Home safe

It took over 2000 miles and around 80 gallons of gas to get me back to Bartow. I made it safely and don't even have any crazy stories to tell about it, which is a good thing.

Here are some more pictures of the 5 of us interns:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39707068@N04/sets/72157622013896078/

Thanks again so much for your prayers and support.
I learned a ton about engineering and design this summer. God was also continuing to teach me what it means to be a godly man and helping me to trust Him with bigger things.

I miss the other 4 interns who I grew so close to, but I'm glad to be here with my family. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with friends at school, going to class again, and being involved with Campus Crusade.

I still don't know what God has in store for the rest of my life, and I think after this summer I'm a little more comfortable not knowing. It's as if He's just showing me the next door ahead of me and not showing me where I'll be years from now. My heart was touched this summer and I'll never be the same.

It's almost over

Tomorrow is my last day in the office. I have a lot to do in preparation for driving home. I got my oil changed and picked up some books on CD. Listening to audio books will help me stay alert mentally on the long trip home. I still need to pick up some snacks for the trip, do laundry, pack everything, and do some other cleaning and errands. Pray that I can fit it all in.
I will leave this Saturday, hopefully around 5AM. I'll be driving to Little Rock where I'll sleep on the couch of a friend of EMI. Sunday will be another 14 hour day of driving back to Gainesville. Then I'll be back in Bartow to visit with my family from Monday through Friday. Pray that I'll drive safely and be alert.
We've been working steadily on designing the primary school and women's center in Sudan. We won't finish the project, but we'll have it mostly done by tomorrow. We still need some structural design and we need to compile the report.
It's going to be tough to leave this place and all the people, but I am looking forward to seeing old friends and going back to school.

A close call

I was almost T-boned by a van while driving to work this morning. I had Jake and Christal in the car with me. I saw the van coming and was able to swerve and avoid being hit. Thankfully, there was no one in the lane beside me.
The funny thing is that I was listening to a CD at the time by Tenth Avenue North. The lyrics of the song that was playing at that exact moment were "My hands are holding you".
God protected us this morning and made sure that we knew He was holding us in His hands.
The next song on the CD has the lyrics "You say let it go". The song isn't about letting go of anger or a grudge, but it still reminded me that there's no reason to be angry or get in a bad mood about what had just happened.
God really has a sense of humor.

Just under two weeks left

The summer has passed by rather quickly. I'm looking forward to returning home, but at the same time I wish I could stay here longer. I think I'm really going to miss the other interns, but I'm looking forward to connecting with my friends back home at church and at UF.
I had a great weekend last week. I took some days off and made it a long one. I hiked Grays and Torreys Peaks last Friday morning. Then I spent the rest of the weekend hanging out at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Campus Crusade holds summer classes and training for their staff on the campus. I was able to visit one of the staff guys from UF. I had a great time meeting other staff members from different campuses and other Crusade ministries. We went to the Cheyenne Rodeo too, which was quite the adventure. I also played disc golf on a real course for the first time. Check it out if you don't know what it is.

I have to decide how I'm driving back and where I'm going to stop to sleep. I also have some other decisions coming up. Next Friday the 5 interns get to share about our experience with the office during our morning testimony and devotional time. Pray that God will give me wisdom in my decisions and will help me gather my thoughts about what my time here at EMI has meant to me.

Working in the Office

I'm still working on some projects in the Middle East, doing computer drafting and edits. Hopefully we will be able to close the projects soon.
Tuesday was EMI's annual Golf Marathon fundraiser. It is the only fundraiser that EMI does each year. EMI had a course to itself for the day just outside of Colorado Springs. Golfers get sponsors and then try the exhausting task of golfing 100 holes in a day. This year EMI raised about $40,000 with about $25,000 going to the Colorado Springs office and the rest to other offices around the world. The money helps EMI with general office expenses like equipment. Praise God for how He provides mightily even in times of economic hardship.
I caddied for Jim Hall, the CEO of EMI. We had some great conversations and I tried my hand at golf for the first time. What a difficult sport! I have a newfound respect for anyone who plays a lot.
This year also marked the first intern golf outfit contest...pictures included:
I didn't win, but we had fun.
The hardest thing about working in the office is remembering that I'm not working on a project that is going to make someone somewhere wealthy, but that I'm working on a project to help the needy across the world and to advance the cause of Christ. It's a lot easier to have a good attitude about making minor changes and having to do a tenth set of drawings to get them just right when I can remember the reason I'm here. Pray that I'll have a good attitude about even the smallest task I do.
This Friday is a day off from work where everyone will get out of the office. We're having a day of prayer and reflection for EMI. I'm looking forward to that.

Pictures from Africa

I tried to add a slideshow box onto the sidebar, but it wasn't working.
Here's a link to my Flickr account

I took way more pictures, but I didn't want to overwhelm everyone. Here are some of the highlights. Enjoy!

Life in Colorado

The past week and a half have been great. I've been very busy doing computer drafting and helping edit and write reports. This past week I worked on a hospital in Sierra Leone, and a youth camp in Jordan. I did computer drafting for a 7-story structure in Egypt that will have rooms, a conference area, and training for mentally retarded people. I also worked on a project for an organization ministering to the deaf in Egypt. It's amazing that God has led engineers and architects to EMI to design these facilities for ministries for free!
This past week we did an intern scavenger hunt in downtown Colorado Springs. My team lost, but on a technicality, so I'll still claim it as a win. :) Some of us interns also went on an overnight backpacking trip to the Venable Lakes in the Sangre de Cristo Mts. It was rainy and cold but very beautiful.

Happy Father's day, dad!

My time in Colorado Springs begins

I made it back safe into the US on Wednesday. Everything went smoothly as far as customs and luggage. Thursday I had the day off. I used it to get adjusted to the time change, make some phone calls, and do other necessary tasks.

Today we had office orientation, and on Monday we'll have AutoCAD orientation. On Fridays, interns volunteer at a soup kitchen during lunchtime, so in a few minutes I'll be leaving to go do that. I think this weekend I'm going to visit some friends at the camp I worked at last summer, so I'm looking forward to that.

Thanks for your prayers while I was traveling. God really blessed our journey and our work.

Almost back to the US

Right now I'm in the UK, outside of London. I'm traveling with Alyssa, an intern, and Danna, the EMI intern director. Danna is meeting with the small staff of the newish EMI UK office. We're getting great homecooked meals and learning differences between American and British English.

Today we went driving around the countryside for a few hours and walked around a small town and a church. Then we all had fish and chips at a riverside English pub. What a cool experience! We're planning a day of touring London tomorrow, and then on Wednesday we'll fly back to the US.

I've been reflecting a little bit more on our time in Sudan. I a happy-go-lucky, positive person in general, but I tend to be negative too. I'm experiencing negative feelings and low expectations to a degree about the impact of our trip and the school and women's center we're designing. I'm wondering how something so small in a country so large could make a big difference. The problems of the world our big, but God is bigger. Sometimes though, I have a hard time seeing that. God works through people, and results come quickly, slowly, or not at all. I think I'm learning to trust him to bless what I do.

I'm looking forward to starting the stateside portion of the internship. Once I get back I'll have about two months in CO Springs to work in the office. I'll be getting a mentor in the office and working on this project in Sudan in others. I'm also excited to see some family from my dad's side this coming Sunday.

Pray that we make it home on Wednesday and that we can get into the groove quickly back in the states.

As much of an update as dial-up internet will allow

My time in Sudan has come to a close. Right now I'm in EMI's East Africa Office in Kampala, Uganda. Today we did a design review meeting with the Staff here. It was great to discuss design choices with them and to receive some advice.

We were on a mission to design a school and women's center for an organization called Rebuild Sudan. While in Sudan we had a lot of meetings with officials and community leaders. We tried to learn as much as possible about local construction practices and about what a school needs to function in Sudan. My function on the design team was to assist John, civil engineer from Denver. I helped him determine how the locals treat and dispose of wastewater. We also did some water quality testing at various hand-pump wells. We only were able to visit the possible site for the school for a few hours one day, which was a bummer. The dirt roads were very bad due to the onset of the rainy season. While on site, we looked at the soil and the surrounding areas. Last Saturday evening, we presented our preliminary design to Michael and some of the local community leaders. Now as we return to the states we will refine the design and prepare a drafted set of plans and a report.

One of the things I was most amazed by was the stark difference in development from Sudan to Uganda. In Uganda there are many cars, miles of paved roads, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and power lines. Southern Sudan is still suffering from the civil war that destroyed so much of that. There is a cycle of poverty there as well. They have no money to plant fields or start businesses and no good roads to transport goods or materials to build with. Development is very slow in coming. I think the future of Sudan is promising; the people want better lives and will work to succeed.

Last Monday and Tuesday some of the volunteers from our Sudan trip and I were able to do a safari (with a drive through a park and a cruise down the Nile). We saw tons of animals. Half the team has returned to the states, but the rest of us are taking advantage of our time in Africa to go whitewater rafting on the Nile. On the way back to the US, I'll be in London for two days. I'm due back on the 10th.

I'll probably write some more about the trip later, but for now I'm done. I'll definitely post pictures sometime when I get back to the states.

Sudan at last

We're safe in Juba, Sudan. Tomorrow we're supposed to head to Bor and I think we're flying there. Originally the plan was to drive, but the locals think it would be best to fly. I think the flight might be on a UN plane. Tonight we meet with Michael, the head of Rebuild Sudan, and some other figures involved in the ministry and in the affairs of Southern Sudan. We're trying to get a better picture of his ministry vision and goals and what a 'school' will look like in Sudan. Praise God we're here with all our luggage and no worse for the wear of an extra travel day.

A minor inconvenience

We arrived in Ethiopia on a redeye flight from Frankfurt. Originally, our flight from Ethiopia to Sudan was just delayed, but it was eventually canceled. I guess it's better to get delayed for a flight than to fly on a broken plane.
They put us up in a very nice hotel for the night with hot water, free internet, dinner and breakfast. We leave tomorrow morning for our flight to Juba, Sudan. Hopefully everything will work out and we'll end up where we're staying in Bor on Sunday afternoon.

On the way to Sudan

We're in Frankfurt in a hotel right now. We have around a 16 hour layover here before our flight to Ethiopia. Once we arrive there we fly to Juba in Sudan. Then it's a long car ride to Bor Town where we'll be working. I don't know when I'll be able to update this next.
Pray that all our stuff arrives in Sudan at the same time we do.
Pray for safety and good weather while we travel

Orientation Part II

Today was a whirlwind of activities and learning. I learned about everything from staff testimonies to lessons for connecting cross-culturally to how intern finances work today. We've been so busy from like 7:30 AM to 10 PM the past two nights so by the time we're done I can't even call my parents because of the two hour time difference. Today we hiked up a trail to these depressions in rock called the 'punch bowls' where snowmelt drains down through them and into a creek. One of them was so deep that some of the interns jumped in. Being a Floridian with very little resistance to the cold I elected not to go in, but being clumsy I ended up sliding into the pool on accident. It was cold, but fun. Then the other primary activity of the afternoon was each intern sharing a short testimony with the rest of the EMI staff.

This will probably be my last post until we're on our trip to Sudan, although we have a 15 hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany, so I may be able to send a post from there. Pray for our team as we design a school building for the ministry Rebuild Sudan Pray that we would clearly be able to understand what the ministry requires and that we would be able to complete the other work needed to do the complete design once we return to the states. Pray for safety and humility in all we do.

I'm pretty tired and I don't think that's going to change any time soon, so I've been remembering these verses from Matthew 11:28-30 because I know that God will sustain me and help me to serve him.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Orientation

WOW!
God is so good. He brought me safely to Colorado Springs on Saturday afternoon. I met the family who is letting me and the other guy intern live in their basement this summer. That evening the other interns and I and the spring interns that are still left went and grabbed some dinner and hit a local coffee shop and we had a great time.
On Sunday I went to church with a friend of mine from my last summer in Colorado. It was a great service. Then I had lunch with him and his family. That evening orientation started with dinner at the CEO of EMI's house. His wife made some delicious lasagna and he told us all about his testimony and the history of EMI.
Today we went rock climbing in the Garden of the Gods, which was a blast. We got to encourage each other to make it to the top of the rock faces and we had to learn to trust our belayers and the ropes holding us up. Then we went to EMI's office and had some lunch and did some sessions with EMI staffers. We learned a little bit more about how the various design disciplines blend together during an EMI project. We learned about the structural, architectural, and water/wastewater treatment things that EMI does. To close out the evening we went to the vice president's house and he talked to us about God's calling and our response and we also did a personality test.
This week is going to be very busy, especially since our team leaves for Sudan on Thursday. Hopefully I'll be able to upload another post and some pictures before then.

And so it begins...

I made it to Alabama today safe and sound. The drive was completely uneventful, and I'm definitely ok with that. I'm staying with my grandparents. We had an awesome dinner complete with steaks grilled by my grandpa seasoned with super-secret steak rub from my uncle. I'm excited to spend Wednesday here with them.

T-minus Two weeks

Well, right now I'm sitting in my parents' house in Bartow. I'm finished with school for the semester, and I think did well. It's really exciting to think that at this time in two weeks I'll be out in Colorado. I'm definitely looking forward to meeting the other four interns for the summer. I also ended up with the opportunity to work a few hours for my dad helping him get caught up on some work, which will help put some spending money in my pocket for the summer.

I'm so thankful for how God has met my needs for the summer. I'm almost done with raising support. My passport and visa are all taken care of, and I got my shots on Thursday. Everything is coming together. Philippians 4:19 is so true: And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

In case I don't post again before I leave, here's how my drive to Colorado is going to break down:
5/12 - Drive to Alabama where my grandparents live
5/13 - Spend the day relaxing with my grandparents
5/14 - Drive to Oklahoma City and stay with some friends from camp last summer
5/15 - Spend the day with them
5/16 - Drive to Colorado Springs
5/17 - Orientation starts in the evening

Pray that I will stay alert and awake on my drive.