Blog
The Fleet
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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 needed facilities.We now have three new vehicles because of the kind donations of several people....
read moreLife Line
Where would we be without email, blogs, and the Internet? I know there are negative and positive realities about the Internet. What if you are miles from the nearest cell phone tower and the Internet is not even in the region. That is the challenge of working at the end of the earth.IFC has solved that with a modest Internet satellite system. It connects the base with the rest of the world. This is an amazing system because it can find a satellite somewhere over the Equator and make it possible for them to send and receive emails. It cannot...
read moreTurning the Tide
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I do not know if you will see this the way I do—but when 1,100 fruiting trees were planted around three years ago on the base property I could see a change coming. It would take some time but it was coming. It is like the tide changing. These trees will turn a tide in providing some of the food needs we have had and even provide some income in the sale of the surplus.The bananas (eating and cooking), rambutan, pineapple, papaya, sirsak, mango, lemons, limes, Bali orange, avocado, and even durian (known as the king of fruits) will be hanging...
read moreMemories
I just got home from a time in Idaho. It was a great time of sharing the work of IFC in Indonesia. It was also a time of stepping into the past. I spoke to a group and a woman came to me and said she had a picture of me from my college days. My wife and I went to a small private college in southern Idaho. I worked in the food service my entire time at school. My first job was to wash dishes and later I was given a job making cookies. I really liked that job and enjoyed the kitchen staff. Sometimes we would get an invitation to go to the...
read moreFriends from the Beginning
I am in Idaho this week. IFC has some good friends and supporters here in the famous potatoes state. I spent yesterday with Ray and Lorraine who are choice leaders and have supported the work in Indoneisia since we began in early 2001. We has a wonderful time and caught up on the time since our last meeting. They are so positive and encouraging.I will be here in Idaho for this week–meeting with partners and finding new partners. I began this work with the desire to go thru every door that opens. I can see some new doors opening here and...
read moreComing Soon–Update on the Hospital
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 next to each other. I want to thank Rotary Australia for the funds and vision to build this...
read morePartners
I have been reflecting recently of the hundreds of partners we have in our work. We have over 80 full-time workers at our base in Indonesia but there are hundreds of others who are standing with us.I have friends, Dona and Craig, who have been supporting our efforts from the first day we began to work with refugees. I am blessed and amazed at their heart and faithfulness. They have never been to Indonesia but they are so important to Indonesia. I can’t tell you what it means to me to have them as friends and I know without a doubt they...
read moreKasih
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 host family and lots of support . The heroes here are Dr. Anderson and Lisa Robinson. They were moved...
read moreSmall Can Be Mighty
The sign said–Butler population 200. It was raining and it didn’t take long to get a glimpse of what turned out to be Butler. There was a Post Office on the main road and a couple closed down shops. I am sure the vast majority of you have never been to Butler, Illinois. My friend, David Hunter, recommended we stop there after a recent speaking engagement in Central Illinois. We were looking for “Love Packages”. There were no signs with arrows–we just began to drive around town and we found it in a short time....
read moreMy Treasure Hunt
My Treasure Hunt was the title of the article that Brother Terry wrote back in 2005 for the pages of our annual report. I read it again today because I am near his home in Illinois and really missed seeing him. He passed away this last year after a hard fight with cancer. He fought with grace even though he was in terrible pain. I loved him very much and admired his strength and heart.In his article he spoke about another man he met in Indonesia named Cornelius. Little did he know at the time that he and Cornelius would have a lot in common....
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