EMI Client Stories Part 3: "The Impact"

Friends, if you are only able to watch one of these 3-part videos please watch this one. This is why we do what we do at EMI. The hope and transformation that we get to glimpse and share is truly indescribable.

"Something that's become really clear to me over the years is ministry isn't buildings and ministry isn't programs. Ministry is relationships."
- Les Peters, Founder Impact Ministries Guatemala

Here's part 3 of our client testimony video below:
The Impact! (4 1/2 min)

I love that at EMI we never forget the why behind what we're doing. In the midst of our often very hectic and busy work we regularly make time to pause whether through our daily office devotions, the 4 hrs of weekly discipleship (mentorship and coursework) our staff and interns participate in, or the time we give each team to share these stories that they are returning with from their project trips. 

• Haiti Arise Children's Home - Haiti
• Ratanak Reintegration Home - Cambodia
• Rotom Senior Citizen Center - Uganda
• Impact Ministries Vida Children's Home - Guatemala

These are beautiful stories of opportunity, restoration, and hope that our clients are pursuing each and every day. This is what we are about every day and through every project we work on at EMI to help others dream big dreams and see them become reality.

"We want to raise up the next generation of leaders for Haiti.  We want to change their lives.....I would like one day when I am an old man walking around to hear: "Carley is the prime minister of Haiti; or the congressman; or any of them. Or Joseph, from the children's village is a pastor or an evangelist. They are impacting their communities."
-Marc Honorat, Founder Haiti Arise

EMI Client Stories Part 2: "The Solution"

"They basically come equip us. They equip us. They serve us so we can, in return, serve our community here, serve our country better."
-Marc Honorat, founder Haiti Arise

Here is part 2 of our client testimony video below:
The Solution! (5 min)

These are simply a handful of the ministries EMI has had the honor or partnering with and seeing projects through to completion. I find one of the gifts of working for EMI is the joy in getting to witness, connect with, and share glimpses of the type of redemptive work the Lord is providing all over the world!

If you didn't get a chance to watch the video from last week I hope you'll make a few minutes to here: The Need. These videos go well together to share a better picture of the type of equipping work EMI is seeking to do through partnership with local leaders & vision.

It really is as Lisa Honorat in the video says:
"It's a whole deal. It's the civil engineering. It's the structural engineering. It's the architecture. It's the water usage.....They don't just come with this North American mentality that 'We know everything and you guys just don't know that much so we're just going to come and do it for you.' No, it's more of a partnership and learning together of what will work best."Follow the links below to more information on the specific projects: 

• Haiti Arise Children's Home - Haiti
• Ratanak Reintegration Home - Cambodia
• Rotom Senior Citizen Center - Uganda
• Impact Ministries Vida Children's Home - Guatemala
  

Site Plan EMI developed for the new Vida Children's home in Guatemala which opened January 2018!

EMI Clients Stories Part 1: "The Need"

Hi friends, curious why I felt drawn away from a lucrative career in structural engineering to join the staff at Engineering Ministries International?  It's because of stories like these. There is need all over the world, including in our own communities, but the work EMI is doing is fostering hope and empowering those who God has already given a vision to impact their local communities. Don't just take my word for it! Hear from the unique stories of 4 ministries we worked with in the last decade through the short video below. 

Our Canadian office put these videos together after they were able to return to see their completed designs and, in some cases, begin a 2nd or 3rd phase for the ministry client.  For Haiti arise, EMI Canada has actually designed an entirely separate campus and this March we are sending a thrid team to ROTOM in Uganda to design a new primary and secondary school for thier campus as well! If you are interested in knowing more about any of these projects follow the links below to the project portfolio page. 

• Haiti Arise Children's Home - Haiti
• Ratanak Reintegration Home - Cambodia
• Rotom Senior Citizen Center - Uganda
• Impact Ministries Vida Children's Home - Guatemala
  

These are simply a handful of the ministries EMI has had the honor of partnering with and seeing projects through to completion. I find one of the gifts of working for EMI is the joy in getting to witness, connect with, and share glimpses of the type of redemptive work the Lord is providing all over the world!

Students at the new South Haiti Arise Campus

EMI's Core Values & Client Impact

In 2019 EMI worked on 109 projects in 30 different countries around the world:

EMI exists to mobilize & equip others and we do so while emphasizing design, discipleship & diversity. John Dallmann likes to points out that in the US we used to think of missions as the West to the Rest of the world, but it is becoming now ALL People to ALL Places...and we already see this happening at EMI!

• Our Ugandan office is currently our largest office with approximately half of the staff as local citizens and design professionals

• Our offices abroad are filling half their intern positions with local designers

• In the last couple years we had interns come to the US from Nigeria, Great Britain, France, & Canada as well as the States.

Hear our president/CEO share about the core values of EMI in the video below:

I got to lead orientation for our US spring interns in January. Currently, two of the interns are on a team preparing to head to Kenya for a hospital design project.  The other interns are on their way back from project trips in Korea & Zambia working on a ministry center & a new hospital master plan, respectively.

Below is a video put together last year on client testimonials about how EMI uniquely seeks to equip them through partnership in the design process.

Thanks for reading! ~ Andy

What Are EMI Projects Like?

   

The US office at EMI focuses our attention on projects mostly in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.  These projects can involve schools, hospitals, churches, or ministry centers among others.  The scope of design typically looks like master planning, architecture layouts, water/wastewater treatment, and other infrastructure development.

Interns start with a week of orientation here in Colorado Springs where they hear about EMI's vision & mission, receive theological training on why we do what we do, and learn practical tools to cross cultures and design in the developing world.

Currently, the interns are heading out on 2 week project trips to Kenya, Zambia, & Korea with other professionals on a multidisciplinary team.  They will spend the rest of the term (through May) finishing a set of design documents and a design report.  During the work week our program emphasizes life on life discipleship, mentorship, and service in the local community at a nearby soup kitchen.

Exploring the Garden of the Gods State Park with my co-interns in 2016!

My update:

I officially left my structural position at Affinity Engineering and spent January preparing for and running the US spring intern orientation at EMI!

I'm now currently working part-time at EMI as I finish the on-boarding process and study for the professional engineering license exam in April.

Over the next few weeks, I plan on sharing a series of short videos to better capture the heart and outreach of EMI as I start this new vocational path. Thanks for sharing in my journey! :)

I now live 10 minutes from this beautiful park!

I finally convinced Charles, one of my closest college friends, to move out here with me!

Equipping Others

Orientation just wrapped up last week at Engineering Ministries International! (EMI)  Every 4 months a new group of interns arrive to serve on project trips around the globe with EMI. This is a packed week of training and personal development as new staff and interns participate in team building and attend classes on topics such as culture training, the history and current work of EMI, & what is good vs. harmful/ineffective mission, etc.

This past week we had a total of 14 interns from the U.S. & Canada participate at orientation in Colorado Springs. Six of these interns will remain in the U.S. office and travel abroad with a project team for 2 weeks on various master plan and design projects.  The other eight interns were sent off to EMI's other offices around the world in Cambodia, India, Uganda, Nicaragua, & Canada.  

Facilitating Intern Orientation at the Hideaway retreat center (Photo credit: Toby Wong)

In my role as the US Intern Coordinator I get to help teach and equip as well as foster a sense of community among the interns during this busy week. For now, I am simply assisting in these activities as I continue the on-boarding process to staff while continuing to work at my previous job. Next year, however, the current Intern Coordinator will be passing me the baton in regards to both orientation week as well as general recruitment, mentoring, and mobilization of U.S. based interns around the world. Part of my role will include traveling with one project team each year to practice and grow in my own design skills as a Staff Engineer!

Over the next 4 months I will continue to spend each Wednesday at EMI; facilitating the U.S. intern discipleship class and involved in mentoring as I continue the on-boarding process to joining full time next year! I'm looking forward to future orientation weeks at EMI when I will be able to fully engage in this ministry of equipping others to seek restoration and design a world of hope.

Deep Gladness

My pastor recently preached on the topic of work-we all work, whether from an office, our home, or the field-and the reality is the Lord has declared work to be good. It existed before evil in Eden, God modeled a lifestyle of work, and created each of us with our own unique strengths and interests to pursue. Our jobs can be frustrating and a drag, but they can also be a source of inspiration and passion. Regardless, they provide us a sense of purpose and fulfillment when we contribute both to our own needs and others. And we glorify God by pursuing our work with excellence and integrity. Those were the points of his sermon. The purpose of our work should be to pursue...

...God’s glory, the world’s good, and our own joy! 

I have been reflecting on those ideas a lot this past year. I love the community, type of work, and opportunities I have found to serve and explore here in Colorado. Yet, for the past several years I have had a consistent sense that I am being prepared to pursue those things in tandem and not just jump from one type of pursuit to another...

Which brings me to a career change announcement: I have accepted a full-time position at Engineering Ministries International and will be beginning to transition to it in January! I will be working as their Intern Coordinator while continuing to explore opportunities as an engineer on project trips each year. I am currently working toward getting my professional license before then, but am ecstatic about this new opportunity. I believe the Lord has been preparing me for EMI most of my life, but especially over the last decade. For those who know me well, you know at least portions of the journey I have spent exploring opportunities within design and ministry since beginning college.  

Volunteering on a design project in Trinidad & Tobago!

I hope you’ll share in some of my excitement as I step into full-time ministry with EMI to see even more people restored to God and our world restored through design. I’d also like to hear about how God has uniquely equipped you to pursue and glimpse His glory, impact the world for good, and live out your own joy! We each of have a part to play regardless of the type of career, work, or ministry we may be involved in. 

In college, a mentor would consistently remind us of this quote by Frederick Buechner: "The place where God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger coincide." My confidence rests in God, knowing His calling, and the deep gladness found in partnering with others to design a world of hope.

Mountains & Miracles in Malawi

If you're like me you value feeling in control and enjoy knowing you're a necessary contributor to your (work, family, community, etc).  We enjoy life, and everything may seem to be going well, but somewhere along the way we start to become aware something may be missing.  When we find ourselves content in our reliance on self, trust becomes unnecessary; recognition that the Lord designed us for communion with Himself appears irrelevant, or perhaps isn't a thought at all.

Am I really living a Kingdom-centered life? How often do I have eternity in mind? Do I really know Jesus on a day-to-day basis or do I simply refer to Him every once in awhile?

Nkhoma Hospital

It was with an awareness that the Lord may be trying to get my attention that I boarded a flight to the Nkhoma Mission & Hospital in Malawi, Africa.  I was a last-minute addition to the recent team Engineering Ministries International put together to assess the infrastructure at this 103-year-old hospital and help develop plans for necessary expansion and future growth.  The Nkhoma Mission has a vibrant history within Malawi. Not only is it a large African hospital (50,000+ outpatients/year, with 250 beds, and thousands of surgeries and births performed every year) but it is also having a large impact on the local community through its nursing college, seminary, schools, and local church.  The country itself is mountainous and beautiful and, although we were visiting during the dry season, it was not hard to picture how lush and green the scenery becomes during the rainy season--as we were told by many and got a glimpse of during our restful day at Lake Malawi.

Our rest day at Lake Malawi

Although Nkhoma has quite the legacy and current influence, there exist significant infrastructure concerns that limit their effectiveness and have nearly caused the hospital to close at times. Namely, the entire community experiences almost daily power outages due to their dependence on the national power company and live with strict water rationing (around 7 hrs a day of use) due to a limited ability to pump and store water and the hospital's constant need.  Many of the department buildings are also undersized for the demand and are in need of expansion.  For these reasons, Nkhoma had requested EMI put a team together with these goals in mind:

- Determine if solar panels are feasible to provide reliable and efficient power.

- Assess and provide recommendations for expanding water storage and distribution to prevent shortages from occurring.    

- Develop architectural plans for expanding the undersized maternity ward. 

Our team on Nkhoma Mt

Learning about the water system

As a civil/structural engineer I got to assist with evaluating the existing water/wastewater systems around the hospital as well as conduct a brief structural assessment of the general condition of the buildings and identify bearing wall locations for buildings they wished to modify.  It's the type of work I enjoy--getting to be out in the field hearing about the struggles as well as the provision, and future vision and hopes with developing the mission.  And yet, midway through the trip, I found myself discouraged and grappling with doubt.  There already was a lead civil and wastewater engineer on the trip; they probably could have done most of the work on their own.

It was Monday and thoughts seemed to jump into my mind with a steady pace: "You aren't needed here. Others could be more effective than you.  Your team knows you aren't necessary. You are wasting your time and your money." I felt exhausted and it took significant effort to remain positive and condemn such thoughts in the recognition that is never the way Jesus speaks to us. All morning I found myself asking the Lord for a word of encouragement or at least reassurance I was needed.  And to my surprise midway through the day a response clearly came. The tiredness looming over me suddenly lifted and with a sense of peace and purpose I heard these words:

"Rest in the serenity and ease of not feeling necessary yet called here all the same to be both a blessing and blessed."

That sentiment and promise from the Lord has been the resounding refrain in my heart and mind as I have returned and had time to reflect and think over the trip.  I strive hard.  I'm an achiever and a planner and I often want to feel important and necessary.  But the gift of being involved in missions is it forces us to step out of ourselves and recognize how much we need Jesus.  It was the same refrain we continued to hear from the missionary families and locals who graciously invited us into their homes and gave us opportunities to hear their stories.  Repeatedly we heard stories of God's providence and life breathed into the community when hope was fading.  The most dramatic of which has not left my mind since the trip ended.

As part of the Civil team I spent a lot of time on the trip with the staff engineer, Henni.  A persistent optimist and problem solver, Henni was the one who knew the Nkhoma mission infrastructure like the back of his hand and the first to be called when something wasn't working properly.  Before 6 new bore holes had been dug a few years ago, the hospital relied solely on water pumped from the local river nearby during the dry season.  Wrought with emotion, Henni shared about a drought the community had experienced about 3 years ago when the entire river had nearly dried up.  At wits end he cried out to God proclaiming there is nothing more we can do and began to head back to the hospital where he knew they would have to close their doors once the tanks were dry.  Within a matter of hours, Henni received an urgent call from a friend at the river pump house insisting he come back immediately.  "What more could be going wrong?"-Henni told us was his thought upon receiving the call.  To his amazement, what he encountered upon reaching the river again was water flowing nearly a meter deep. 

The River near Nkhoma

The Lord has come through time and time again for both individuals and the entire Nkhoma mission, at times in miraculous and profound ways, to ensure the doors stay open, funds are in place, and even water itself will continue to flow when none can be found. What a gift; as a team of engineers and architects to step aside from ourselves, our plans, assessment, and design ideas and simply recognize the one who truly sustains and equips life. The Lord is the grand architect of Nkhoma and whether or not we were there He would continue to accomplish His purposes. Yet He has provided us the blessing and invitation to participate; to play some small part and glimpse some small portion of His guidance and provision for the hundred years and growing legacy of the Nkhoma mission.

I think that's the point of missions in a short-term capacity. It's why I continue to serve with EMI.  The opportunity to recognize the Lord in each face, story, and need. To step out of ourselves and recognize the many ways we are each dependent and called to participate with others. To realize that we are impacted as much as we make an impact; that we carry others' stories even as we share our own.

Life Update....and Zambia!

When I found a job and settled here in Colorado Springs I made it a goal to keep in close contact with Engineering Ministries International and continue to learn about equipping and supporting developing ministries by volunteering on future trips.  I had been considering volunteering for a trip in the fall but God opened the door sooner a few weeks ago when I heard about a need for a civil engineer on the trip to Zambia!  I was given the time off in June and so I committed to being part of the team!  

This trip is already fully funded for me so I am not seeking to fund-raise, but rather to share my excitement with friends and request that my community join me in prayer as I seek to serve, learn from, and impact a community very different from my own!  God has provided for me in many ways over the years and it has really been a blessing to have a stable job and a rooted community this past year.  Amidst my new home, I have been trying to practice and learn more about ordinary, daily, faithfulness through my time, relationships, and work. My local church community at New Life Downtown has become a life-giving and encouraging source for me as I have sought to become more involved and over the last few months welcome others into our small group and the community of friends I've found.  I also started volunteering with Young Life last fall and have really enjoyed balancing relational ministry with all the tasks and projects I juggle at work. Keeping up with my friends and staff at EMI has been another source of encouragement for me and I see this upcoming trip as a more proactive way I can practice faithfulness to Christ with everything He has given me!

My roommate and I with a few friends exploring Iceland

Backpacking in Colorado with friends from New Life Downtown

This project is very similar in scope to the project I volunteered with in Trinidad and Tobago.  EMI is partnering with Mobile Mission Maintenance in Ndola, Zambia where my understanding is that they currently have a vocational training center in place and recently received a generous offer from a donor to finance the construction of 1 or 2 dorms after the development of a long-term master plan. The ministry then contacted EMI to help develop a master plan for the site and to evaluate and design improvements for their water/wastewater and electrical systems in lieu of future facilities. I will be helping evaluate and design their water/wastewater system as well as get to do a structural walk through of their existing facilities and identify any concerns. The dates of the trip are June 1-12 with about 9 days spent in the country on site.   This past year has flown by and I am very excited about the opportunity to partner with EMI again in a new country, with a new ministry, and alongside both new and old friends. (My co-intern Connor, from Spring 2016 is actually serving on our team as well as an electrical engineer!)

Last year's EMI team in Trinidad with our competed master plan for Victory Heights Bible Camp

Our flight actually leaves at 11:59 PM on May 31st, which means the trip is only 10 days away now! I have no idea what God has in store, but I know He helped me find a bit of my niche in my love for what EMI is doing around the world in both equipping those with need as well as helping people learn to serve and glorify God through their skills and talents.  I was just catching up with a friend who recently graduated, and commented on some of the discouragement I felt a few years ago at not knowing how to connect my love for design, missions, and community development. The transition from school into a rooted life filled with purpose, contentment and joy can be rocky as one steps forward into uncharted waters, but I am convinced that the Lord knows our hearts. He prepares us for experiences, challenges, and relationships ahead and leads us to places where we can best know Him and make Him known.  I believe if the aspirations, hopes and gifts we've received in the past are truly from the Lord then He will eventually bring them to fruition--even if fulfillment looks very different than what we have thought! This has at least been true for my life. It has been amazing to navigate the tremendous mountain tops and valleys of the past 4 years only to find myself in a place that satisfies so much of the vision and hope I held as a college graduate and fills me with excitement for the years to come!  Thanks for reading and please join me in prayer as I prepare for, travel, and serve in Zambia.  :)