The poverty in this region of Indonesia can be so bad that even the cost of transportation to a hospital or clinic can be more than most can afford. The mobile clinics that go to remote villages bring help to those who cannot access health care. The Alaska Team went to a village on the Island of Halmahera. This clinic was to be just a one day event. IFC have sent teams to remote areas and they stay for three days to as much as three months....

Jeremy has curly hair and seems to smile all the time. He is plump and looks very healthy. When he was born he was rejected by his mother. She wanted a girl. His mother was a prostitute and she was not willing to keep him. He could not advocate for himself and ask for life but she was talked into giving him to us. His future is bright and he is just adorable. The future would have been dark if he was raised by a mother who would provide little...

It was a month ago we left with our team for Indonesia. We had some amazing days and became deep friends in the process. We traveled lots of air miles and sat in plenty of airports. The time with our staff, children and the people of remote Indonesia were just priceless. I will have a lot of stories in the next days. I am jet lagged and have a pile of emails to answer.We are at an important time of our work. Thanks for all your support and...

This is my first update since we arrived in remote Indonesia. The team from Alaska are are doing well–except a few “Bally Bellies”. The food has been wonderful and the team is in full gear forward. We joined a mobile clinic yesterday at a beautiful village on the ocean. The team saw over 100 patients. They saw the infected, lepers, T.B., pregnant, respiratory problems, heart issues and the full package of ailments. It was hot...

The Alaska Team is in Manado. We are all well and warm. We heard that it was very cold back home. No one has “Bali Belly” and we have had a lot of rice to eat. We have had two days here and it has been a time of preparation. We leave at 4 a.m. for our flight tomorrow. We will land on the beautiful island and start our work. We have traveled a long way and we are ready in everyway to see our friends. Thank for the prayers.

In a couple hours our team will be on the way to Indonesia. We have a lot of connections and hour on the planes. Our bags are packed and all the documents are signed and we are ready to go. It seems like such a long journey but it is worth every stop or delay. The people of Indonesia are beautiful and we will have the opportunity to help some of the poorest in remote regions of East Indonesia and to love the “little ones” in the...

This nameless eight-month old girl was brought to our medical base in Kusuri. She was examined by Dr. Nichole Anderson from New Zealand and by Esther Scarborough, IFC Medical Director in Indonesia. Dr. Anderson said the cleft palate is the worst she has seen. I will try to see this child myself when I arrive in Indonesia.This is another child we ask you to pray for–we hope and pray we can see a door open to help her. The best option is to...

It was 25 degrees below zero F. (33 degrees below C.) on the sign at the Dentist office on the Steese Hwy this morning. Yes–that is bitter cold and some of you might wonder why anyone would choose to live in a place like this. By-the-way it has been colder than 40 below F. this winter already. Now you really are wondering why some of us are living in the arctic. Well–this is our home. It actually takes a special person with a little...

It was minus 25 degrees below zero F. ( minus 33 C.) on the sign at the Dental Office on the Steese Hwy this morning. A friend of mine just got home from a well deserved rest in Hawaii. When he got off the plane it was minus 38 degrees F.–the cold hit him like a frozen slap in the face. Those of you who have never experienced (and do not want to) this kind of bitter cold may say we are crazy to live here. It is hard on cars and harder on...

Our team went out to a wooden hut; they described it as more like a dog house or chicken coop. The patient was an old, thin woman. The team had come to care for her wounds as she was a leper. She told them how when she was cast out to the jungle by the other villagers when she was younger and separated from her children and loved ones, along with 6 other leprosy sufferers.Thirty or so years later a pastor went out to find them and bring them...