It has been three years since we have been able to have the IFC Family Gathering. This year the IFC Board of Directors decided to try to have our partners gathering in Fairbanks. The date of February 18 in the midst of the Alaska winter was set. The honored guests were Peter and Esther Scarborough, Hohidiai Directors, who traveled from Indonesia. February 18 was a cold day in the minus side of the Fahrenheit scale. There was a snow storm...

As I remember it, it was my eighth-grade year at Centralia Junior High School. Some of you guys might remember the hopes of making the starting football team on offense or defense.  Every guy wanted to catch the eye of the coaches. I was no different. The practices were hot and hard. I wondered if I could finish each practice with drills and lots of running, but the driving hope to make the starting team was what kept me going. I was five...

There is a song that has a line–I can see for miles and miles–well we drove for miles and miles and miles. It was nice to be home. It was a valuable trip with new partners and even two new groups opened to us. I have been invited to return to share at the new groups as well. It will have to be next year when my memory of those long driving days are forgotten. Cathy and I drove nearly 8,000 miles. We were in 20 of the U.S. States and...

It was a big effort but a successful day of raising support for our children. The Fall Classic held at Clear Lakes Golf and Country Club was well attended and lots of fun. There was a putting and chipping contest with the winner receiving a pellet smoker and BBQ as the prize. The winning team for the low score shot a 56 for the four person scramble on the par 72 layout–that is excellent play. There was an auction and raffle following the...

Dear Partners— It did not take long for our world to change. We are using language we have never used before, like “social distancing” and we are all doing what we can, as a nation, to limit exposure to the coronavirus. Church services are canceled, restaurants and other non-essential services have closed their doors. These are new days of challenge. Our work in Indonesia has been affected as we have canceled all foreign team visits. Until this...

Golf Tournament – Buhl, Idaho The Fall Golf Classic in Buhl, Idaho was a total success. Jim Ridgway coordinated a wonderful event. Records were set with 116 golfers participating and 29 teams. This was a scramble style tournament  with closest to the pin, long drive, and a  putting and chipping contest with an auction to follow. A team from Alaska came to represent the Far North and did not take last place. The winning team shot...

Thirty teams are ready to tee-it-up for the first International Friends of Compassion golf charity. Around 120 golfers and want-to-be golfers will be playing at the Buhl Clear Lakes Country Club in Buhl, Idaho. Saturday, August 24th will be the date for all the fun. A team from Alaska is also coming. Our Alaska team is pretty sure to take last place but we are traveling the longest distance to invest in the lives of the children in the Hohidiai...

Yes–for all you golfers and those who just hit a little round thing to green patches in a field. We are happy to announce the first IFC Charity Golf Tournament for Saturday, August 24, 2019. This event will be raising money for the construction of a school building for the Hohidiai School. The force behind this event is Jim Ridgway. Jim has a huge heart for the less advantaged and started doing charity golf events three years ago with...

The IFC Family Dinner was a wonderful event with our partners. The evening was filled with personal stories and videos of the work of IFC in Indonesia. This event is to celebrate the past and look forward to the future work of IFC and the Hohidiai School. Dan Holmgren made a great presentation on the school construction site. He showed the two buildings that are completed and the two that are under construction. The school site will eventually...

My wife and I were talking tonight about the amazing partners who have assisted the work of IFC. There is only one word that adequately says what we feel–Thankful. There are people who have given for the entire 18 plus years that IFC has been serving the poor. There are those who give from their need and others who out of the blessings. We have partners who continue to give after moving or changing jobs. They help with general needs,...