Designing, Restoring, Rejoicing

It has now been nearly one week since 're-entry' into Canada. I have had a chance to catch up on sleep, visit family, and eat too much Ghanian chocolate. Now I hope to convey some of what happened during my visit to Accra. The week's post will focus on the 'who' and 'what' - who I worked for and with, and what did we work on? Next week I plan on answering the question 'where' and 'why' - giving you a closer look at Ghana through these eyes and some thoughts on what brought me and our team to this country. Meet the Team Each Engineering Ministries International (eMi) project is a partnership between a ministry and volunteer team. Our client for this trip was Dr. Edward Fynn, a Ghana raised radiologist who volunteers heavily with the Navigators of Africa. Edward's vision was to develop a 70-acre site North East of Accra into a training and retreat centre. One of the Navigators main ministry thrusts is discipleship, growing Christians th

Lane of Cedars Cedar of Lebanon. Man for scale. I write this update from the comfort of my parent's house in Canada. I am excited to share that these past ten days in Africa have been blessed, rich, and memorable. Similar to my previous trip to Myanmar, I am planning to write some lengthy posts highlighting all things both eMi and Ghana, but for now here is a quick reflection as I fight jet lag and the memories are still fresh. On Tuesday of this week, we presented our work to the ministry - the culmination of our efforts from the week in Ghana. Typically after the presentation, the eMi team will go sightseeing and 'blow off some steam'. Having native Ghanaians on our team was a real blessing in this regard as we piled into our van and got to tour the Aburi Botanical Garden - a leftover of the British occupation. Established in 1890, the gardens are home to some pretty amazing plants. It is here a term from scripture vividly came to life. The gardens

I am writing this quick update from the airport in Washington. My flight to Africa leaves in just a few hours. Much has happened in the three weeks since I last wrote. My time is short so I will keep this brief. I had three prayer requests in my last update and praise God all three have been answered! My Visa arrived about a week ago, opening the door for me to officially go on this trip. Secondly, I had shared some apprehensions with the increasing role I had been assigned on this trip, and the concerns about properly serving the ministry while in Accra. When sharing my trip with my co-workers, I learned that one of our senior engineers had done design in Ghana a few years ago! All of a sudden I had an unexpected hand up in having resources for the work to come! Lastly, I am concerned about team unity and for the quick meshing of our volunteer team. I have participated in two team conference calls and needless to say I am even more excited to be a part of this project! In His way,

After a three year hiatus, I am overjoyed to be able to share another chance to serve with Engineering Ministries International (eMi.) If you are reading this, you have either followed the link on my support letter or are still subscribed to updates for this blog. I am excited to share more of this new project in Ghana, Africa. Ever since my internship with eMi in 2014, the desire to serve again has been strong. If you are unfamiliar with eMi's project process, here's a quick primer. eMi is a multinational Christian development organization that seeks to 'design a world of hope' for the spiritually and physically poor. eMi partners with missions groups already established on the ground, helping to bring the ministry's vision to light from a technical perspective. Each eMi project team is composed of eMi staff, student interns, and professional volunteers such as engineers, architects, and surveyors. On my last eMi trip, I served as a student intern, completin

I was reminded today of how difficult endings are.  It was my last day in the Canada office and bittersweet would not begin to describe that milestone.  While I am beyond excited to go home for Christmas and to spend some much anticipated time with friends and family, I already miss my eMi family.  Here is what has transpired over my last month in Calgary. Project Completion! Just today (Tuesday December 16th) Kevin, Katey and I put the finishing touches on our report and drawing set for the ministry in Myanmar.  The past two weeks were a bit of a scramble, co-ordinating changes to drawings, making sure architectural and structural plans agree, and praying that AutoCAD (our drawing software) and Windows explorer would stop crashing.  We had some full days of work but it was extremely fun in these eyes.  I was especially happy to dive fuller into the structural side of our work, as I was able to do some preliminary work on column location and beam sizing for many of the planned bui

Hello faithful readers, I write today with much to share of the past two weeks in Calgary.  One of the unexpected benefits of writing updates on a regular basis is that it forces me to consider the variety and frequency of blessings and lessons that occur in such a short time.  I'll highlight three such experiences below. eMi Dessert Night and Silent Auction On Saturday November 1st, Engineering Ministries International hosted it's annual fall fundraiser, a silent auction dessert night!  Having the unique perspective of being 'behind the scenes' I did not realize the vast amount of organization and effort required to orchestrate such an event.  The purpose of the fundraiser was to increase awareness in Calgary about eMi and also raise necessary funds to support future project trips to Cambodia and Haiti this upcoming January. A view from the back during the main presentation of the dessert night. We transformed a large reception room at Foothills Allia