Cathy and I had just come from the remote islands to the east of Manado. We had spent lots time with the poor and sick–it was such a blessed time to share their lives and to stand with them. There is something about the simple live they live. The daily struggle to survive is always facing them–hardship is a constant reminder of their world. Our affections were with the abandoned children and the lepers who were now close to our...

The time in Indonesia was full of landmarks. I will be writing about many of them in the weeks to come–but for now I am in Australia. I will be seeing friends and finding new doors to open for IFC. We plan on traveling many miles while we are here and only have a couple days open–so it will be a busy time.It is amazed how many friends we have made over the years around the world. The partnerships and dear friends that have been made...

It was the afternoon before our team was to leave the remote island of Halmahera. Our team was scheduled to leave on a flight in the morning. We were in town purchasing some of the last items before we were to leave. We were just getting ready to drive to our base some 20 miles away but we were flagged down by the ticket agent who had sold us the tickets a week earlier. She told us that our flight had been canceled. That meant we had to work...

Who would think 15 seconds would make the difference between making a flight or spending the day organizing new flights. We knew it would be close but when our flight from Alaska was delayed 40 minutes we had only 20 minutes to get to our international flight to Tokyo. We landed and just ran from the North Satellite with three train rides and a run up the escalator in the South Satellite. I was out of breath when I reached the top of the...

It was a long trip back from remote East Indonesia but an awesome experience. The team went via Tokyo–Bangkok–Jakarta–Manado. The return trip was Manado–Jakarta–Seoul–Tokyo. We heard about the problems in Bangkok and were thankful we did not return to Bangkok on our return trip. The Bangkok Airport was closed and we would have been stranded somewhere in Asia.We accomplished everything we planned as a team....

37 hours from home to Manado (Indonesia). I have made this trip over 20 times in the last seven years. I can’t say I am used to the long hours of travel. I arrive at the airport at 5 a.m. and then the journey begins. I will be joined by a team that is traveling with me. We are excited about going but I remember how long the trip really is. The international flights have movies and seem to be more aware of the sleep we passengers need....

I met Leroy and Mary this week. Leroy is 74 years old and is drilling water wells in Kenya. He has been there for 20 years now. The youthful look in his eye covers the fact that most people are retired by his age. No retirement for him–he sold his home and he and his sweetheart are going for it in these golden years of their lives. He had lots of meetings and seemed to be fueled with his passion for helping the people of Kenya.I have...

I was in Illinois earlier this year where I experienced my first tornado producing thunderstorm. I saw the warnings on the weather channel and could see the dark clouds approaching. I stood in the safety of my friends home as the storm approached. It kept getting closer and closer. The wind and hail was intense. I could see it was nothing to take lightly. It came and it passed. I was in awe of its power and its beauty.We are in an economic...

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....

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...