I have taken many short-term teams to Indonesia over the last nine years. I have traveled with some of the most amazing people. These people pay their way and volunteer their services. I make sure they are safe and have a positive experience. A 70 plus year-old woman was one of the best surprises. She did fine in the heat and had such a great attitude. A 15 year-old teenager was another great team member. She was so kind and seemed like she was...

I just got the official announcement today. Epen Akay and Miriam Scarborough are engaged to be married. Epen is an amazing Indonesian young man. He is the foreign team coordinator for our medical work. He has made so many friends because of his kindness and care for each person traveling to our base. Epen taught himself English and is now fluent–that is a tough task. He is my favorite translator when I speak in large meetings. He is like...

It is interesting how some names are given to children. In some cases names are just given on a “try out” basis. Imagine my surprise to know that a new born was given my name. It is the Indonesian spelling of my first and last name. They called him Kalkati (pronounced Call-Kay-Tee). He was born early and was an abandoned child. He was not in very good health. I was humbled that a “little life”, a living individual was...

Dr. Paul came to Indonesia knowing he would be there only a short time. He filled the days he had with hours of training and dental work. Neni, the dental nurse, was so amazing. She was hungry to learn and Dr. Paul kept giving her more and more opportunities. His teaching style was to show her, then let her do what he just showed her. Neni is smart and was the perfect student. She wanted to learn more and more. It was the perfect team–Dr....

I just got home from Indonesia. It was only a month but it seemed like two months–there was a lot accomplished. One of the most important projects in the works is bringing a nine year old Indonesian child to American for reconstructive surgery.Tison is badly burned and needs major help. He is an awesome little boy. He is full of energy and is normal in every way except he was involved in a accidental fuel spill. He was brought to our...

I have been in the remote island of Halmahera in northeast Indonesia. There is no access to the Internet there–so I have been beyond reach since the 13th of August. Today we started traveling at 1:30 a.m. It was a four hour car trip on sometimes marginal roads thru the beautiful jungle of this island. The equatorial sky was brilliant with stars this morning. Our car nearly ran out of gas but we found a light on in a home along the road...

In March, a dental team went to our base and treated over 100 children and then visited a public school. It was a dynamic time. The dental needs where we work are great–no one get regular dental care. Two of our staff are studying to become dentists. We want to relieve suffering of those who come with dental issues. All of us know the pain you can have when you have dental problems. I leave in three hours for Indonesia. I will be joining...

I have been stranded in airports around the world for many reasons. Once I was with a team and we were delayed for three days in a row. The reason that was finally given was they had no windshield for the plane. I was glad to be on the ground. I have even seen burning planes on the runway. This year we had a flight cancel from a remote island. It was complicated by the fact that it was the only flight off the island and we had an international...

We have just over a week before we leave for Indonesia. This short-term team will be focused on dental training, hygiene, training children workers and construction. We have a dentist, three college students, and electrical engineer and the team leader. We have a relatively short time in Indonesia and so we have to be ready to fill our time and give our best efforts. The team members on this team live in two locations and will be meeting in...

I am sure all of you have had issues with your computer. We have a satellite connection for email use at our medical base in Indonesia. It has periodic problems with connection but they usually get worked out. Recently the software and modems had to be changed. This is not a simple fix. You cannot just run to the Comp USA store and get what you need. There are no computer geeks with the needed parts just laying around. The problem had to...