MOSES LAKE ‹ In 1995 Gary Morgan, co-owner of Morgan Insurance where he also works as an insurance agent, had been looking for a mission project to work on.

While at a missions conference in Spokane, Morgan met Craig Scott who co-founded Search for One with his wife Remy in 1992.

At that time, SFO was seeking volunteers to travel to the South Pacific to build a base camp and host a medical team.

"I said, 'Where do I sign up?'" Morgan said.

SFO is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing medical and dental care to people in remote areas of the world.

Morgan already had an interest in the South Pacific and by the following year moved his wife and three children to the region.

"When we recognize a need somewhere in the world, it's important to my faith to go and satisfy that need," Morgan said of his decision to get involved in this mission work.

Ten years later, Morgan is the president of SFO which is now headquartered in Moses Lake. It was originally founded in Oregon.

On April 18, Morgan and a group of volunteers once again headed for the Republic of Kiribati, located in the central South Pacific where the international dateline crosses the equator. The country is comprised of 33 islands, 21 of which are inhabited, and the population is roughly 90,000.

"We're going to islands that very seldom are even visited," Morgan said.

To travel to and from islands within the Republic, SFO has a 40-foot trimaran power and sailing vessel and a 26-foot MacGregor power and sailing vessel. A twin-engine Piper Aztec airplane is used to bring medical teams to more remote islands.

Palm trees, warm weather and the rich traditions of the native peoples are often overshadowed by poverty and lack of basic amenities.

Lagoons are continually polluted with human waste and there is not a sufficient amount of clean water or soil for growing food.

Such conditions have resulted in an abundance of hepatitis and other diseases.

"It's very important we keep someone out there full time," Morgan said of keeping enough volunteers on the islands to provide services.

Dentist Alan Altman of Tacoma has gone to the Republic of Kiribati eight years in a row, accompanying Morgan once or twice on a trip.

"It was, I have to say, life changing," Altman said. "Going there and helping people that don't have access to any care is different than anything I have ever done."

Altman did not accompany the group April 18 when they left on their trip, but is planning on going down later in June.

For as many times as Altman has made the trip he wants his next visit to focus on raising the level of awareness among native peoples about dental hygiene.

"They don't understand many times that the pop they get from the developing countries or the candy or the refined food, has a relationship between their teeth and their bodies and consequently they don't live very long," Altman said. "They do not have the health care system to support that kind of a lifestyle."

According to the SFO Web site, eight doctors are available to people in the Republic of Kiribati, all of whom are located on the country's only hospital on the island of Tarawa. There are no dentists.

Once on the islands, SFO missionary groups start by making visits to area elementary schools.

Students gather for an assembly where they hear about how to take care of their teeth and the difference between healthy food and sugary coated foods that can cause cavities.

Then missionaries try and meet with each student to give them a health exam.

By going to the schools, Morgan said the hope is that parents and family members will hear about the medical services and seek them out.

"By that time, the word is out to the entire village," he said.

Villagers hold feasts and celebrations, providing opportunities for medical team members and villagers to exchange information about their cultures.

Opposition is rare, if ever, toward the medical teams or the services they have to offer.

"For them, they feel really honored someone has stopped to their village to visit," Morgan said.

So far SFO has constructed three houses and a cook house at its base camp on Abemama Island. Since 1997, medical and dental teams have provided more than $1,000,000 worth of services to the people of Kiribati.