I am waiting in another airport in the U.S.  It really doesn’t matter where.  There is a distinct commonness to them all.  You check in at the counter outside the security area to a hopefully smiling agent, then find the security line with your boarding pass in hand. You are being examined for any suspicious behavior as you pass security.  Once you take off your jacket, belt, and shoes and then get the nod to proceed past the security zone, you...

In two weeks I will be traveling to Indonesia with another team. This team will work in the clinic and school. The gems that will be deposited are in the form of expert training for the medical staff and the patients who come to the clinic while this team is on site. I can see the faces of the children as they sit at their desks in their classrooms. Four members of the team will be assisting in the classroom and in the after school programs....

Everyone reading this blog has faced challenges in their lives. Challenges come in many forms–some can be life changers others just ruin your day. A grandmother came to our clinic and asked for help for her and her granddaughter. When she told her story, she unfolded a story of the struggle to survive. She was poor–not U.S. poor. Her challenge was NOT about living with only one family car or having basic cable service. She could not...

There must be something about the life of a farmer. Ray Giles has farmed near Adelaide, Australia, for most of his life. His life has been filled with hard work, and he has been an inspiration to many over his 96 years of life.  It has been said he can fix anything, Ray recently volunteered at the IFC/Hohiodiai base and so the challenging projects at the base were given to him. He came with a team from his church in Adelaide and is an example...

Joanne Klaver and Emily Miner visited the IFC/Hohidiai School in January 2013.  Their  time and effort is deeply appreciated.  Here are their comments:   By Joanne Klaver — “Having spent most of my life in the medical profession, I was surprised and truly blessed when I was assigned to help with second graders at Hohidiai School. Their enthusiasm in academic work, the high standards presented and met by the students, and the...

When he first arrived at the IFC/Hohidiai clinic Viktor was seven months old and weighed only seven pounds.  Malnourished, sick, and near death, he fussed and cried constantly. His two other siblings had died of malnourishment, and he, too, was struggling to live. Little by little, Viktor recovered from his sickness and now, at 8 years old is doing very well. He is a normal little boy full of energy. He is loved, accepted and is now thriving....

Dr. Chris is from a lazy country town about 60 miles east of Melbourne, Australia.  As an average kid he had searched for the spark in his life that would make him feel alive and valued.  At 15 years old , Chris’s parents wanted to widen his worldview and took him to the Hohidiai medical base in Northeast Indonesia on the island of Halmahera.  Chris got an eye full of the challenges faced by those living in poverty. He saw the medical...

A Night to Remember It was a night to remember, a landmark for IFC/Hohidiai. It was an evening with 300 of our closest friends and supporters. We all gathered to share the update and story of IFC/Hohidiai. The décor was Indonesian; the tables were set and decorated with Batik cloth, the traditional cloth of Indonesia. The platform had a wide display of baskets, paintings and ‘cakalele’ sword and shield from North Maluku. The dinner...

This is an awesome story about a changed life. Asminah is a one-year old girl who was born with a cleft lip and palate (see photo of her as an infant). She was brought to the clinic on the island of Halmahera where the extents of her injuries were assessed. The team led by Esther Scarborough arranged for her to go to Australia to repair her cleft lip and rebuild her face. She is the most recent child that IFC/Hohidiai has sent out of country to...

Trouble and confusion would be good words to describe the later teen years of my life.  I wondered, “How can you be surrounded by friends and still feel alone?” I know I was not the only teen trying to navigate those years. I was not the only child to grow up with a dysfunctional home led by a single mother. There are many who, out of no fault of their own, face these circumstances.   I met a couple who offered me a safe and nurturing home. I...