Final Reports

For the past couple months, I have been leaning heavily on our interns, and our volunteers to complete the report for the Promesa School in Cusco, Peru.  We are finally into the last few days of pulling things together and packaging them for the ministry.  I have been blessed in a few ways through these months.

First of all I have had wonderful interns to work with Josiah and So Hwan both came to EMI with completely different backgrounds, but their dedication to the work and integrity were very encouraging.  So Hwan is an Architect student who came from South Korea, and Josiah is a Mechanical Engineer.  I greatly enjoyed working with both of them!

Second was working with the volunteers.  We had a great team of Architects, Engineers, Surveyors, and Construction Managers that did a huge amount of work.  One of those volunteers is an Architect from Alaska who basically turned some of his staff over to us to work on some of the final renderings and a fly through of the proposed school.  Here is the video of the fly through.



Very cool stuff!  And here are a couple of the renderings.

As you come up the access road to the campus

Central stairway/plaza

Near the top of the campus looking back into the valley

Again, I was amazed at what the team produced.  Our hope is that the time and effort that was invested makes a difference in the lives of the kids in the Cusco area that will maybe someday get to walk these stairs and gain an education that gives them hope for a physical future, and that they can experience Christ and gain hope for a spiritual future.

New place - new job - new title - new ?????

It has been two and a half months now that I have been working at Engineering Ministries International (eMi).  If you don't know the story about how we got here, please feel free to wonder through the blog and learn a bit about our family.

A recurring theme these last few months is new.  We are in a new town, we have new grocery stores, our kids are in new schools,  we have new doctors and orthodontist, we have a new church, I have a new job, and to add to the mix - I have a new title.

I have recently been named the Director of the Latin America (América Latina) office for eMi.  This brings up about a million questions starting with "What does that mean?".



It also causes me to pause and think about new things.  When I first think of new things, it seems that my first thought is Christmas and Birthdays.  New things often are associated with gifts.  Some new things don't feel like gifts.  Sometimes a new thing is very hard.  Our daughter Joanna has been going to a new school.  If you were to ask her, she would clearly let you know that she is NOT enjoying this "gift" of a new school.

When I think of all the new things that sit in front of me, I have an overwhelming sense of not knowing, of certainly not having the answers, but also not know the questions.

As Christians we have also been given a new thing.  It is a new life.  It is a wonderful gift, but like my new title, it comes with questions "What does that mean?", and like Joanna's new school, it is not always an easy gift to receive.  Sometimes we would rather not have that gift.

It comes with instructions, so does my new job.  Sometimes I don't want to read the instructions.  Sometimes I don't want to ask those wise and willing mentors that have gone before me.  Sometimes I just want to work it out myself.  How many of us have opened those Christmas gifts and quickly started building - hardly taking time to throw the instructions to the side.

So what do we do with new things - the exciting, the hard, the sad, the painful?  I believe that there is a reason that God puts new things in our lives.  I find that I naturally focus on the gift that I have been given, but I wonder if I miss the point when I do that.  I think that God desires that we would keep our focus on Him, not His gifts.  That means that my response to His giving of a gift is not to rip into it and figure out how it works, but to go sit on His lap, kiss His cheek and hug His neck - and then thoroughly enjoy His gift.  Isn't that what we love about giving gifts to our children?

This is a good reminder for me as I begin this New thing in a New place with New people.  These are all wonderful gifts - sometimes they are hard gifts - and I need to spend time in my Fathers arms thanking Him, resting in Him, and enjoying Him.

It is OK.  He doesn't expect me to be able to instantly know what to do with these new gifts, but I do believe that He wants me to trust Him and enjoy these gifts.

Thank you Father, Thank you that you give good gifts everyday.....

Back home

It has been a few weeks now since I have returned home from Peru.  As I look back on my time in Peru, there are a few things that stand out:

• This was my first trip as co-lead.  I learned a lot about what goes into the balance between getting the project work done and ministering with the team.  While there, I spent a lot of my time on the survey crew, which was good for getting work done and moving forward, but there were relationships that I missed because of it.
• I was with the part of the team that spent nights with the missionary family.  This provided some great perspective on living in Latin America with a family.  Example was when Ruth (mom) sent her two little girls off to school on the public bus.  I could see the struggle in her of wanting to find that balance between safety and releasing our kids.
  
• I was impressed with the importance of language for communication .  One afternoon I found myself crammed with four other adults and two boys in the backseat of a five passenger small pickup.  None of them spoke a lick of English.   I was riding with the pastors' extended family and I so much wanted to hear their story and encourage them.  But all I could do is laugh with the kids and pass the time with very basic small talk.
• It was amazing to see the body of Christ displayed by 13 people who didn't know one another, but then challenging as to why we don't see that in our churches.

I experienced these things through the lens of the Latin America re-launch.  How do we launch an office while slowing down to disciple staff and volunteers?  What will the challenges look like for each of our families?  If we are truly going to be an office open to local design professionals, language is critical, how do we balance language with work? From the beginning, is there a way to build the culture of an office to encourage functioning as the body of Christ

I am well aware that I don't have the answers to any of these questions.  I do, however, feel that questions like these are the right ones for us to be asking.

It has been very good to be home.  For those of you who were praying for us, thank you.  

Now I am starting to prepare for the next trip.  In February, I will be leading a team to Nicaragua to help out a Young Life camp as they look to make improvements to their camp.

Presentation Day

Today was the first day since we have been here that I didn't bounce in the back seat of the 4-wheel drive vehicle to get to the new site for Promesa, it was the first time all week that I didn't climb up and down the sides of mountains over 11,500 feet in elevation, it was a day for pulling all the work that had been done in the past week together and preparing for a presentation to the Pastors of the local churches who are the leaders of Promesa.

The team of 13 architects, engineers, surveyors, and construction managers spent this day combining the information, challenging one another and supporting one another.  It was brought up a few times that these eMi trips become a wonderful example of the body of Christ.  We all come to the table with different backgrounds, different giftings, different interests and different ideas.  But we also come with a common calling.  We are all there because we know that Christ called us to this work.  And so we set aside all the things that separate us in the professional work world and we experience unity in the body.  Isn't that Christ vision of the Church?  Why do we have to travel halfway around the world and live with strangers for a week to experience this?

Hard at work - in the homestretch

Enjoying some pastries at a local
Panaderia

It has been a wonderful week with a wonderful group of men and women.


Here is one of the graphics that we used with the ministry this evening to show what the school could look like at build out.

Thank you for all of you who have been following this adventure and covering our team with prayer.  We have had a wonderful trip, and it has been awesome to get to spend a little bit of time with some of the Quechua kids.

Deep into Design

It seems like the days are getting longer each day that we are here in Peru.  Doesn't have to do with the season, but more a function of the amount of work to be done.

The site that we are Master Planning for a new school that at full build out will have a capacity of around 1,000 kids is a 35 acre site that is very steep with multiple valleys intersecting the site.

From the dirt road at the bottom of the picture above, we are working on laying out a new road that would provide access to the grove of trees that looks like it is kind of glowing.   That grove is about an acre in size and is about the flattest land on the whole site (18% slope!).

The access into the land and the slope of the land are the greatest design challenges that the team is tackling this week.

Today, we will wonder into an artisan market here in Cusco and enjoy some of the local excitement.  After that, we will be trying to get the design wrapped up so that we can present to the ministry Saturday night.

On Wednesday, some of our team visited Machu Picchu, and a handfull of us spent the day in Cusco.  Here are a couple pictures from that day.

in the Plaza de Armas

Yummy meat market!

Team members John Pillar and Anita Wong

Bill Tatum sharing some of the conceptual plan with the ministry.

Praises:  

• On going health and safety.  Our team continues to be healthy and safe!
• As the team works more and more together, great relationship are being built

Prayer requests:

• Today should be the final field day.  Pray that the survey equipment cooperates (we have had some issues) and that the field crew can collect the necessary information.
• The late nights and long work days are starting to wear on the team.  Pray for excellent sleep when it is time to sleep, and alertness when it is time to be awake.
• Pray that when it comes time to communicate the teams vision of the Master Plan to the ministry that we can clearly communicate through the language barrier.
• Pray for the family that we all left at home.  They have been missing their family for a week now.  Our families miss us and are ready for us to be home.  Pray for God's grace for our families.

Falling behind...... Day 3 & 4?

I will have to admit at least two things at this point.  I don't really remember what day I am on, or when I started counting, and I am starting to fall behind......  Yesterday we were very busy running from one thing to another and the day finally ended somewhere around midnight.

We started by attending the church that meets here at the school on Sunday.  Gary MacPhee got to share a message from his heart while Chris Raber (missionary) translated.  It was a great message challenging the local church to be partners in the work of reconciliation that God has given to the local church.

After church we traveled out of town to a Trout farm that one of the local Pastors started.  They raise trout from fingerlings and use the trout as the source of food for a restaurant.  I was the odd man out when we loaded the vehicles, so I got to travel with one of the pastors, his wife, his two kids, and his mom and dad.  For those that are counting that is seven in a five passenger pickup truck.  Somehow I ended up with the two boys, Samuel and Mateo on my lap.  I think I will continue to try to be the "odd man out".

Here is a panoramic of the trout farm.  Water flow is spring feed by gravity through the four ponds.  He has done an excellent job of using the natural topography of the site to control flow.

Here is a picture of a our lunch that we ate.  The fish was WONDERFUL!

On the way home, we were all tired, I think that Danika, one of the missionaries daughters was the only one the gave in.

Our day ended with our team of 13 all sharing testimonies of our lives and what God has been doing.  It was a great time of sharing, however, 13 people sharing 15 to 20 minutes each made for about 4 hours of testimonies and stories.

Praises:

• We had a great conversation yesterday afternoon with the school leaders.  It was good to hear their hearts.
• So far everyone is in pretty good health

Prayer:

• We are starting to get tired as we burn both ends of the candle - pray for good sleep when it is time.
• Continued health as we eat more and more different foods.
• Pray for safety - we will have teams on site doing digging of test pits and surveying for the next few days.  Lots of opportunities for mishaps.

Day 2 - Lima to Cusco

Yesterday, the advance team was well taken care of by the kind folk at the New Life Childrens Home.  Along with touring the existing orphanage and church facilities, we got to see some of the ongoing construction that they are working on to be able to house more kids.

Here is one of the existing dorm rooms.  I am certainly not an expert on orphanages, but it seemed to be well laid out where each group of 6 kids or so would have a "nanny"  that would live on site with them.  The kids were in separate rooms for gender and age bracket.








At this point, I believe that the facility could house 25 kids.  Once the expansion is complete, they will be able to house up to 50!

Here is one of the classrooms where the kids attend during the day.








The ministry prepared meals for us at the orphanage, and I was so excited to see one of my favorite memories of Peru on the table.  The rest of the team didn't quite know whether to believe me or not when I told them that they HAVE to try Inca Kola.  They don't know me very well yet, so they all agreed to try some.  I think their reaction was pretty much what every adult thinks...  Hmmm, very sweet bubble gum flavored pop.  And then move on to more familiar things like water for drinking.

Here we are standing on the second floor of one of the dormitories.  The Ministry is currently seeking funding to complete this dorm, but asked if eMi could come to the site and see if things are generally headed in the right direction.

 Yesterday afternoon, we had some extra time so we drove a few minutes out of town where there were some Inca ruins that we could see.  It was kind of surreal to stand there looking at this extremely arid and harsh land thinking about how 500 - 1,000 years ago, people had carved a living out of this dirt.

At 2 am this morning, we left for the airport to meet up with the rest of the team.  It was great to begin the process of connecting as a team.

As we flew from Lima to Cusco, the sun welcomed us to a new day, and then as we were approaching Cusco, we flew over some absolutely magnificent mountains.

And here are a couple pictures as we were driving through the streets of Cusco on our way to the house where we are being hosted for our time in Cusco.

And yes, there were kids at the orphanage.  Here is one of our eMi interns Su Hwan being attacked by a couple of the boys.

Praises - 

• Whole team is here, safe, sound, and with all our luggage!
• Good work was completed in Lima, and the beginnings of some ongoing relationships.

Prayer Request

• Health as the team gets used to the altitude.
• Clear understanding of the schools vision for growth.   This will require clear communication between the ministry leaders and the architects.
• Patience for the team as we are all tired and still don't really know one another's names.

Day One - Denver, CO to Lima, Peru

Part of our team completed day 1 yesterday.  This is what we can call the "Advance" team.  This team is made up of our project leader Gary MacPhee, interns Josiah Moore and Su Hwan Lee, volunteer Brent Ellingson from Canada, and myself.  The purpose of the advance team is to spend a day assisting a local ministry here in Lima with some construction management/oversight.

I will try to get some updates out everyday, but no promises......

Our day yesterday started with an 8am flight out of DIA, and ended with a 12:20am arrival (delayed until 1:00am) in Lima.  It was a long day, but connections worked, baggage arrived, and we all still had some humor in us when we arrived in Lima.  Alex and Christian (from the ministry) waited for us at the airport and got us back to the ministry.

This morning I woke up to these views out our second story window.

The ministry is located at the base of the foothills to the west of Lima.  Last night, we drove through some very thick fog to get to the ministry, and this morning it looks like we will have lots of pictures of low clouds....

The ministry that we are working with this morning is called "Peru Missions".  You can check out their web page and learn about some of the work that they are doing.  Our time here will be spent:

• Observing their current construction project (a dorm and the New Life Childrens Home), documenting the project with photos and measurements, and reviewing plans construction records for the next steps.
• Tour the other buildings of the children's home, church and school
• Look over the new land and talk about new school ideas for that land.

The rest of our team will be spending today traveling from all over the United States as well as from the U.K.  Very early in the morning tomorrow (3am), we will get a ride back to the airport where we will meet the rest of our team and we will all fly out of Lima at 5am on our way to Cusco.

Praises:

• Safe travel yesterday for the advance team.  Josiah was the carrier of the total station (survey equipment) and did a great job being patient with the customs officers as they tried to figure out what to do with him.
• Some good sleep and a nice warm shower this morning.  We were all able to sleep well for five hours or so this morning, and the ministry here has a nice facility to house us.

Prayer requests:

• Safe travel for the rest of the team
• As we observe the construction to date, and look at what the ministry is trying to do, pray that we would:
• hear their heart for those that they are reaching
• that we would catch the vision 
• that communication would not be a barrier
• that we would be able to make wise judgments regarding our assessment of the construction.

For those of you that enjoy geography and knowing where everything is, here is a link that should take you to a google map of where we are:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=-12.108631816666668,-76.81727151666666&iwloc=A&hl=en&z=16

Starting work

It has been a couple months since I have been working.  Some would say that packing up your house, moving your family halfway across the country, settling into a new home and community are all work, but it has been a while since I have woken up everyday at the same time, showered, spent time with God, ate breakfast, drove to work, turned on a computer, and did whatever it is that engineers do.

When I quit my job back at the end of June, I did not miss it at all.  However, I really enjoy getting back to the schedule of working.  It is good for man to be idle.  So here I am, only half time at this point, learning new systems and structures and organization.  Learning how to get to the bathroom, where highlighters are located, how to scan a document, etc. etc.

Looking up from my cubicle is a great reminder
that the ministry of eMi affects the whole world.

The immediate task that sits in front of me is preparing for a project trip that I am co-leading to Peru that will have me traveling from September 25th through October 7th.

There are a few reasons that I am excited for this upcoming trip:

1. I have not been back to Peru since our family lived there in 1979 and 1980.  I am sure I won't remember things from then, I can't even remember what I had for dinner yesterday, but it will be good to be back in Peru.
2. This will be my first opportunity to meet (face to face) John Pillar, who is one of the other eMi staff who will be re-launching the Latin America office.  We will have the opportunity to work together, talk, worship, eat, sleep, etc, etc, etc. I am looking forward to having some opportunities where we can share our vision of the future for the Latin America office.  We also have a volunteer on the trip who is considering joining eMi and helping out with the Latin America office as well!  Very very exciting, and a huge answer to prayer.
3. Along with going to a great place with some great people, we are going to be serving a wonderful ministry.  The Easter Mennonite Mission has a school in Cusco that has too many kids for the available space.  They have purchased some land on the outskirts of Cusco, and we will be developing a masterplan for a new school!  That masterplan will allow the ministry to make realistic plans moving forward, and give them a shot in the arm toward bring reality to a dream.

I will post some more information on the trip in the next week, take a lot of pictures on the trip, and will work toward getting updates on the blog (maybe even from Peru!).

Hope that the summer has treated you all well.  Seems to have gone too fast for our family.  Please stay in touch via comments, or e-mails, or calls, or visits!  

In Colorado Springs

I have gone silent for a little while, please know it is not because I haven't been doing anything....

We are now in Colorado Springs, the kids are in school, the boxes are spread evenly around the house, and Wanda and I are worn out!

It is hard to know how to summarize all that has happened this past month.  Let's just stick with the move.  Overall, everything went perfectly!  On August 8th, just one week ago, we had the "load the truck" party.  We had many family and friends from Redmond, Oregon City and Newberg come help out.  Some would say that with the number of people that showed up to get rid of us, and the efficiency with which they loaded the truck, that folk were excited to get rid of us.  I prefer to interpret those actions as gifts of love.  It was difficult to leave that house, on that street, in that community, with that church.  There is no way we can adequately express the feelings of gratitude we have for all of you.

For the past couple months we have been wondering if we can reduce the amount of stuff that we have to fit in a 26' U-Haul truck.  Part of the process included the church garage sale, numerous trips to Goodwill, selling and giving away many things to friends.  All the effort paid off, and we were able to fit in the truck!

Tim Conley volunteered to help drive the truck and van out to Colorado, It was great to have another driver to trade around so that we could all stay alert on the road, well some didn't stay alert.

The truck and van worked great on the road, we had no issues, other than trying to get a 26' truck with the Jeep on a trailer through gas stations....

The Whole Caravan

When we arrived here in the Springs, our house was ready to move into, and about 10 or 12 people from EMI showed up to help us move in.  Which was very helpful as our house has three floors, and the truck unloading zone was not very convenient.

We are deep into trying to get the kids settled in three different schools.  It is mind boggling how much work that takes, but Wanda has been doing an awesome job of staying on top of who has to be where at what time and with what stuff.

School for the kids really gets going next week.  We were planning on attending the EMI orientation that week.  However, that would have had Wanda and I out of the house from about 7am to 9pm everyday.  We made the decision that it just wouldn't be good for our family to do that on the first week of new school in a new place.  So Wanda and I will attend a few of the sessions during the day, and then attend the orientation in January.

I am planning on beginning work with EMI on September 3rd, and hit the ground running since I will be going on a project trip to Peru at the end of September.

Our monthly support is at about 43% now, so when I start with EMI I will be working about half time, and will continue to work on ministry partnership development.

If you would like any more information on any of what has happened in the last month, please feel free to contact us.

One closing thought.  It was two weeks ago that I was sitting on a beach with Wanda in Cozumel, Mexico.  I was thinking a bit about all that sat in our immediate future.  I was overwhelmed with the realization that I can't do this.  I can't make it all work, I can't fix it, I can't wish it into being, I can't buy it, and I can't ignore it.  All I can honestly do is lay it down at the feet of Christ and then rest in His ability to do it.  That is not an easy place for me, but I think it is the right place for me.

Getting ready to move

I have quit my job, we have sold our house, the moving truck is reserved, the house is getting packed into boxes, and a lot of extra stuff is being sold and given away.  In just over three weeks we will be moving from Redmond, OR to Colorado Springs, CO!  Three weeks sounds like a long time, but between now and then, we have a sum total of 7 days that we are in Redmond.

Some amazing things that have gotten us to this place.  We have a good friend here in Redmond whose mother lives in Colorado Springs.  Her mother was thinking of moving to Redmond, but wasn't quite ready to sell her house in Colorado.  So, as it turns out, we will be renting her home!  It was a huge relief and blessing for us to not have to worry about how to find  a rental, and hopefully it will be helpful for her to have someone living in the home that she knows.

Then, our house sold.  Nothing like a bidding war the same day we listed it, but it sold.  For the right price.  At the right time.  Again, this was a huge weight off our minds.

For those of you who have been praying for these things, we thank you.  God is an awesome God, and
continues to reveal His faithfulness.

Sunday was our last Sunday at Impact Church (our home  church).  It was a great time of worshipping and
sharing with the people who have been our family for the last 6 years.


As chair of the leadership team, Impact Church blessed me by giving me their trust when they had been lied to.  Thank you.  As a father, they blessed me by teaching my children.  Thank you.  As a husband they blessed me by honouring, respecting, loving, and laughing with my wife.  Thank you.  As a man, they blessed me by challenging me, holding me accountable, drinking coffee with me, respecting me, and asking questions with me.  And now, as missionaries, they have blessed us by praying for, supporting, encouraging and sending.

To our family, Impact Church has been a wonderful expression of what the body of Christ is to be.  Not always perfect, sometimes a huge mess, but in the end, a community of believers that is honest with God about who they are and honest with one another.

We thank you all who have been supporting us, and praying for us!

I'm just a little selfish - how about you?

I have been thinking of writing a blog on this topic for a while, but I just haven't found the right combination of words, time and clear thought. 

Much of this journey that Wanda and I have been on for the last couple years has been focused on concepts like: laying down self, or abandonment, or sacrifice, or let it go (sorry, just had to put that one in there)

To state the obvious, I believe that our culture is terribly selfish.  And maybe it isn't just our culture.  Anyway, we can start with what we know.  As I look at the people around me, and at myself, I see that all of our decisions, all of our actions, all of our thoughts are in some way centered on ourselves.  Our self fulfillment, our self protection, our self enjoyment, our self satisfaction, etc.

So why are we so selfish?  I am not a philosopher, or writer for that matter, so I am likely coming to the wrong conclusion and expressing it the wrong way, but I wonder if we aren't all so selfish because we are all afraid.  We fear failure, or loneliness, or we fear for our kids, or our freedoms, we fear that something isn't fair, we fear that we actually are expected to accomplish something in this world.

What if we weren't afraid of any of that?  What if we could just rest in the fact that God created us, loves us, and saved us; and that His grace is sufficient?  What if my failures, loneliness, kids, freedoms,  justice, accomplishments are all completely and eternally covered by the Love of God? - Done.

In church circles, we like to talk as though we have this all figured out.  We have given our lives to God, and have given up our selfish ways.  But the reality is that we just surround ourselves with selfish religion.  Religion that makes us feel good, or worship that we can relate to, or preaching that stirs our hearts.  None of those things are bad, but you will notice, they are all about me.

So what if we could live lives that acted out the fact that it isn't about me.  The world was not created nor was I born so that I could succeed in my career, or so that I could do wonderful things like help people get clean water.  Nope, it was all done, from creation till right now for Gods glory.  Not mine.

I wonder what it would be like to live an abandoned life.  For the last three years, Wanda and I have been getting up every morning seeking to set ourselves aside, and to be available for whatever God places in front of us that day.  As I have told a few people, I have found that I am not good at this practice.  I am learning that I am very selfish, I am also learning that God knows that, and choses to use me anyway.

Our pastor at Impact preached last Sunday on the period of the Judges in Israel.  For the non bible scholar, this was something like 350 years with one theme.  Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.  The pattern goes like this.  The people abandoned God, God punished them by raising up foreign powers to oppress them, the people cried out to God, God raised up a deliverer, repeat.  There are a couple of things that stand out to me in that history.  (1) How similar my response to God is to their response.  And (2) I am amazed that even though these people couldn't figure it out, God still used them.  Just like He uses us.

Then buried in the time of the Judges is the story of a foreigner named Ruth.  Her story is one of abandonment.  She gave up everything, her people, her future, her God, for what?  For the love of her mother in law and the life of an outsider.  Why would she do that?  I am sure I don't really know, but I do believe that she did it because she understood that it wasn't about her. 

I want to learn that lesson.  I don't want it to be about me, and I pray that for others as well.

Moving forward

Seems like just yesterday that I updated the blog!  Anyway, a lot has happened in the last month.

Our church (Impact Church) had a garage sale to raise money for our start up costs.  It was a great reminder of a few things.  

• We all have WAY too much junk in our houses available for garage sales.
• Serious garage sale buyers don't know how to tell time, or maybe they just thought we were on Eastern Time here in Oregon.....
• Garage sales take a lot of work, and without the commitment of a few dear friends (Matt & Mandee) it wouldn't have happened.

At the end of two days of sun, wind, rain, hail and sales we were able to raise $1,300!!!! 

Around the end of May we made the decision that we should start taking steps that would get our family to Colorado Springs around the end of the summer so the kids could start school there and I could start working with EMI.

So we talked to a few real estate agents, that is fun, selected one and now have our house on the market.  That meant we actually had to clean the house and keep it clean!  Yikes! One of the kids made the very insightful comment - "The house is too sterile, I don't think I can live in it."  Here is the "virtual tour"

The first weekend of June, we went to Seattle.  It was a great time for the kids to see the city, the weather was beautiful.  We got to stay with some people that we didn't know before, but now feel like we made some great friends (John and Jan).  Then on Sunday (Wanda's B-day) we visited Northview Community Church.  This is the church that planted Impact a number of years ago.  It was great to hear their love and concern for our church and share with them what God is doing at Impact and in the Burgi family.

Then the next weekend we traveled just up the road to Metolius Friends Church.  This was the church where Wanda grew up through her grade school years while her dad, Duane, was the pastor there.  We have many old friends there and now I think we have some new friends.  We shared during both Sunday School and the Worship service.  

I have begun sharing our stories with many of my work colleagues.  Some of them may be reading this blog..... I will try to say something really smart and engineery.  That has been a great opportunity to sit with people who I have worked with for the past 8 years and share with them a part of my life that many of them haven't heard.  It is encouraging to share with them and see the excitement that they have for what we are doing.

Sorry for so much text - These are exciting and busy times for us, but we see God moving daily.  We had a huge answer to prayer concerning a place to live in Colorado Springs that we could afford, that would fit our family, and that would be available on our schedule.  God provided that.  We have felt the call to share our story, and God continues to daily open more and more doors to talk with individuals, groups and churches.  We thank Him for His faithfulness, and anxiously watch for where He will work next.

Engineering Alumni of the Year Award!

Here I am with Dr. Bob Harder - Dean, College of Engineering
at the Evergreen Air and Space Museum 

Our family spent this last weekend in the Newberg area again. We were drawn over this time because I was invited to attend the George Fox University College of Engineering Senior Banquet where Wanda and I would be the honored guest and I would receive the 2014 Engineering Alumni Award!

While GFU is not a powerhouse in the landscape of Civil Engineering education, it was an honor to be recognized by the faculty and staff of GFU.  It was also a wonderful time to share some of the story of my life with the 46 engineers that were graduating and their families.

I shared some of the ways that God has led myself and my family throughout our lives.  From sleepless nights on a couch to listening to birds and chipmunks at the Oregon Garden to watching water flow over the Silver Falls and down the Deschutes River - God has spoken and led in a great variety of ways in my life.

One thing I shared with the group of grads was to not hold on to the decisions that are barreling down on them too tightly.  It is so easy to get ourselves in a complete tizzy about making the "right" decision.  What if there isn't a "right" decision?  Hold that thought for a second.

I shared a some what imaginary analogy.  Suppose I have a young daughter who is experiencing Disneyland for the first time in her sheltered life.  She is 5 years old.  She has no context for what Disneyland is.  Then we show up one day.  There she is, surrounded by fanny packs and Bermuda shorts, since that is all she can see for her height.  She is holding my hand and we are headed to the Winnie the Pooh ride, I have the map, I can see over the crowd, and I have a plan to get us there.  My daughter does not know where we are going, she doesn't know how to get there, she has never been there, and has no idea what it will be like when we get there, or even what "there" is.  All she knows about the journey is that she is holding her fathers hand, and somehow, that makes everything OK.

So the analogy should be obvious.  But now what if my daughter is concerned about which way to walk.  Should she walk forward, or backward?  Should she hold by right hand or left?  Should she step on the cracks or jump over them?  These decisions could freeze her, make her stop and let go of my hand.  But honestly, it doesn't matter how she walks.  What matters is that she holds my hand and walks.  I am her Dad, I won't let her get lost or run over by the train.  I might let her get distracted and take the long way, but I will still be there.

I think there are a lot of times in our lives when we stand in the middle of Disneyland trying to figure out if it is better to step on the cracks or not.  Our Father stands patiently by (thank God that God is more patient than I am...) waiting for us to grab His hand and start walking.

I encourage you, just as I encouraged the Seniors to grab the hand of your Father, and then skip, or walk, or jump, or hop, or run - walk on the cracks, the curb or the log - walk on the right or the left - just move.

Again, thank you, George Fox University - College of Engineering for honoring me by recognizing my commitment to the pursuit of Engineering excellence and Christian integrity.