Ten Years

It is hard to believe that IFC has been serving in Indonesia for ten years. January 2001 was the first introduction to this amazing nation and people.

This past Friday a group of 280 friends and supporters gathered in Fairbanks for a wonderful night of food, laughter and reflection. Esther Scarborough, IFC (Hohidiai) co-founder, was the honored speaker. She is so gifted and inspiring--she always shares from her heart about the people. She has been called the Mother Theresa of Halmahera. I have witnessed her tireless work and servants heart.

We got to share our story and see the faces of our supporters. We shared how IFC was born and our hope is it will go forward. We, in many ways, have just begun. We have over 45 children in our care. We have lepers, T.B. infected, HIV sufferers and those who come to us for help by the thousands each year. We are hopeful for the future.

I got to see many of my friends--it was like a reunion. The meal and program lasted about two hours and people stayed for over an hour. It was a great seen--seeing laughter and smiles.

Now we look forward to the next ten years.

Milestone

It was January 2001 that I went to the refugee camps in North Sulawesi near the city of Manado. IFC was born to help the poor in these camps. It was an overwhelming challenge with 53,000 refugees in the area. This began a journey of IFC where we worked in food, clean water and medical programs.

These were the early days and now it has been ten years. We have reached a milestone--one decade. It hardly seems possible that 10 years has passed. I can look back and see many challenges and also breakthroughs.

It is the amazing people who have joined us in this work. I have only thanks to the hundreds of people who have volunteered to go to the refugee camps and our medical base. These are the salt of the earth--the best of mankind. I am thankful to work along side these amazing people.

Jien--a fighter

Little Jien is still alive and continues to fight. She is now 9 years old. Jien has T.B. and has recently lost two kilograms (around 4 pounds). She is now around 15 pounds. She has little gains but she need to have sustained weight gain.

Jien's mother died of T.B. and she has a grandmother with her. She gets lots of love and support from the medical staff. She has had very good medical care but continues to barely hold on to life. She does not like the feeding tube but it offers a way to get the life giving formula into her stomach. She doesn't seem to process the food she consuming.

She has taught us a lot about having a"will to live". She is a fighter. We pray she will win this battle.

Great Year

It was a normal year in many way--365 days--12 months. It began with the same hopes and dreams as most other years. It was also entered into with wide-eyed anticipation. 2010 is the 10 years anniversary of IFC and landmark for our supporters and staff.

IFC began in 2000 with a short sited plan of simply helping refugees in a crisis time in their lives. We did not know how long we would be involved in aid work. Now 10 years later we are not only involved--we are committed for the foreseeable future.

This year was a year of development with the construction of a single staff living quarters, a second Children's Home, a third (four apartments) unit in the Leper Rehabilitation Center, an Eye and Dental Clinic and temporary HIV housing unit. These facilities will all serve the poor and provide services to those who are in challenging or hopeless situations ion their lives. The amazing leadership of Peter and Esther Scarborough and their staff are the reason we have seen these advances. There has been a lot of prayer involved in the process.

There are also many people who believe in what IFC is about. This year is a tribute to everyone who has given funds, prayed, went on a team or donated in-kind gifts. More than 10,000 people came to our clinic and hospital asking for help this year--no one was turned away. If we could help them we did everything in our power to serve them.

Yes--this was a great year. How can you go wrong serving the orphaned and the helpless. It is an honor to be a part of their lives and a part of the answer to their prayers for help.

Merry Christmas

The year 2010 is nearly completed. It had it's challenges and blessings. I reflect on the amazing goodness of God and the great friends we have. I am also reminded of the importance of making your life count.

So--Merry Christmas to all of you and a blessed New Year.

Frozen

It is a deep chill here in Alaska. Just before Christmas this cold snap has come to the northern regions. The vehicles can fail to start and the homes are a concern if the heat source fails. It takes a special person to live in the north. It looks like the chill will stay around for a while.

If you live here for more than 20 winters you are called a Sourdough. We might be called other names by people who think this is just crazy. The crazy thing is people just continue going forward--they go to the store and will keep shopping before Christmas.

Well--have a warm and wonderful Christmas.

Give Me Some Lip

This Monday Tison got up just like any other day—other than he could not have breakfast. He got dressed and bundled up in the car. It was around minus 25 degrees F. so we had to wait for the car to warm up. We arrived at the surgery center and he knew the routine. He got his wrist band and was escorted to the pre-op room. The nurses were hardly noticed as they did their paperwork and took all his vital signs. We did find out he is gaining weight at a good pace. He hardly looked up with all the poking and questions. The surgeon came in and was greeted with a big, “hello”. There were several things the doctor was looking at but he would not allow Tison to be under anesthesia for more than 90 minutes. The main concern was a graft on the lower lip.

Tison came out of the surgery very well. He was to overnight in the hospital. He woke from the surgery and wanted to eat. He was hungry after not eating in the morning. He then started to watch the movies—they have a large selection in the pediatrics unit. He thought he could stay up longer than me. I told him he was going to have trouble staying awake longer than me because I had just returned from Indonesia and was still jet lagged. Well—at 1:30 a.m. he went to sleep. I stayed up all night and was still awake when he woke up at 8:30 a. m.

The staff at the hospital were just awesome. He had a very restful night and is recovering from this surgery very well. He will have the stitches removed from the lip next week. It is one step at a time.