive to the meeting at 7 p.m. I did have some concerns because of the bad weather in the mid-west and all the reports of flight delays. She did have a little wiggle room but it was going to be tight.I got a call from her that she was delayed...

I got the call from Esther asking me if we would be interested in Hendra coming to the U.S. It was excellent timing because we were at an important point in deciding the next step for Tison. Hendra has been the link between Tison’s parents and our medical team here in Alaska. Tison’s parents live in a very remote region of Indonesia and only come out occasionally. We are at a critical time in deciding the next procedure or the...

It is hard to believe that IFC has been serving in Indonesia for ten years. January 2001 was the first introduction to this amazing nation and people.This past Friday a group of 280 friends and supporters gathered in Fairbanks for a wonderful night of food, laughter and reflection. Esther Scarborough, IFC (Hohidiai) co-founder, was the honored speaker. She is so gifted and inspiring–she always shares from her heart about the people. She...

It was January 2001 that I went to the refugee camps in North Sulawesi near the city of Manado. IFC was born to help the poor in these camps. It was an overwhelming challenge with 53,000 refugees in the area. This began a journey of IFC where we worked in food, clean water and medical programs.These were the early days and now it has been ten years. We have reached a milestone–one decade. It hardly seems possible that 10 years has passed....

Little Jien is still alive and continues to fight. She is now 9 years old. Jien has T.B. and has recently lost two kilograms (around 4 pounds). She is now around 15 pounds. She has little gains but she need to have sustained weight gain.Jien’s mother died of T.B. and she has a grandmother with her. She gets lots of love and support from the medical staff. She has had very good medical care but continues to barely hold on to life. She does...

It was a normal year in many way–365 days–12 months. It began with the same hopes and dreams as most other years. It was also entered into with wide-eyed anticipation. 2010 is the 10 years anniversary of IFC and landmark for our supporters and staff.IFC began in 2000 with a short sited plan of simply helping refugees in a crisis time in their lives. We did not know how long we would be involved in aid work. Now 10 years later we are...

The year 2010 is nearly completed. It had it’s challenges and blessings. I reflect on the amazing goodness of God and the great friends we have. I am also reminded of the importance of making your life count.So–Merry Christmas to all of you and a blessed New Year.