Where it all started

Africa Renewal Christian College, January 2011
It seems like it was forever ago!  My first EMI project trip.  It changed my life forever. (Yes, cliched, but true.)  I met Brad Crawford, the project leader, at an Association of Christian Design Professionals conference in October 2010 in Asheville.  He walked away from our first 5 minute conversation with the feeling that I would be part of his team traveling to Uganda the following January.  I, on the other hand, had no idea what was in store.

After lots of prayer and some wrestling with God (I really wanted to go on an EMI trip to Peru instead) I emailed Brad back in Colorado Springs and told him to count me in. Uganda, here I come.  I was terrified!  The thought of going to Africa was not appealing to me.  I had actually stated only a few years before that I would NEVER set foot on the continent of Africa.  Well, never say never.

EMI Project Team, January 2011

The trip opened my eyes and my heart to things I didn't know existed.  I learned to trust God for practical, everyday things that I had never had to trust Him for in my comfortable life in the U.S.  Like the strength to get up at 6 am and take a cold bird bath in a bucket and then work a 10 hour day with 9 other engineers and architects that I didn't know for 6 days in a row.  The courage to eat strange food.  The calm to ride in a van going way too fast  in a strange country with too many potholes.  And the most difficult part, to see people struggling in poverty, and the nerve to come back here and help them, when what I really wanted to do was run straight back to the U.S. and forget that people like this exist.

As soon as I landed back in the US, I called my Mama to tell her that I thought that the Lord was calling me back to work in Africa with EMI long term.  An exciting revelation, I thought! Her reply?  "Yes, I know."  Mama's always know.

Fast forward to March of this year.  I'd been here 7 months working, praying, traveling, worshiping, laughing and at times, crying my eyes out.  I've grown more in the love of Jesus Christ than I thought possible.  And I even learned to drive a car in downtown Kampala. (What!? Yes.)

So Gary Hightower, fellow long term volunteer in the EMI-EA office who was also on the project trip, his wife Erin, and myself, ventured out of Kampala about 20 km to the small village of Buloba, home of Africa Renewal Christian College.  Jeff Atherstone, the director, met us for a tour around campus to see what they had done since we were last there.

Gary and Erin trying out the newly constructed ramp down to the main campus entrance.

Often projects we work on don't get built right away, or they change significantly, or they are located so far away in other parts of East Africa, that we won't get to see what happens after the design phase.  But we were excited to visit and see the start of the master plan we designed.  One of the unique aspects of this project was the need for handicapped ramps, a rare thing in Africa.  They had also drilled a new water well and finished a new kitchen addition on to the existing dining hall.  Another rare thing in Africa is recycling.  Jeff has successfully implemented a program using recycled paper as mulch for the vegetable gardens and has found a manufacturer that recycles plastics in Kampala.

Kitchen addition

New security wall construction.

What was I most excited to see, you ask?  Well, pit latrines, of course!  They have constructed new blocks of ventilated improved pit latrines behind the newly renovated women's dorms.  And boy, were they nice! It's great to see simple solutions to complicated problems constructed correctly and working properly!   We really enjoyed seeing the progress and look forward to the construction of new buildings and further expansion of the campus.

Ventilated improved pit latrines!

Please keep me in your prayers as I will be traveling to Kenya for 3 weeks, June 1 to 21, for 3 more projects.  I will join a team of other surveyors, engineers, and architects from the U.S. for these projects.  We will work on a new worship center in the slum of Methare Valley in Nairobi, a water system for Daystar University in Athi River, and a church building addition for a home for widows and orphans in Ahero.

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)!

traveling

Sunday night, Jan 29,  I will travel with a team to Vanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  We are visiting the Miriam Fountain School of Nursing to design a master plan and new facilities for the campus.

Read the project profile on the EMI website here:
http://emiea.org/projects/projectprofile_9823.shtm

I will return home to Kampala on February 13.  Then February 16 to 18, I will travel to Torit, South Sudan, to the Hope for Sudan orphanage.  On this short trip, I will evaluate the existing water situation in order to improve their water supply system and design rainwater harvesting and storage.

Please join me in prayer for the Vanga team and the project.   Specifically, please pray for clarity, direction, and efficiency in the work we will be doing, for our health and safety as we travel, and for both the people who serve at the ministry and the people of the DRC who are served by the ministry.

Also, please pray for the Hope for Sudan orphanage, the 57 children who live there, all the staff, and for me as I will be traveling alone to South Sudan.

I will post more about my travels when I return!