Life at the Ends of the Earth

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 further behind. It seems like trying to catch up to Michael Phelps with my best dog paddle stroke. Now with all that in mind--put yourself at the end of the world somewhere. That is the challenge we have to our communications at our medical base.

I got a note--the email is out at the base. The satellite system is not working. We now have to send the replacement hardware to get it up again. The temperamental components make it tough to stay in regular contact. There is no cell phone service and the only way to speak to someone is by SAT-Phone. Life at the ends of the earth can be challenging. Maybe the lack of communication might be nice for a few days of quiet.

Updates

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 Kori made it to Indonesia. They are visiting friends in Java. They had a long flight and train rides but they are doing well and excited to finally be in Indonesia. Tomorrow they should be flying to Manado and then off to our base in Halmahera. They will be immersed in the daily routines on the base. These young woman are very capable and will show good progress in the language. The language skills of our Indonesian staff will also improve due to the efforts of Kori and Kate.

Receive Compassion

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 with him. I got a call from him where he reported his wife had initially been diagnosed with cancer. We set our meeting for some other time. I told him we will pray for his wife as they move forward with the treatment and more testing. We are praying for a good outcome and lots of years ahead for her.

We work with people in Indonesia who come in with medical crisis issues. I was just reminded of the impact of our own medical reports. Barry and his wife are good people and we will stand with them--as they support us we now consider it an honor to support them. If you give compassion you will receive compassion.

Kori and Kate

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 college in September.

We met together tonight--this was the last meeting before they depart for Indonesia. They are ready for the trip and the cultural differences they will experience. These young woman are at a prime time for this experience. They are both single and are ready for a foreign experience. They are also realistic about their time in Indonesia.

Remember them as they travel and then give everything they have to serve the staff and the poor who come to our clinic.

Another Viktor

Victor came to our clinic when he was seven months old. He was very malnourished and had sores from head-to-toe. He was is very bad shape. It took a lot of round-the-clock care for him to turn a corner. He became such a loving and sweet little boy. Viktor is almost five years old now. He is bi-lingual and loves everyone.

Peter just sent a note from the medical base and said we have another Viktor. His name is Yoshua and he is badly malnourished and covered with sores. He is 10 months old now and weighs 11 pounds (5 kilos). He was born at nearly10 pounds (4.5 kilos). In the last 10 months he has only gained one pound. Yoshua's mother has died and those who were caring for him nearly starved him to death. Miriam is taking care of him during the day. He should be able to recover in time just like Viktor. Once Yoshua gains his strength his father will take him. Peter feels it will be months before his is able to get to a normal weight and heal from the sores.

Billie is Improving

Billie is the four year old boy who went in for emergency surgery at a Manado Indonesia Hospital due to an obstruction in his bowel. He had come to Portland, Oregon when he was one year old for the needed surgery to save his life and now he was facing the same emergency. So many of you prayed and gave to help him in his latest chapter. Liz Wood made a valiant effort to organize help and monitor his care long distance. She advised the IFC medical staff and organized financial support for his medical expenses.

Esther Scarborough reported recently, "Billie is now out of the hospital! I visited yesterday morning and he was pretty uncomfortable but he did not have any tubes connected. He had not had a bowel motion for a week. I requested his discharge and the doctor agreed. We thought we would have to take him elsewhere for further tests etc to see what was holding up the works. Praise God things got moving and Billie's bowels are working. he walked into our Manado base! He looks thin but otherwise great. THANK YOU for praying for him"

We are cautiously optimistic with this news. He is improving and that is the best news we have had in weeks.

Standing On Our Own

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 and Esther Scarborough have led the selection and development of staff. They have led with grace and wisdom.

We are developing self-sustaining programs. The need for programs that pay for themselves is important for a strong future. We will always offer free medical care but where we can we are investing in ways to support ourselves. Four years ago 1100 fruiting trees were planted--there were papaya, mango, banana, rambutan, sirsak, coffee, lime, lemons, oranges, avocado and more exotic fruits like durian. We also grow cash crops of corn, egg plant and other vegetables. There are 200 coffee trees that are producing a very nice medium roast coffee. We also have a mechanics shop--it is well equipped and is a potential income base. We have a kiosk (small store) which sells to locals. There is plenty of livestock like cows, pigs, goats, chickens and ducks. We supply plenty of the food that we use--that off-sets the cost of feeding everyone.

There are also opportunities in local crafts and other small businesses. We know our future needs some "stand on our own" programs. The future is bright and doors are open to building these self-sustaining opportunities.