10 Days in Trinidad

The view from my porch at Victory Heights

After arriving late Thursday evening, we held an opening time of prayer and team testimonies before heading on a camp tour with Joe, the head of the executive committee for the camp board.  Victory Heights Bible Camp sits on a 30 acre hillside, with only about 7 or so easily accessible acres atop the hill.  The camp consists of 4 dorms, an auditorium/dining hall, a pool and villa/conference room, a cricket pitch, and a playground and basketball court (More pictures on my Victory Heights page).  It has a capacity of about 300 but usually has groups of around 100 as well as hosts retreats and sports groups. The hillside has beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and is well loved by the 14 supporting churches and groups who regularly visit. This year marks the campuses 50th anniversary and much of the property/buildings are in dire need of renovation.  In order to stay financially viable the camp is actively seeking ways to reinvigorate its campus and expand its facilities to generate revenue and growth.  We knew heading in that they desired our team to develop a master plan and design a multi-purpose building (MPB) with enough space for 800-1000 for weddings, conferences, or concerts, etc.  But we had no idea of the scope of their vision for a master plan they could use for development for decades to come.

Taking a camp tour

The team that I got to work with in country was incredible.  Our team leader Rex has led over 40 projects with EMI over the years and has been to at least as as many countries.  Jim, our lead architect has designed master plans for well over 100 camps and is well known as one of the best camp designers in the US.  Brent, another architect, along with his son Gabe brought along a drone that was able to fly above the campus taking thousands of photos and creating a highly realistic 3D survey of the campus, complimenting the survey that local Trinidad engineers had already performed for us.  We also had 2 electrical engineers, a civil engineer, a cad manager, and another great architect along with Jacob and I (the 2 interns with backgrounds in mechanical and civil engineering).

Flying the Drone

Virtual Reality Googles allowing you to see what the drone sees.  We photobombed everyone wearing them.  

What engineers at work look like. :)

I primarily assisted Jim, the licensed civil engineer, as we tested/evaluated the current water supply, septic systems, and soil properties of the camp and future possible locations of the MPB. It was amazing to see so much of the design process unfold in only a week and a half span.  Observing the architects work was incredible as they proposed ideas and quickly sketched concepts.  We hosted a meeting with the camp board and Trinidad engineers every few days to bounce off ideas and hear more from their vision and with each meeting new changes and additions were added to our list of concepts for the master plan.  By the time Wednesday rolled around we had finished our site evaluation and finally nailed down our plan to develop.  The next 48 hours were a blur as we modeled, drafted, sketched, and rendered how the future of the camp might look in years to come in perpetration for our presentation before the ministry Friday evening. The picture below shows our team standing behind the final Master Plan we presented to the camp.

We had a lot fun during the trip as well!  The camp had an amazing cook and we got to try a lot of local foods and drinks including fried shark sandwiches.   On Saturday we got to spend a restful and celebratory day at the beach, going zip lining, and debriefing. Now that we are back we have a lot of design drawings and report writing to finalize in the office and send back to Victory Heights!

Design, Discipleship, Diversity

Jacob and I at Red Rock Amphitheater

I leave for Trinidad tomorrow!  Our project team is made up of 15 people.  Jacob and I are the two interns, along with our project leader Rex and his wife Sally, we make up the Engineering Ministries International members of the team.  We will be joined by nearly a dozen other professional engineers and architects for the 10 days at Victory Heights Bible Camp, including 2 local engineers from Trinidad.  Over the course of the trip we will be meeting daily with local ministry leaders to hear their vision for expansion, evaluating their current survey and site, conducting soil and water tests, and developing preliminary architectural drawing(s) for the multi-purpose auditorium we’ll be designing as well as any other upgrades we recommend to the facility.  I will be working closely with a couple of other structural and civil engineers.  I am very excited for this opportunity to travel, engage cross-culturally, learn from some new perspectives, and serve where needed as I’m able.  One of the aspects I have been growing to appreciate the most about EMI is the emphasis placed upon prayer and seeking to engage others in a way that understands their needs from their own perspective as we seek to equip them.  

Over the last couple of weeks I have been trained in several of the programs we use, been organizing preliminary drawings and reports for our team, and had the opportunity to help finalize a project report for a previous trip to Haiti. I enjoy dressing up for work and being in a professional environment, but I have found the pursuit of community and spiritual growth to be even more satisfying.  We open every day here in a time of devotion and prayer for our different offices and projects around the world and each Friday afternoon we spend a couple of hours serving at a local food bank known as Marion House.  Between traveling, work in the office, off-work adventures, and opportunities to serve we get to stay pretty active and engage with a large variety of other people.  I haven't had to cook for myself much yet, as a different full-time staff member invited all of us interns over for dinner each night our first week so we could get to know them and their families.

This last week was finally a bit slower, as we adapted to life in the office and many of the other interns began to leave for their project trips.  Our EMI office here in Colorado  is working on projects in 6 countries this term and we have already sent teams out to Haiti, Tanzania, and the Dominican Republic.  It has been exciting to hear some of the stories from abroad and has made Jacob and I all the more eager to step out ourselves.  We've had a bit more time to explore and have some fun with other staff during this week finding opportunities to go skiing at Mt Copper, and explore the Red Rock Amphitheater near Denver.   

Since arriving here, I have been praying through and journaling goals that I have over the next 3 months. 3 of the guiding principles at EMI are Design, Discipleship, and Diversity—all of which are areas that I want to pursue and grow in as I intern.  It is my hope to explore, observe and practice what it looks like to perform engineering design work as a profession cross-culturally and missionally. I hope to be able to discern and process over my time here whether the Lord is guiding me into a specific ministry and how He simply present in my life day to day.  I have been pondering recently about how much of the depth of our walk with Him is about more of an ordinary faithfulness each day and less the dramatic and exotic moments that may excite us.  I don’t want to be so caught up while traveling or serving as a “missionary engineer” this term that I miss the little ways I may encounter Him in the lives and circumstances of the everyday.  I am ready and excited to encounter a lot of new things and to have a lot of fun along the way, but I am reminded of C.S. Lewis’s words at the same time:  “It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us; it is the very sign of His presence.”  I don’t want to be so enamored by the view from a mountain top that I miss the details from the dirt below.  

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported and encouraged me so greatly through affirmation, prayer, and giving.  I have raised over 4/5^ths of my support so far and am only a $1000 away from my fundraising goal by mid-May!  If you have not supported me financially yet and would like to do so, please do so through my support page: http://makemypathsstraight.blogspot.com/Supporters

Designing The Kingdom

I've only been in Colorado for 10 days and am already falling in love with the state as I dive into my internship with Engineering Ministries International! My first week here was spent tucked away at a retreat center with all the new staff and monday began my first day in the office downtown.  

Exploring the Garden of the Gods with Interns

Orientaton was amazing.  I spent the week with 16 other interns and about a dozen full-time staff heading to EMI's expanded office in Uganda.  I am working with 8 of the interns out of EMI's Colorado Springs Office while the other 8 interns are heading off to work in the Ugandan, Indian, and Candaian field offices.  Our schedule was packed between seminars on poverty, cultures, and the unique work of design in missions as well lots of small group discussions on how God has uniquely gifted and shaped all of us to work towards his Kingdom.  Design, diversity, discipleship are three of the primary principles guiding EMI as we seek to invest in Christ's work with head, hands, and heart. We got to hear from a lot of perspectives and firsthand experiences of men and women who had led and served on projects all over the world.  Cross-cultural design work and missions are very multi-faceted and require a great deal of intentionally and adaptability in order to truly enable and impact communities within their native environment.  I've been discovering how engineering work gets less technical but a whole lot more interesting and challenging when you step away from western culture!  Who would've thought? :)

If there was anything that I was truly surprised with during my first week here it was with how much discipleship is taken to heart and how inviting and engaged the staff at EMI are.  I don't think I have felt so welcomed into a community with a new sense of belonging since being a part of the Summer Staff at Twin Rocks Friends Camp. My small group quickly became quite close as we shared our life stories with each other and processed what we were learning about our gifts, calling, and God's unique nature revealed through the diversity of culture. I got to hear so many amazing testimonies about God's incredible work around the world and had the opportunity to briefly share my own as well!

I'm excited to make this place home as I learn more in the office, begin mentoring, and travel to Trinidad in 2 weeks! The official dates of our project trip our Feb 11-20th.  As of now I'm being trained in some of the basic work and testing I will do in country.  Once back in the office I will be working mostly with AutoCad to draft the engineering drawings and models for our master plan.  I'm grateful for the friendships already being formed with my fellow interns and staff and for the opportunity to pursue more internationally in a couple of weeks!

Thank you for all of your prayers! God is clearly moving powerfully amongst this ministry and I've been amazed by the depth of community and relationships ive already found here!