Thursday, May 8, 2008

Partners

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 know my heart.

My longest partner is my wife, Cathy, who has been married to me for 32 years. She is so much and more but she has made it possible for me to invest in the future of the refugees in Indonesia. She works a full-time job which makes it possible to live here. She also goes with me to Indonesia once a year while using her vacation leave. She has stood with me all these years and has been an awesome joy to me and so many others.

I have another friend who went on a short-term team. Tevis has a very tender heart. He is also a person who you love to spend time with. He is an influence in his local church along with Jim, Cindy, Dale and Shirley. These people are just amazing supporters.

I also have four men who have been my sounding board and wise voices to guide the work of IFC. Dan, Wayne, Jim and Jerry are the men of highest integrity. I know they have given so much of themselves and they each have a love for the people of Indonesia. These men are the foundation of this work.

I have so many others I am thinking about like Greg (Bull), Dennis, David, Jim, Anita , Joe, Collette, Patrick, Judy, Glen, Fliss and many more. The list would be very long if I named even the ones on the short list. It has been a blessing and it is clear to see it takes a lot of partners to meet all the needs. We are not a big organization but we are big into partnerships.