Eka, his mother, held his mouth to keep him silent. Hiding in a room of the head of their village. Christian’s family was in serious danger. This was the beginning of the conflict in the North Maluku region of Indonesia where organized militias were going from village to village looking for those of the Christian faith. Lody and Eka, Christian’s parents, were the only Christians who lived in a Muslim village. They had friends in the village,...

Winda was 30 years old when she lost her struggle with T.B. but found the hope of eternity. She was an amazing person. She was educated and could speak English as if it was her first language. She had a University degree in English language. Winda told me–she prefers to write in English because Indonesian words were too long. We would laugh but I know how difficult the English language is to master. She was academically gifted. The thing...

The evening was a wonderful success. It was just two hours together with the IFC family here in Alaska but is was filled with videos and updates. The catered food was exceptional and the testimonies were also uplifting. There were around 300 guest who joined us. One of the highlights of the evening was the dedication of the Hohidiai School building to the memory of Patrick Huffman. “Patrick’s House” is under construction as I...

We have all heard about computer crashes. It is another thing to have your computer crash before your eyes. The hard drive was corrupted and only some of the files were recoverable. The crash happened at the end of January. I was off to Indonesia in February and traveling once I got back to the U.S. I have not been writing for the blog because I had my hands full recovering my files and traveling. There are so many feeling you have when you...

I am reminded of the Norman Rockwell painting of a family going on vacation. They are in the family car and everyone is smiling and happy. The family dog has his head out the window and he enjoying the wind in his face. Then the second caption is this family returning from vacation. They are slumped in their chairs and exhausted–no smiles except the family dog. He has his head out the window with the same enjoyment of the experience as he...

By Hendra Pontomudis, Principle of Hohidiai School —  After the conflict in Maluku ended in 2001,  we established a permanent medical presence here in Halmahera. Over 60 children have come into our care through that work. We take into care only the neediest cases. There are other underprivileged children that we support in their families and in their villages in various ways such as their education, food supplements for the malnourished,...

Thanks to a generous grant from the Australian Embassy new dental equipment has been purchased and is in use at the Hohidiai Clinic. It is like walking into a modern dental suite with a reclining chair, overhead light, stainless steel trays and dental tools. The dentist and dental nurses have been serving the dental needs of the patients in what I would describe as an old barber chair. They have helped untold numbers of people with tooth...

Recently I heard an original song written by a father whose five year old son died of cancer. He had one line about the value of love–he said, “I could die as a bum but if I have love, I am rich”.  In reflection on the advances of the last 15 years–there has been a lot of love shared and received. The amazing people who have stood with the work of IFC have given of themselves with donations, in-kind gifts and many have...

We think a hero might be the guy who makes the 50 yard field goal to win the game for his team. I think the greatest heroes are those who serve the sick and poor quietly, faithfully day-in and day-out. The heroes at the Hohidiai base are treating the struggling HIV patient and encouraging their families. It is the young nurse who cleans the room of the crippled 82 year old. She scrubbed until his room smelled fresh and clean. The hard working...

There are things you just cannot do without help. I know that the work of helping people takes a committed band of people. IFC has a large group of partners from all over the U.S. world. Last year there were 27 teams that went to serve at the base in Indonesia. That would be at least 200 people who decided to go, paid their own way, traveled from their home and served at the base. In the last 15 years some 3,000 have come to stand with the...