February was a busy month. Oh, wait….so was January. And December. Who am I kidding? Life is busy! But back to February.
First I was in the DRC for 2 weeks with a team of 3 volunteers from the U.S. and 5 of us from the East Africa office. We were working at a mission station in a village called Vanga located on the Kwilu River. The station includes a hospital and nursing school and we were there designing a new classroom building for the nursing school as well as working on conceptual plans for a medical missions training facility.
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| Volunteer, Chance, in Vanga helping some local guys dig a hole used to determine the percolation rate of the soil. You can't see him, but there is another guy down in that hole! It was about 2 meters (6 feet) deep. |
Shortly after, I went to South Sudan for a few days to visit an orphanage. I was there to evaluate their water supply and design rainwater harvesting systems. At both of these ministries, I saw the way God is working in people's lives in many different ways, and it’s such a privilege to be a small part of that.
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| Children at Hope for Sudan Orphanage |
But more on both of those trips later....
Now for the BIG news: after much prayerful consideration, I will sign a new 3 year agreement with EMI when my current one year commitment is up in August!! I will officially join the East Africa office as Staff Civil Engineer and Disaster Response Coordinator. Lots of things will change, but one of the main differences is that I will be responsible for managing 2 to 3 projects each year. I will coordinate with our ministry partner, plan the trip to the project site, and lead the team of volunteers. In my role as Disaster Response Coordinator, I will direct our efforts for disaster relief and manage partnerships with other organizations doing the same.
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| David, John, Sarah, Ed and myself on the MAF flight to Vanga. |
I am thrilled and so thankful and humbled to have this opportunity to continue to serve with EMI! After being here 6 months, I realize just how short 1 year is. It is difficult to be effective unless you have been in a new place long enough to understand things in the context of the culture. And I am just beginning to understand some things about life in east Africa.
I plan to return to the U.S. for a visit at the end of October through Christmas. During that time I hope to be able to see you all and I will start making plans soon.
Thank you all for your continued love, support, prayers, cards and emails of encouragement! I love to hear from you! If you have any questions, comments, or words of any kind, please post below, send me an email, or Facebook message me. I love to hear from you (oh, wait, I said that already)!
