Get in the Know!

Ok, so it is not super exciting or imperative that I blog before I leave, because is anything really exciting happening right now? Not really. BUT I have a lot more information about this next great adventure, and so I would really like to share that.

First of all, I graduate in less than 2 weeks, turn 23 in 3.5ish weeks, and leave for Uganda in less than 2 months!! I will have a week of training in Colorado Springs beginning on January 13th. Hopefully I will meet some of my team members at this training. And then my departure is on January 21st!

I will be arriving in Entebbe, Uganda, on January 22nd. The Engineering Ministries International (EMI) office for East Africa is located just outside of Kampala, which is the capital city. I will be living there throughout my 6 months, but may work on projects in a few different areas in the vicinity.

Projects I may work on!

We got an email last week outlining what jobs us interns will likely be assigned to. A large part of my time will be spent doing cost estimating and construction administration. But I will function as a designer/drafter on a few other projects as well.

One of the projects is a secondary school in Jinja, Uganda for both Amazima and Good Shepherd's Fold. EMI will be doing the master planning and building design. For those who follow me on twitter or facebook, you may know how excited I am about this one! Amazima is the nonprofit started by Katie, who wrote the book Kisses from Katie about her life in Uganda. Love her book, and I would love to be a part of what these ministries do!

(http://amazima.org/, http://www.goodshepherdsfold.org/).

If the scheduling changes on the one above, I may be working on the master planning and building design for a 200-acre orphanage and primary school for Hope for Sudan. This project is located in Nimule, South Sudan!  

Two other projects that I may have a role in include a new office for the EMI-EA (East Africa) office in Kajjansi, Uganda, and a facility for Music for Life Choir Training in Entebbe, Uganda.

How cool, right? I cannot believe how fun it will be to take part in projects that bring so much hope! A few other things that may be going on in the office during my time there include a project for Livingstone International University (Mbale, Uganda), a new orphanage and primary/secondary schools called the Mustard Seed Academy (Lukaya, Uganda), a boarding school called St. Paul’s School (Rukungiri, Uganda), Kibuye Hope Hospital (Gitega, Burundi), and Kigobe Mission (Bujumbura, Burundi).

Support update

As of last week, I'm am hovering at about 20% of support raised. This is so exciting! I am so grateful to those of you who are making this ministry a reality. I am getting a little uneasy, as my support deadline is December 20th and less than a month away. But mostly I am just thankful.

Really, this whole support raising process doesn't seem too bad. I get to learn to rely on the Lord and the church; and I am getting in contact with so many people that I love! This is absolutely the best part. I may not have spoken with some of you in a few months or a few years, and I enjoy getting back in touch with you so much. Support raising is the perfect excuse to contact anyone and everyone that I miss, if only for the chance to catch up with each other.

Everything else update

I already have my passport, so there is no waiting around on that (thanks to the SELF Program for shipping me off to Brazil last year!) A few other things that I have done to try and prepare include reading some books from EMI. I read both a book on cultural differences, and one on short-term missions. The book they gave us on short-term missions (sorry I don't remember the authors or anything) is so good. I may try to read it once more before I leave! It gave me so many helpful tips on how to handle things like culture shock and language barriers, and also how to prepare my heart for this journey.

I also have now been inoculated x6. I have my Hep A, Hep B, tetanus (Tdap), and adult polio vaccines up to date. I also have my yellow fever vaccination, flu shot and Rx for malaria, typhoid, and a few other things. Thankfully now 1.5 weeks after the multiple shots my arms aren't even sore!

If you are looking for ways to pray for me, I can help you out! Please be praying for me and my teammates as we continue to raise support. I think some 15 interns are currently raising support, for working in locations from Costa Rica to India. Pray for us as we learn to rely on God and experience his provision. Also please be praying for the EMI team in Kampala, Uganda that is preparing for our arrival. They are living and working there and hopefully we will only be an asset to the things they are already doing! Lastly, please pray for me as I prepare mentally and emotionally to leave you all! It will be difficult to be so far away (geographically) from my support system. But I am thankful for the precious time I get to spend with you now, especially like when I get a full day of babysitting Saxton to take funny pictures. Thanks!

 

Beginning the Countdown

Most days I still cannot believe that this is real. I am leaving for Kampala, Uganda in less than three months! These next two months are going to be a whirlwind as I try to finish up school and prepare for the trip all at the same time.

Some things are helping make this adventure seem like a reality. A few weeks ago I received a packet FULL of information from Engineering Ministries International (EMI).  It included a few books, one of which outlined cultural differences between the US and Uganda. I am beginning to wonder if I may go through some culture shock. It also included the coveted EMI intern tshirt. As you can see, it is quite a gem.

This week I have also begun receiving emails from my soon-to-be fellow teammates. There are 8 total interns volunteering this upcoming Spring semester in the Kampala office. Our coordinator has us emailing each other to share a bit about ourselves and why we are coming. It sounds like it is going to be quite the eclectic team! So far, I know there is an intern from Ohio, New Zealand, Nigeria, and Kenya!

I apologize that there is still not a ton of information here...I promise to include more in the coming days. But I have to skip off to class now!