Friday, June 27, 2008

Ziba

I met with Anis, one of our Indonesian staff, and reminded him that he has an important job. He is in charge of finding the lepers and bringing them to our base for treatment. I also told him he is like the servant of King David who was sent to find the lame boy named Mephiboseth. King David’s servant was Ziba. He went to a very remote place to find this lame boy hoping to bring him back to meet King David. When the boy met the King he got on his knees and stated that he was no more than a “dog” in his sight. David accepted him and gave him a place at his table. He went from rejected to one of the highest places in the kingdom. Anis has an important job just like Ziba. He is sent out to find the most rejected and bring them back to a place where they are given a place at “the table” of acceptance.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Midnight Sun Festival

It is the longest day of the year. No it was not 25 hours long--but it is the summer solstice. The sun is above the horizon longer than any other day in the year. The Midnight Sun Festival is here in Fairbanks-- it is literally light at midnight. There were some 30,000 people attending this Festival.

IFC had a booth at the Midnight Sun Festival where we spoke to hundreds of visitors and many Alaskans about our efforts in Indonesia. We were there from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. We met people from Scotland, Australia, Canada and all over the lower-48 states. It was a beautiful day and we sold almost all of our Indonesian handcrafts.

This was great exposure for IFC and a really fun day with several volunteers manning the table.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

He Will Be Missed

I have a heavy heart at the accidental death of a young friend of mine. Jeremy Earnshaw was on staff at the YWAM base in Newcastle, Australia. He and three friends went to spend the day at the beach after he called his father, Darryl, wishing him a happy Father's Day. He and his friends were enjoying the day as they were walking near some rock outcroppings when a freak wave swept over Jeremy and one of his friends--they were pulled into the wild waves. Jeremy was never seem again. His friend was rescued by an emergency helicopter about an hour later as he clung to a life vest that was thrown to him. A gallant search and rescue followed and in the midst of the storm they searched but found no trace of Jeremy.

Many of his friends and family have prayed with hope that he would be found. At this point--we are all saddened that he has not been found. His father will be going to Australia to handle the final affairs and to comfort the friends of Jeremy. Jeremy was 23 years old and engaged to a wonderful Australian woman. His fiancee, Christina, needs our prayers for comfort. Also we need to pray for his family as they seek understanding for this accidental loss.

Jeremy Earnshaw was an amazing young man who learned to give his life to others. He was a friend of mine and even though I was old enough to be his father--he was a friend. I will miss him so much. He gave his life to help troubled youth. Jeremy lived a full life because he gave his whole self to others. I loved him and will miss the great talks and cups of coffee we shared. He was not shallow he built his life on deeply held beliefs. He stood on the rock of his life--Jesus Christ.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The Fleet

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. These are wonderful because they are safe and reliable. The donors all experienced our old cars. We can breath a sigh of relief now that we have new wheels.

If any of you come on a future team you will get to ride in one of them.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Life 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 access the web but it can do email.

That is a life line. We get regular reports at our office here in the U.S. about the status of the work in those remote Islands. We can stay in touch with the daily events and schedule teams without too much hassle. There is also a sat-phone for other emergencies and communications.

We can get email in the middle of the jungle in the far corner of Indonesia—what a time we are living.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Turning the Tide

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 from trees all over the property. We will use a lot of this fruit to feed our staff and patients. We will also sell whatever remains. These trees will help us off-set the high cost of feeding over 100 people each day.

Corn, egg plant, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables are also grown in gardens. We use this in the same way to supplement the cost of food. We also have cows, pigs, chickens, goats, ducks, and geese that are on the property.

We must turn the tide by becoming more and more dependent on what we can grow or sell. By the way—durian is not as bad as some say it is.