Orientation

Greetings, friends!

It is a blustery Monday and my first day in the EMI office in sunny downtown Colorado Springs, though today is technically a day off. I'm here anyway to blog and make sure that the Internet is still online.

We just finished an intense week of orientation and training where I got to meet all the interns, staff, and long-term volunteers for Engineering Ministries International, as well as some of the full time ministers in the Colorado Springs office. During this week, we learned about EMI's mission in the world and how we (interns, specifically) fit into this plan. I was greatly encouraged by the degree to which the staff is focused on Christ as their cause, and by the hearts of my fellow interns. It is amazing to see how the Spirit appears to be working in similar ways all over America.

I also learned a little about my project trip to Afghanistan, and met my project leader Scott Powell, and his wife, Laura. I will be departing the States on February 10th and arriving in India, then crossing the border into Pakistan and on to Afghanistan. The project portion of our trip will last two weeks, likely consisting of surveying the site and interacting with the local inhabitants for whom we will be designing a community center. Then, Scott and I will travel with our hosts for a couple more weeks, scoping out potential future projects in Afghanistan. on our way back, Scott, Laura and I will return to India to greet EMI's India Office, and finally return to USA five weeks after leaving.

I was delighted to learn that I had the option of staying beyond the project trip duration and accepted gladly. I believe that God will use the extra time I spend overseas to train me for whatever He has planned for my future, namely in cross-cultural interactions and adaptation to new environments.

The weather here in Colorado Springs is quite manageable. I made do last week with what I packed before roadtripping here with my former roommate, Kaben, which did not include much in the way of heavy winter clothing. It snowed one day, but I did not suffer uncomfortable cold.

Thanks for reading! I will be praying that you be edified by this blog and that you will strive wholeheartedly to love God who has endowed us with untold Grace. Farewell!