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."