Merry Christmas!

Well, it has been a wonderful end to the semester. I have really enjoyed my time here. I have had made some amazing memories and I have seen some interesting things. It's been an adventure to say the least. I hope that my blog has been an encouragement to you over the past several months. I'm so thankful for all you who have supported me and prayed for me.

My plane leaves to go home Tuesday evening and I will be home by Wednesday afternoon. I have mixed feelings about going home. I am SO excited to go home and see friends and family but I will definitely miss this place. I am glad to come back and experience more of eMi and Africa next semester.

I will try to update my blog periodically while I am home, but I guarantee that the posts won't be nearly as exciting. I hope you enjoy this holiday season and cherish time that you get to spend with friends and family!

Merry Christmas! God Bless!

Project Complete

After three months of work, countless hours playing in AutoCAD, many changes to our design, half a dozen ink cartridges, and many times through my Christmas music playlist on my iPod, we are DONE! Yesterday afternoon we finally finished our Safe Harbor project. It is the project that has taken up most of my time since I’ve been here. There were a few headaches and frustrating moments along the way, but I really enjoyed working on this project.

What exactly did we do? Earlier in September we visited a ministry in northern Uganda called Safe Harbor. They already have a church, hospital, and a primary school. They recently received two plots of land (Choro and Wogo) that they plan on developing into farmland and processing center. Our project was to design a series of agricultural buildings. The buildings will hopefully allow the ministry to become more self-sustainable, depending less on international donors. They will also serve the community by allowing local farmers to use their processing equipment and selling crops to the locals.

For more information, check out these links:
-Project Info
-Project Trip: Safe Harbor
-Project Trip: Meet the Team
-Project Trip: The People and the Church
-Project Trip: Extras
-Project Trip: Murchison Falls

On the trip, I was responsible surveying the site. Then, I created topographical maps of the both Choro and Wogo. I was also in charge of design for the fish ponds on the Wogo site. My main project throughout the semester was the structural design of the buildings on both sites. Below are some architectural renderings of the design. Thanks to the architects for making them look pretty!

I will have a copy of the report with me while I am home over Christmas so if you would like to see more detail, please let me know. Enjoy!

Looking Forward

[WARNING: Long post. I hope you read it though. I think you will be encouraged!]

Have you ever caught yourself thinking about tomorrow? Maybe you have some event coming up that you just can’t wait for. Maybe there is someone in your life that you haven’t seen in a while and you get to see them soon. Maybe it’s because you are just not enjoying this day or this season of life so you just want it to be over.

I have found myself doing this a lot recently. Mostly, I think it’s a result of missing home. I am looking forward to seeing family and catching up with old friends over the holiday season. I am looking forward to normal life in the US where I will have more amenities. But then I am also looking forward to coming back in January and meeting the new interns and starting work on a new project. And yet, I am also looking forward to June, when I come home again and start the next season of my life where I find a real paying job and stuff like that.

However, what I have found is that if we think too much about the future we miss out on the present. I have made this mistake many times. I remember thinking countless times in college about how I just wanted it to be over so I could move forward into a time without homework or tests or the worries of school. Looking back, though, I really cherished my time in college and I made some great memories. I only wish I could have made more and not wished it to be over so soon.

This happened to me again last weekend. I was sitting outside at a restaurant in Jinja watching the sunset over the Nile River and all I could think about was the things I wanted to do while I was home over Christmas. I caught myself. “Am I nuts?” I thought. “I am currently watching the sunset on the Nile River in Africa and all I can think about it cold, flat Illinois. What an amazing opportunity I have before me and I am thinking about being somewhere else.” Doesn’t that seem backwards to you? It sure did to me. A verse popped into my head:

This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it. -Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

This is what I should be doing. I should be rejoicing in what God had set before me. Instead, I was missing out on this amazing sunset. This got me thinking further. I think it all boils down to where you put your hope and from where you receive your joy. If you put all you hope in relationships or events or things of this world, what happens when it’s over or it wasn’t as satisfying as you thought it would be? You are left looking towards the next relationship or event. You see, the things of this world are temporary and therefore can only give temporary joy. I contend that in order to fully experience joy, we must put our hope in the everlasting… Jesus Christ. It’s only when we follow God’s commandments and abide in his love that will we find true joy. Jesus puts it this way in the Gospel of John:

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” -John 15:9-11 (ESV)

So is looking forward to tomorrow wrong? Not always. In fact, I think it can be a very good thing sometimes. For example, I am grateful for the fact that I miss home. I am grateful that it is a wonderful place of which I have fond memories. I think it can also be good to look forward, having vision and a purpose in your life. For example, I look forward to the day “when Christ who is [my] life appears” (when Christ come again) because then I “also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). But I would challenge you to take a look at your life and examine where you are looking for joy. If it’s in the temporary things of this world, when happens when they are gone? What happens when you are planning on them coming tomorrow and they don’t come? What will happen to your joy? If you place your hope in Jesus, he promises “that your joy may be full.” What an amazing thought! So where do you put your hope?

Sunset over the Nile

This past weekend all of the interns took a long weekend and went on a little vacation. We had just met one of our big deadlines so we decided to get away and relax a little bit. So Saturday morning we caught a bus to Jinja. Jinja is a relatively small town about two hours to the east of Kampala. Jinja is well know because it is the town located at the source of the Nile River. It's also known as the adventure capital of east Africa because you can go rafting, bungee jumping, kayaking, and challenge death in many other ways. But we didn't do any of that :) We decided to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the quiet atmosphere of the town.

We spent one craft shopping and enjoyed some great food in town. Another day we hung out at one the eMi staff workers house who lives in Jinja. He has four girls and we spent all afternoon playing their games (which included Connect4, Trouble, and Guess Who?) It was so much fun! It brought back so many childhood memories. And those games are just as fun when you are an adult!

Other than that we just stayed at our backpackers lodge. It was really a gorgeous place to stay. It was a little bit outside of town and right on the Nile River. The most amazing part was watching the sunset over the Nile River. It was one of the most amazing site I have ever seen! There were so many awesome colors in the sky. After the sun set, the stars came out and they were super bright. (They aren't nearly as bright in Kampala because of all the pollution.) I will leave you with a few photos of the sites. What a beautiful place!

Brittany v Jonathan in an epic battle of the wills in Connect4!

A couple Ugandans having a swim in the Nile.

A view from the beach. Well, it wasn't really much of beach. But it was still fun to hang out there.

A couple monkeys hanging out on the roof of our cabin.


The last two are a couple more views of the amazing sunset!

December Prayer Requests

As the semester is starting to come to a close, I thought I might share a few prayer requests with you all.

Please pray for:

-safe travels. Along with a bunch of other eMi interns, I will be traveling a long distance to get home for Christmas. Please pray for a safe journey.

-culture shock. Believe it or not I will probably experience culture shock when I am back in the US for the couple weeks over Christmas. The Ugandan culture is so different than the US culture so it will be an interesting transition. They both have positives and negative. Many times when you enter a new culture it easy to focus on the negatives. Pray that I would have a positive attitude and enjoy my time at home.

-the new interns. Two interns (including me) next semester are holdovers from this fall semester, but we are getting four new interns for the spring. Please pray for their preparations to enter a very new situation.

-support raising. Now that I am coming back for another semester I have a whole new set of expenses. This seems like a monumental task considering it will be hard to communicate with many supporters while I am in Africa. Pray for God's provision and my continued trust in Him.

Donate

As a result of extending my stay with eMi, I am currently raising funds so that I can come back again in the spring. I am still uncertain of my support goal as the costs of the spring term are still being finalized, but it will most likely be close to my fall goal of $6000. Would you prayerfully consider joining my team of financial supporters by donating to eMi? If you have already donated, I cannot begin to thank you enough. If it weren't for you, I would not be here right now.

Want to learn more about what I am doing? Check out these links:
-eMi
-eMi East Africa
-Questions, Questions, Questions... 
-Project Info

There are two ways you can donate:
1. Send a check to eMi. Fill it out with the information below:

Make it out to:
Engineering Ministries International

Designate it for:
Dan Untch, Intern Account # 2844

Address:
Engineering Ministries International
130 E Kiowa, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

2. Donate online using a credit card. Click here to go to the eMi donation page and fill out the information.

Thanksgiving

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I though I would share a few things that I am thankful for!

I am thankful for:

-wonderful family and friends. Despite being on separate continents, I still feel so loved by so many friends and family. I am constantly getting messages and being able talk with people via email, Skype, g-Chat, facebook, etc. I even got to "go" to my families thanksgiving celebration at my aunt and uncle's house. I really appreciate all the prayers and support I have received back home.

-a place to call home. There have been many times throughout the semester that I have missed home. Not only for some of the luxuries, but also for all the wonderful memories. Sometimes there are just certain things about the place that you call home that you can't even use words to describe. I am thankful for those things.

-abundance. God has blessed me in so many abundant ways. This has become so clear by living in Africa. I am living on a fraction of what it would cost to live in the US and I still have so much more than many others that I interact with on a daily basis. To put in perspective, if I were Ugandan man working and making 20,000 shillings a day (a little bit less than $10 a day), not only would I be rich, I would be sending money to all my brothers and sisters and their families to help support them. Certainly cost of living is lower so $10 goes a lot farther, but it is still an interesting thought.

-the little luxuries. You don't always notice them and you may not even realize that they are luxuries. There are a few that I have especially notice since coming to Africa. Some of the following I have here, others I don't. Some of them are important to the quality of life, others are just fun to have. In any case, here is a list of things I've really come to appreciate.

Clean water. Running water. Hot water. Electricity. Smooth roads. Clean air. Soft Couches. TV. Internet. Dish washers. Washing machines. Dryers. Air conditioning. I could list so many more...


-Christ and His saving work on the cross. Without him I am nothing. He gives purpose to my life, something to live for, a hope to hold onto. I only have all of the things I mentioned above because of Him. It is my goal that I treasure the giver of these blessings more than the blessings themselves. I hope to put my joy in God because of who He is and not because of what He does for me. That's why He should receive all of the glory in my thanksgiving.

You know you have lived in Africa when...

Living in Uganda for a couple months now has really been an eye-opening experience and these are just a few of the things that have caught my attention so far.

You know you have lived in Africa when…

-you spend 10 minutes picking bugs out of your bowl of cereal before you have breakfast. The thought crossed your mind to throw it out, but the cereal was just too expensive to get rid of it.

-you get out of a mutatu (taxi) and consider it a smooth ride because your head hit the ceiling just once.

-loading a YouTube video before the internet bugs out makes your day!

-making it a week without losing power or running water for at least couple hours is almost considered a miracle.

-“Don’t forget to tuck in your mosquito net before you go to bed!” doesn’t sound strange.

-you think spending 20,000 shillings (approx. $10) is way too much to spend on a meal.

-the smell of burning trash no longer gives you a headache.

-seeing four people on a motorcycle or a man riding a bicycle while holding three chickens no longer makes you turn your head.

-you are willing to argue with your boda driver (motorcycle taxi) over 500 shillings (about 25 cents) insisting that he is trying to take advantage of you.

-tripping up the stairs as a result of them being uneven isn’t annoying anymore.

I will probably post more of these as I have more new and interesting experiences.

The Throne Room

I thought I might share about one of my favorite chapters in the bible. I was reading it the other day and was reminded just how glorious God is and how amazing heaven is going to be. The passage is from Revelation 4: 

After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once, I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on the heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in a front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!"

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.” -Revelation 4:1-11 (ESV)

What at amazing picture of God on his throne! It is such a reminder to me that we serve a God who is so holy that when in His presence, all we are able to do is bow down and “never cease” to call him holy and to acknowledge that he should “receive glory and honor and power”.

This is one of those passages that gets me really excited. Especially because of what Jesus says just before in the end of chapter 3: 

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. -Revelation 3:20-21 (ESV)

God’s gift of salvation does not only include eternal life, but it comes with a right to sit with him on his throne. How amazing!!!

Passports Please!

Earlier this week, I got to go on another short trip for one of the small projects that eMi has right now. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday out in Kasese, which is in western Uganda, near the border of the Congo. It is up in the Rwenzori Mountains. It is such a gorgeous area of the country. Among the foothills of the mountains are these large craters that just seem to come out of nowhere. During the eight hour car ride we got out a couple different times to take some photos and just experience the landscape. It was really cool because the hills are covered in so many different tea plantations. We even stopped and bought some fresh tea.

The project is for the Western Uganda Baptist Theological College. We are designing a two-story guesthouse for the college so that visiting missionaries don’t have to stay in tents when they come. We were only on the site for a couple hours talking with the college about what exactly they want in the guesthouse, where they want it to go on the site and did a short land survey to supplement the existing survey. It was a long way to travel (8 hrs each way) just for a couple hours of work, but it was still a neat experience.

I think the highlight of the trip came on the way up to the site. One thing that is unique about Uganda is that police simply stand on the side of the road and flag down cars whenever they please to check for driver’s license, etc. We were about 15 minutes from reaching our destination when we got pulled over by two police officers. The asked to see our passports and visas, but we have been told that we don’t need to carry them with us unless we plan on crossing any borders. They quickly got very angry because we didn’t have them on us and couldn’t prove that we were in the country legally. We assured them that we were, but they still had us pull off the road so that they could lecture us and figure out what we were doing in the country. Eventually, realizing that there was nothing they could do about it, they just let us go on our way. It was another experience that I don’t think I will ever forget.

Here are a few photos of the incredible sights we saw:

Many of the craters had lakes that formed in the bottom of them.

This was actually a salt lake. Locals use it to farm the salt and sell it in the market.

A view of the plain looking west at Congo.

One of the ridges around the crater with the mountains in the background. I wish it had been less cloudy because it was truly an amazing view. The picture just does not do it justice.

Watoto Children's Village

One of the projects eMi is currently working on is a new wastewater treatment plant for the Watoto Children’s Village in Suubi. The village is a place for children who have been orphaned. Most commonly, this is a result of AIDS. There are several Watoto villages throughout Uganda. (You may have actually heard of the Watoto Children’s Choir. They tour all over the US, UK, and Australia to raise money for these villages. I have heard great things about the choir. Look them up on YouTube…). They have recently started up a new village in Gulu in northern Uganda. Many of the children there are formerly child soldiers in the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army). It was common for the LRA to kidnap children and then murder their families in order to scare them into becoming soldiers. The LRA is no longer in Uganda so this isn't happening anymore. They are currently in Sudan and parts of the Congo, I believe.

The village is set up with clusters of homes. Each cluster has eight homes. Each home has eight or nine children with one house mom. Many of the house moms are widows as a result of AIDS. Each home becomes a new family with children ranging from primary school level to teenagers. The village that we are working for has close to twenty clusters of homes. (20 clusters x 8 homes x 8 children = a lot of children!) As a result, they are quickly out growing their sewage collection system.

Right now, they are using a series of septic tanks but they want to build a new wastewater treatment plant. That’s where eMi comes in. We spent a couple days at the village last week checking out the site. While we were there, one of the other engineers, Brittany, was taking lots of sewage samples (It was pretty gross. I’m glad I didn’t have to do it). Meanwhile, I was using our GPS equipment to survey the land. The goal of my time there was to figure out the elevations of all the homes so that we can get all the wastewater to get downhill to the plant once it’s built. It was a challenge because the site is on the side of hill that changes over 100 meters in elevation across the property. (My legs we pretty tired by the end of the couple days.)

My favorite part of the trip was getting to know one of the house moms, Mama Harriet. Brittany and I got adopted into one of the homes for the couple days we were there. We were staying in an apartment for visitors, but we ate all of our meals at Mama Harriet’s house. She was the most warm, loving lady and she was just SO excited that we were there. She treated us like her own children and was so generous to us.

This trip reminded me of why I love serving with eMi so much. We get to partner with other ministries all over Uganda and get to see the ways that they are serving others and provide much needed engineering services so that they can continue to effectively minister to others in need. Praise God for what he is doing through Watoto and all involved in making these villages great.

Here are a few photos from our time in Suubi:

A view from the balcony of the apartment we stayed in. It was really cool to see the sun set over the hill.

A view of the courtyard in one of the clusters. All of the buildings are very well constructed and look very nice, especially in comparison to traditional Ugandan construction.

Brittany making crosses out of banana tree leaves with some of the kids.

Moses and Joseph helping Brittany close the lid to one of the septic tanks.

Our meals were very traditional Ugandan food. For both lunch and dinner we had rice, beans, matoke, and posho. Matoke is basically banana mush (it’s the yellow stuff at the top of the picture). Posho is a dish made from maize flour. The best way I can describe it is white fluff with no flavoring (there is a little sitting just to the right of the matoke). We also had eggplant at this meal, but I get the feeling that it was a special treat since we were visiting.

This is Mama Harriet and some of her boys standing outside her house. I cannot emphasize enough how warm and hospitable she was towards us.

Street Kids

Over the past month I have been volunteering with a street kid’s ministry called Frontline. It is associated with Calvary Chapel Kampala, the church I attend on Sundays. So far it has been a very rewarding experience. On Saturday mornings between 30 and 40 boys between the ages of 8 and 18 come to the church and we provide different activities for them and teach them about God. All of the boys are homeless, living on the streets of Kampala. This could be for a variety of different reasons: some have lost parents due to AIDS; others are runaways because their parents are abusive and it is better for them to live on the streets than to live at home.

The first Saturday I volunteered we watch The Karate Kid (the new one with Jackie Chan) with them. It was interesting because the movie was translated into Luganda and had Chinese subtitles. It was a good thing I was familiar with the story because otherwise I would be completely lost. There were a few times that the translation cut out and I caught a few English which helped as well. Other times we have just hung out and played cards and other games with them. We finish each day is ended with a time of teaching from the bible (in Luganda) and then we feed them. In many cases it will be the only meal they eat that day.

It is also heartbreaking because these kids are desperate for attention. From the second I get there until I leave a couple hours later, I have at least one kid either on my back, in my lap, or holding my hand. They are all very dirty, not bathing very often. As result, I always leave very, very dirty. It’s easy to see that they don’t have very many people in their lives that love them. Many of them are tough, always fighting with one another, and tend to lie and steal.

It still has been fun to get to know some of these kids. They all have good hearts. I took my camera with me this past Saturday. The last Saturday of every month is a sports day so we went out and played soccer and basketball with them. Here are a few pictures from the day:

Jonah is teaching the kids about patience, using Job as an example.

This is the basketball “hoop” that we used to play basketball with them. They just got a point whenever they hit the backboard.

This is me with Marvin. He is one of the kids who is always jumping on my back.

Of course, once I took a picture with Marvin, Joseph (left) and Ivan (right) had to get a picture too.

This is Nathaneal, one my roommates, with Moses. Moses loves to teach me how speak Luganda. I can now count to ten because of him.

[Side Note: Nathaneal is working as a social studies teacher at the nearby Christian school for the year. Over the weekend he was diagnosed with malaria. He is still in the hospital recovering. He could use your prayers as he is still feeling very ill.]

eMi Day of Prayer

This past Wednesday, all of the eMi offices worldwide stopped what they were doing and spent the day in prayer. Each of the six offices (Colorado Springs, Canada, UK, Costa Rica, India, and Uganda) used the day to pray for a number of different things currently on eMi’s radar. I thought I would share some of the prayer requests from the day so that you may join us in prayer. Among other things, we prayed for the East Africa office, the projects we are working on, the ministries we are serving, and the countries in which we are working. In addition, we prayed for each of the other eMi offices and some of the issues and projects they are dealing with. Here are some more specifics. Please pray for:

Safe Harbor International. This is the ministry we are serving this semester. They have a church, hospital, primary school and we are designing an agricultural center for them. They are doing ministry in a primary Muslim area of Uganda and some church members have recently been experiencing persecution for their faith.

Jim Hall, the CEO of eMi. Jim has just been diagnosed with cancer and is beginning his treatment. He has had surgery to remove several lymph nodes. The doctors are still uncertain how far it has spread.

Ryan Hoffman, the two-year-old son of a staff member in Colorado Springs. While on vacation in Florida, he fell into a pool and was unconscious for several minutes. He survived but the recovery is going slow and the doctors are uncertain the extent of brain damage suffered. Please pray for his recovery and for comfort for his family.

Uganda. The presidential election is coming up in January and campaigning has started in earnest over the past week or so. I’ve been told that there sometimes can be more violence and riots can start in the city. Please pray for peace among the people and for effective leaders for the country.

Sudan. There is an upcoming referendum in January that will determine if the southern half Sudan will split from the north and form a new country. Everyone seems to think that a civil war is inevitable. Additionally, the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) which was formerly in Uganda is currently in northern Sudan and causing troubles for the people there.

finishing the semester well. There only a few weeks left in the fall term and it can be easy to get complacent and not invest in the people here. Pray for motivation to get work done, volunteering more in local ministry, and continuing to build relationships with Ugandans.

Knowing God

Each semester the EMI interns are part of a bible study led by staff. The intern coordinators are Phil and Emily and so every Thursday night they have over for dinner and we have a nice evening of fellowship, worship, prayer, and study. Together we are studying the book of 1 John. So far I have really enjoyed our conversations. One thing that has really stuck out to me so far is the idea of what it means to know God. John puts it this way:

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected By this we know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. -1 John 2:3-6

Sounds simple right? John says that if we have to do is keep his commandments and then we will know him. It seems like it should be much more complicated. It seems like it should be more involved than just following a few commandments. And just what are the commandments he is talking about? I am reminded of Jesus’ response to the Pharisees questions about the greatest commandment.

And he said to them, “You shall love the Lord you God with all your hear and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. -Matthew 22:37-39

So to know God is to keep his commandments and to keep his commandments is to love God and his people. But what does it mean to love God? And will loving him more really help me know him more? Don’t I have to know him first before I can love him? It all seems circular.

All of these questions circling in my mind lead me to pick up a book that I started reading a while ago but never finished. The book is Knowing God by J.I. Packer. I am not very far, but in it he outlines what knowing God actually involves. First of all, knowing God is more than knowing about him. One can know all the bible stories and learn difficult theological concepts, but God is much more complex than a few stories or ideas. God is a real and active God with personality traits and moral character. We can learn more by spending quality time with him. Like every relationship, we need communication. He has given us such wonderful tools to do this. We have open communication with the creator of the universe all the time. He speaks to us through his word and we can respond in prayer. All we have to do is be willing. God is already willing and waiting for that relationship with you.

On starting a relationship with God, Packer uses this illustration:

Imagine, now, that we are going to be introduced to someone whom we feel to be “above” us – whether in rank, or intellectual distinction, or personal sanctity, or in some other respect. The more conscious we are of our own inferiority, the more we shall feel that our part is simply to attend to this person respectfully and let him take the initiative in the conversation. (Think about meeting the queen of England or the president of the United States.) We would like to get to know this exalted person, but we fully realize that this is a matter for him to decide, not us. If he confines himself to courteous formalities with us, we may be disappointed, but we do not feel able to complain; after all, we had no claim on his friendship.

But if instead he starts at one to take us into his confidence, and tells us frankly what is in his mind on matters of common concern, and if he goes on to invite him in particular undertakings he has planned, and asks us to make ourselves permanently available for this kind of collaboration whenever he needs us, then we shall feel enormously privileged, and it will make a world of difference to our general outlook. If life seemed unimportant and dreary hitherto, it will not seem so anymore, now that the great man has enrolled us among his personal assistants.

Isn’t this exactly what God has done for us? And he is even greater that the queen or the president. Even though we don’t deserve his love because our sin had separated us from himself, he made a way that we might come back to him and enter into this special relationship. What's even better than the above illustration is that the God of the universe already knows you. He wants you to know him. That is truly an amazing thought.

All of my questions about what it means to know God may not have been answered, but I rest comfortably in the fact that he knows me and paid the greatest sacrifice so that I can know him. My only response can be to continue to search the scriptures to learn his character and follow in his ways. I know this was a long post, but for those of you still reading I hope this has been a blessing.

Halfway Point

I have just reached the half way point for the semester so I figured I should give you an update about all that has been happening here in the office. After all, the engineering work is the main reason why I am over here.

In the several weeks since getting back from the project trip in Midigo, we have been working at creating a set of drawings to use in our report that we will give to Safe Harbor at the end of the term. Since I was in charge of the survey on the trip, I have been creating drawings of the existing topography of the site so that the architects can plan where exactly the buildings will be placed. This was finished up last week. Now, the architects are finalizing all of the floor plans so that Phil (the structural engineer on staff) and I can begin designing the beams and columns for the new buildings.

In addition to the Safe Harbor project, I will also be working with Phil to do the structural design of a hospital in Gabon. He recently went with a team from eMi to visit the site and so I will help him with the design wherever I can. I will post more information on the ministry that eMi is serving in Gabon when I get more details.

Ok… enough of the boring engineering details. (It’s not boring to me, but it may be to you.) I mentioned at the start of the post that I just reached the halfway point of my time in Uganda. I lied. Its actually the quarter way point. I recently decided to re-intern here in Uganda so I will be staying in Kampala a little longer than originally planned. I will still come home in December and spend the holidays with my family, but then I will come back in January and stay until June. I still don’t know too many details, but I will post them as I figure them out.

An Adventurous Weekend

So I’ve really wanted to get a haircut for a while now but I haven’t because I didn’t know where to get one. It’s hot here so I just planned on buzzing my head if I got the chance. Jonathan brought clippers with him but I haven’t used them because the voltage is different. Jonathan used them once already with a voltage converter and they worked just fine, so on Saturday, I finally decided to give it a whirl. Unfortunately, I forgot to use the voltage converter. As a result, midway through the haircut, the clippers started smoking (I owe Jonathan a new set of clippers…)

This is where the adventure begins… I needed to find a place to get my hair cut because I couldn’t walk around with just half of my head buzzed. I looked ridiculous and I had no idea where to go. So I threw on a hat and just started walking. I remember someone mentioning the location of a hair salon nearby, so I went in that direction but I didn’t see it when I got to the area so I just kept walking. I had to ask several people on the street and not many people understood what I was asking. A few did, but the common way to give directions here is to say “it is just there” and then wave your hand in the general direction of the place… not very helpful.

Eventually, I found a place, but I don’t think the man had ever given a muzungu (white person) a haircut before so I had to help him along. He even let me cut in line because I was a muzungu. He shooed away two teenagers waiting so that I could go next. I know that the people there were talking about me because every thirty seconds or so I heard muzungu this or muzungu that, but they were speaking in Luganda so I didn’t know what they were saying. My favorite part of the whole experience was the sign on the door, which read “The Unisex Jesus is My Refuge Hair Salon”. I only wish I had a picture. Maybe I will go back for a quick shot another day.

Then, on Sunday, I was going to church in the city so I got on a mutatu (translated as taxi but it’s more like a city bus). I was by myself and we had barely moved when we ran into a barricade that three or four other mutatus had created. Several Ugandan men were there waiting and started yelling at the driver of my mutatu in Luganda. I had no idea what was going on. Then they started yelling at us to get off and get into the other mutatu (I only knew because of gestures they were making and what the others were doing). I was freaked out at this point, but I just did as they said.

Once in the other mutatu, I asked another Ugandan passenger what had happened. Apparently, the mutatu I was on had cut their route short and came in another route, cutting off several other mutatus. The other drivers were angry because they had stolen their customers. Once I got on, my heartbeat returned to normal and it was smooth sailing into the city.

What a weekend!

Project Trip: Murchison Falls

Ok, so this is my last post about the project trip. I promise. It’s just that nothing very interesting has happened back in Kampala so but there is so much to share about the trip.

On our way back to Kampala, the eMi team stopped off at Murchison Falls, a game preserve in central Uganda. We just stayed one night instead of the typical three day safari. While we were there, we got to go on an evening game drive, a morning boat ride up the Nile, and then we climbed a gorgeous waterfall. That’s all I have to say about it because words will not give justice to its beauty. Here are some photos…

A view of the African plain.

From inside our safari van.

It was really cool to sit outside on top of the van. The views of the animals were so amazing from up there.

Looking down on the rest of the team inside the van.

I forget the name of this thing. They weren’t called antelope. We just called them African deer.

Apart from the "African deer", giraffes were probably the most common animal we saw.

There were so many hippos along the Nile during our boat ride.

“BEWARE OF THE CROCODILES!” This was an encouraging sign that met as we started our hike up the waterfall.

Me on the trail leading up to the falls.

A close up of the falls.

Looking at the Nile going the other direction.

The river actually split into two falls before joining back together. The views were amazing from the top!

Look at those three studly men climbing waterfalls in Africa.

Project Trip: Extras

My favorite story of the trip was one afternoon when I was surveying. Since the brush was so thick in many parts of site, they provided a team of machete-wielding “slashers” to create trails for us to walk. That was awesome in and of itself, but the best part of the day came when we were taking a break and they wanted to have a smoke. This is what ensued… I will let the video tell the tale...

Less than 5 minutes later, they gathered the ashes and put them in some dry grass and...

Afterward, Shawn and I tried to make fire the same way. We failed miserably and they just laughed and laughed at us. None of them spoke English which made communication tough, but it made our interactions all the more hilarious.

I will just leave you with a few more photos of the trip.


The region of Uganda that we visited was called West Nile. Although, they said that the West Nile virus did not originate in West Nile. Go figure.


Meat on a stick anyone? This is a common site while travelling. If you want to buy something, just pull of to the side of the road and people with most definitely swarm you as they try to get you to buy something.


A picture of me with two of the “slashers”. They were both totally ripped. You wouldn’t want to get in a fight with one of these guys, especially if they are carrying around machetes.


Shawn is surveying a typical hut on one of the properties. Notice the clothes drying on the roof. There are no such things as washing machines or dryers here.


They did not have drinkable water where we stayed so we brought along our own water filter. It took about 5 minutes to fill water bottle.


A shot of the group on the way back to the vans after getting caught in a rain storm.


To make matters worse, the rain made all the roads so muddy that the vans kept on getting stuck. Several people had to jump out at least half a dozen times to push them out of the mud.


Ok, so I said that I wouldn’t share these photos, but these are just too epic to deny you all the opportunity to see them. This is Aaron, a Safe Harbor business analyst from Chicago, killing the turkey.


This is Tim, the architect turned chicken butcher. Jones, the chef, is standing next to him helping out. How awesome is it, by the way, that the chef’s name was Jones?


Anyone need their car washed? We saw this in one of the nearby streams on the way out of town.