Out Of Nias, Indonesia

I keep this picture available so when I start to plan another trip to Nias I will remind myself that it is always a difficult trip because of the travel, extreme heat and the humidity. Someone took this picture during a lunch break in one of the remote villages we visited.
However, I am home safely and body and soul are just about back to Texas time.
Due to missed connections, faulty calculations, layovers and flying time, it took me 61 hours to get home. As difficult as the trip was, it was made much easier because of the generosity of Gary Mann who made arrangements for my travel and put me in first class/business class all the way. This also gave me priveleges at the AP lounges and made for easy bording.
The minor inconveniences of the trip pale in comparison to what was accomplished. I am trying to follow the code of "truth in reporting" that I personally wrote, so here goes. Our team completed 142 eye surgeries, saw over 1,000 patients in village clinics, gave away hundreds of pairs of glasses and distributed hundreds of pounds of rice and dried soup mix. The last count I had, about 350 personal Bible studies and prayer sessions were scheduled by the local evangelists in the villages.
It is a real joy to be on the giving side of human need. I believe true joy comes from living in the knowledge of the ever abiding presence of Christ, and I think you will never be closer to Him than when doing what He did. He went about doing good and place a priority on caring for the poor.
Speaking of "joy in His presence", being there when Reagon was buried with Christ in baptism is pretty high on the list of true joys that can be experienced by mortal man. Your a good man, Reagan Brown.
Papa