BIG news!

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.  

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.  

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.   

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)!