Peter Scarborough just send this request for skilled volunteers.”We are currently building a staff accommodation unit and would welcome any tradesmen/women to work alongside our national so that we can quickly complete the building. Single staff are currently sharing bedrooms with up to 8 to a room. It is difficult for these staff to get adequate rest and personal space in this situation.We would welcome anyone with the following skills:...

Malaria is a serious disease. It is responsible for millions of deaths annually. The mosquito carries this disease that results in high fevers, sweating and no energy.The outbreak of malaria is seasonal. In the remote Northern Indonesian Island of Halmahera it is now malaria season. Nearly everyone on our base has had malaria–many have had it several times.We have been out of communication for about a week due to the shutdown of our...

I-phones, email, blogs, twitter, cell phones, texting and My Space are words and communication systems that we have come to use. These words were hardly known ten years ago. I am still not on My Space or twitter. I guess I am out of touch or just too tired to get on one more new system–by the time I am figuring it out, the train has already left the station with the next new thing to replace twitter or My Space. I will just be that much...

Indra the child who had the hole in his heart is now in Jakarta. He was scheduled for surgery but his condition was classified as unstable. He has some swelling in his lungs. His surgery has been set for two weeks from now. This will be a major surgery to fix the hole in his heart. Thanks to the generosity of some amazing people he is able to get this surgery to change his life. He is only four years old and has a lot in his future.Kate and...

I just got home form a number of days on the road. I met with a dear friend and his wife. They are great supporters of our efforts. IFC has some great supporters and friends. This is what makes this work so amazing–we have partners who lovingly give and stand with us. We have some who have stood with us from the very beginning.I am writing today to ask for your prayers for the wife of Pastor Barry. I was scheduled to spend an afternoon...

Kori and Kate are full of enthusiasm and hopes for their stay in Indonesia. Kate is a medical student who will spend the summer at our base gaining experience in tropical diseases. Kori is a certified teacher who will be teaching English to our staff. Kori will be staying a year at the base as the English teacher. She is also gong to be going to Australia for the English as a second language course. Kate will be coming back in time to attend...

We have been involved in relief work in North Indonesia for nine years. The heart of the work is providing free medical care to the poor. The cost of staff, facilities and medications is substantial. We plan to turn the work over to the nationals. There are 15 staff who are in accredited medical and nursing programs. These Indonesians have been selected for their compassion, academic abilities, and commitment to the future of IFC medical work....

Peter Scarborough is the Field Director in charge of almost everything but especially development and staff at the base in Kusuri. He and his wife Esther are the real heroes in the successes of the medical base. It is their vision and hard work that shaped and made possible the work. They are respected and loved by so many including all of us here in the states who know them. They are friends and partners in this effort.Peter wrote to me about...

I just got back home from a two week trip. I meet some new friends and made a number of contacts in familiar places. I put on a lot of miles over the two weeks. My first stop was Idaho–I went to college in Idaho and remember the beautiful springs they enjoy. It is windy but when the sun comes out it is hard to beat. I went to Nampa and Twin Falls. I am so blessed to have the contacts and friends in those places. There are a couple friends...

She sat with us and told us about her life. Ribka is about 23 years old and started by telling us about the attack on her village during the years of conflict. She stated that she and her family fled from their village and ran to the jungle where they lived for five months. She spoke of the struggle of eating only what they could find–roots and occasional fruit. It was a difficult time and just full of suffering.It reminded me that the...