Gold Medals

While Indonesia has only one gold medal that I have seen in the Olympics. I believe we have a lot of gold medal winners on our staff. If I were to give the medals I would award many of them with gold medals in compassion.

Our staff members make a winning effort when they care for the lepers at our base and nearby. Olan is so committed to the health and emotional well being of these rejected people. Olan wraps their woulds and spends time talking to them while quickly becoming their friend. Eka has served the T.B. patients for years. She goes out every day to make sure they are eating nutritious food and that they are taking their medicines. Yohanis goes out to the remote islands to find children we have heard were being abandoned. He also escorts the sick including lepers to our base. He is a winner in my estimation.

There are many others who serve with IFC who make amazing efforts to serve the least and the lowest. They are all real heroes. I admire everyone of them and I know they are saving lives and relieving the suffering of thousands on these remote islands.

Blue Sky

I just returned from a rare blue sky day in Valdez, Alaska. It is one of the most beautiful places in Alaska. The mountains that surround the city were just crystal clear and snow capped. Esther met with several people and shared the work in Indonesia with another large group. It was a worthwhile time of building partnerships.

While driving back to Fairbanks we saw four moose and one caribou. The caribou was running down the road in from of us. He had large antlers and ran full speed down the road before dashing into the bushes.

We drove 360 miles back and saw the stunning sites over that stretch of the highway. Alaska is wild and beautiful but breathtaking under blue skies.

Miles--Miles--Miles

I have been traveling with Esther Scarborough and Nius. Nius has met with several groups to share about his life and work. He is in medical school and has an awesome story of how he desires to serve the poor in his region. We have past over 1,000 mile posts in the last week. We have seen several animals--moose, caribou, musk ox, bear and even elk. There is another more than 800 miles to go and mountains and rivers to cross. Esther will be in Alaska for another week and a half.