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Unworthy...

Over the years we have been to Hawaii a couple times with the kids. On one of those trips, we visited the North Shore, you know, where they surf the BIG waves. I thought it would be fun to go swim in the waves and experience the power of the water, and I figured it would be a good experience for the kids as well. They were gung-ho, but in a moment of fatherly wisdom I suggested that maybe I should go out by myself first and see how big the waves are before putting my 7 and 5 year old in the water. About 10 minutes later as I was gasping for breath while waves relentlessly beat upon my head, I came to the conclusion that this was not a good place for my kids to wave jump.

Nice story - so what.  Well, over the past week, I have had the similar feeling of waves relentlessly beating upon my head while I try to swim.  This time, I was not experiencing wet waves, or waves of pain and suffering, but the waves of God's provision - and I am not worthy.

For a while, I was stuck there.  I'm not worthy.  You see, over the past week, we have had a few people come forward wanting to financially support us in the Ministry, or double what they are already giving, or both.  That is great and all, but all of these people hardly know us - yet they are joyfully connecting their lives to us and giving their finances.  There is nothing that I have done to deserve those gifts.

Then Easter happened.  Our family went to the Good Friday service at our church, and then the Easter morning service.  I was struck again, I am not worthy - but then Jesus died on the cross.  At the cross everything changed.  All of a sudden I am worthy.  Because of Jesus, I am God's Child.  Not because of anything I did (Eph 2:8 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God).  This is Gods gift to His child.

As the waves of God's provision continue to crash upon my head... as I pause to think about why it is that God chooses to use someone like me... instead of dropping my head down and feeling unworthy, I lift my eyes to the cross where my Savior died for me.

So, on our own, we are not worthy.  None of us.  Not worthy of this gift of God, not worthy of His blessings in our lives, really not worthy of anything.  Today, instead of trying to make yourself worthy, or trying to measure what you deserve - rest in the arms of your Father.  You are worthy - because He lives.

Nicaragua here we come......

Recently, Wanda and I spent a week in Nicaragua.  If you can't remember your Central America geography, here it is.  And yes, we are talking about Central America, not Africa.

Anyway, we spent a week there with John and Jenny Pillar from the U.K., Brent and Michelle Ellingson from Canada, and John and Gala Dallmann from the U.S.  The Pillars and the Ellingsons are the couples that will be re-launching the eMi Latin America office with us. John Dallmann is the CEO of eMi.  We were all there in Nicaragua to seek God's direction on whether or not Nicaragua is the right place to re-launch the Latin America office.


It was a great week with a lot of really helpful and encouraging conversations.  We met with engineers, architects, missionaries, relief development agencies, ministries and businessmen.  At the end of the week the team all agreed that Managua, Nicaragua is the right spot.


As we think about the direction of eMi moving forward, one way to talk about it is thinking of three D's:

Design

Grandma and Grand kids in El Limonal

The United Nations uses a metric called the Human Development Index to rate all the countries in the world.  If you want to learn more about that, just Google HDI.  In the Western Hemiphere, Nicaragua is second to Haiti as the country with the worst HDI.  48% of the population lives on less than a US$1 a day and 76% on less US$2 daily.  The definition of poverty in a country like Nicaragua is a world away from the struggles of our lives.  There are many ministries that are working hard to share the Gospel of Christ and to help those who are trapped in extreme poverty.  To accomplish these goals, the ministries often have a need for infrastructure planning and design.  Yes, there is a need for design in Nicaragua.

Discipleship

Young Life Club in Matagalpa

As with most of Latin America, Catholicism has been the religious belief system for many years in
Nicaragua.  Recently more and more Catholics are joining Protestant churches as they seek a more personal relationship with Jesus.  Currently, about 50% of the country are Catholics, while about 40% are protestants.  As we met with ministries who are sharing the gospel and helping the poor, we heard over and again that "we have the Gospel, what we need is to learn how to live as Christians everyday".  In Nicaragua there is a real need for Discipleship.

Diversity

Out of the very small percentage of students that make it into and through the Engineering University in Nicaragua, only about 30% of those who graduate find jobs.  There is a gap for the engineering students between their studies at school and jobs that pay wages that would support a family.  One of eMi's five year goals is that 25% of our staff and interns would be local professionals.  There is a huge opportunity in Nicaragua to diversify the field office, to have an office where developed world professionals and interns are working with developing world professionals and interns; learning from one another, teaching one another, encouraging one another, and growing together in Christ.

Moving forward

Our family will be moving to Nicaragua in August of this year.  In some ways, that seems a long way off, but not in reality.  The month of July, our family will be at Missionary Training Institute.  From everything we have heard, that will be a rich time of learning and encouragement for our whole family.  In June, we are going to be visiting our family and friends in Oregon (If you are one of our family and friends in Oregon, we would love to see you!).  We will be moving out of our house here in Colorado Springs at the end of May, and May just isn't very far away!

How YOU can help!

Many of you are already covering us with your prayers, and partnering with us financially.  I am SO thankful for that covering that you have given us.  We are just over 80% of our monthly budget!  It has been amazing to see how God has provided.  Between now and when we leave for the field, we need to raise another $1,200 in monthly supporters, and another $10,000 in moving and start-up costs.  Please pray with us for God's provision.  If you have any questions or comments or thoughts or encouragement, please reach out to us.

La Finca - Nicaragua wrap-up

Our project trip to the Young Life camp had three parts to it, all of which we were supposed to get done in country.  Usually EMI trips bring work home that the interns spend time working on.  However, the nature of this project, and the realities of what comes next in my life (post on that coming shortly!) led us to setting this trip up differently.

Bridge

La Finca needed a design for a pedestrian bridge.  Over the course of three and a half days, we were able to design and detail a bridge that the camp will begin building in a few weeks.

When we first got there, we thought that a suspended bridge might be the way to go.  But on the first day, as we all looked at the site, and met with the Bridges to Prosperity Project Manager, we decided that a bridge with piers in the water might be more appropriate for the location and the type of use.

Brad and Ian adding some survey data

In order to design a pier bridge, we would have to collect more survey data in the section where we would build the bridge, and we would need to collect some geotechnical information to properly design the footings.

Brian and Colter working on geotech

The bridge was the part of this project that I was most concerned about.  As I have shared with many of you before, there was a real sense of not being in control.  I knew that at the end of the day, I could not design the bridge.  If the team was stuck on beam sizing, or connection details, or size of footing, or rebar placement - I knew that I could not help them.  That week at La Finca was a good learning experience for me on relying on others.

Stormwater/Sediment Transport

The second priority for our trip was to take a look at the sediment transport issues that the camp has been experiencing as a result of erosion during storm events.

Laura and Jamey contemplating
a drop structure

This was the part of the project that I knew the most about, and I was able to help out with this team as they prepared their report.  We were able to get the report to a draft form while we were in country, and will finish up the report in the next week or two.

Walking up one of the two creeks

In general terms, the lake which the camp would like to use for boating and swimming, had filled in with sediment to the point where those activities were not possible.  There are two main streams entering the lake, and the team spent time in both of these watersheds looking for possible sources of sediment.  At the end of the day, there was no "silver bullet" that would solve the problem.  However, there are a number of changes that the Camp staff can implement which will help decrease the amount of sediment that makes it to the lake.

Camp Center - Graphic Design

Again, another aspect of the project that is outside my skill set.  Our team of Architects did a wonderful job of listening to the concerns and needs of the camp staff.  There are a number of major changes that the camp is considering regarding existing and propose buildings.  Sometimes, these changes are difficult to visualize.  And without a visualization, it is hard to understand the potential affects.

Draft version of one of the views that we are working on

Here is another view (still draft) that shows where the bridge is as well

Team

As always, these sorts of things only get done as a team.  Every trip I have been on so far I have been amazed at how over the course of just a few days, a group of people that hardly know each other become a team.  I think that it is something that we can easily take for granted, so I am continually challenging myself and my teams to think about how the lessons learned while on the project trip can be transferred back home.

and here is our team!  Wonderful people, each and every one!

La Finca - Day 4

In many ways, as we move deeper and deeper into design, we tend to get more and more boring.  The drainage/water engineers start talking about sinuosity and thalweg, the structural/bridge engineers talk of earthquake loading and 'L' over something or other, the architects talk about visualizations and charrettes.  Our language separates us from one another - how there is an interesting thought when you are sitting in a foreign country.  As a design team, our desire is to stay unified in what we are doing, and with the ministry that we are serving, but our skills, our talents, and our passions, draw us away from one another and cause us to use different language.

For what we do on an EMI design trip, we overcome that challenge by taking time to bring one another along, and by daily stopping the design process and refocusing on what God is doing among us.

How do we overcome the things that naturally separate us from one another in our daily lives?  How do we maintain a sense of unity that allows us to function as the Body of Christ?

Architects showing some of the YL staff their cool stuff.

Digging a test pit the easy way.  Here we were trying to determine what was causing a large soft spot.

Jamal - working up some visualizations

Please be praying for Wanda and the kids.  They have been swamped with snow the last few days, and Wanda is now starting the process of getting ready to join me in Nicaragua on Saturday.  We will spend next week with our "relaunch" team Scouting out Managua.  Pray that the transition from dad being gone to both mom and dad being gone goes well for our kids.  Grandpa and Grandma Burgi will be staying with the kids, pray for energy (for the Grandparents, not the kids....).

La Finca - Day 3

We are coming to the end of day numbero 3.

Our three separate teams have started working on their individual tasks.

• After spending some time walking the site with some of the Young Life staff, the Architectural/Graphics team have begun building the Sketch Up model.  This will allow the Camp staff to begin visualizing what proposed improvement might look like.

Jamal, CK, and Janine working away

• Our bridge team started by digging a test pit in the bottom of the drained lake.  The information gathered here will define the bearing capacity of the soil as the bridge team sizes the footing for a pier.

Colter - taking notes on the soils conditions

• The bridge team then got busy doing some pre-design so that we could quickly get to a cost analysis.  By the end of the day, they had prepared a cost analysis for a couple bridge options so that tomorrow morning we can meet with the Young Life leaders and make a decision on the type of bridge we will design.

Colter and Ian reviewing design approaches

• Throughout the day, the bridge team met with Joey (Young Life) to make sure we were all tracking the same speed. 

Joey and Brian talking through the details of deck width

•  Brand new to services offered by EMI - Coffee packing!  Two of our team members spent the day helping roast and pack coffee!

Alli and Lesley roasting and packing away!

• The stormwater/drainage team spent most of the day walking the two creeks that feed into the lake looking for various sources of sediment.  They will continue to work with the camp staff to provide options for how to manage the land to decrease soil

Laura and Jamey stiring up the sediment and taking a water sample.

•  Coffee is one of the ways that Young Life in Nicaragua sends kids to camp!  All proceeds from the sale of coffee goes to sending young Nicaraguans to camp.  Check out this link, and buy some coffee! - http://beyondbeanscoffee.com/  Or, if you a couple of you want, I might be convinced to bring some back for you.

Coffee plants here on La Finca.

Overall, the team is working wonderfully together.  Today, there were a number of things happening here at camp, from workers building the new dinning hall to the coffee workers processing beans that had been picked.  It has been good for our team to spread around the camp and see some of the ministry that happens here even when there aren't any youth on site.

God is working in our team as we once again see how we each bring our own skills and gifts.  This evening we shared a devotion on the Body of Christ.  It is always amazing to me how these EMI teams become a wonderful expression of the Body of Christ.  We encourage one another, challenge one another, learn from one another, teach one another, serve one another, and love one another.  Hopefully a good challenge for each of us to think about how we do this in our local churches.

La Finca - Day 1 and 2?

Once again, I will try to keep the blog updated with some thoughts and experiences of our project trip to Nicaragua.  I am here leading a team of 12 engineers and architects to support the ministry of Young Life near Matagalpa, Nicaragua (see "La Finca")

Our travels to Nicaragua were wonderful, we had one canceled flight, but those passengers were able to get on other flights and catch up with the rest of the team.  Yesterday afternoon we drove from Managua (150 feet elevation) up to the camp outside Matagalpa (4880 feet elevation).

One thing that surprised the team last night was the temperature.  You think you are in Nicaragua where it is hot and humid, but up here in the mountains it is quite chilly, I will be adding another blanket tonight!

Driving down into Matagalpa

Hills around the camp

Today we went to church at a Baptist church in town.  As always, it was pretty awesome to sing songs we knew, in Spanish.  After service and dinner, we traveled back to the Camp and learned more about what Young Life program looks like here in Nicaragua and what their vision is for the camp.  That was very exciting for the team.  

Tonight we are preparing for the day tomorrow where we get to do the technical stuff that we love so much.  I will try to get more pictures of the camp tomorrow and give you all an update on how things are going.

Praise/Prayer requests:

• Praise - Safe travels - no lost luggage
• Praise - Team is relating well with one another
• Pray for clarity as we move into the beginnings of design
• C.K., one of our team members came with a bit of a cold.  She is still fighting that bug, pray for health for her and the rest of the team.

La Finca

Young Life.  Most of us know these people.  Whether we have supported, volunteered, helped, or attended - I am amazed at how many people have been affected by this organization.  Their vision is simple:

Every adolescent will have the opportunity to meet Jesus Christ and follow Him

What I have recently learned is that this vision expands beyond the boarders of these United States.

This month, I have an opportunity to lead a project team to "La Finca" a ministry of Vida Joven (Young Life).  Since 1988, Young Life has been working in Nicaragua.

Nicaragua is a country that has experienced "underdevelopment" as a result of natural disasters, wars, and political instability.  One result of these influences is a median age of the population of 24.2 years.  This compares to the median age in the USA of 37.6 years.  In countries where the median population is younger, youth struggle with alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution, gang involvement, and apathy regarding their future.  Without hope for a future, and without resources to overcome the desperation of their situation the youth of Nicaragua find themselves floundering.

While the overall situation in the country is overwhelming, Vida Joven seeks to provide an opportunity for the youth of Nicaragua to meet Jesus Christ, offering HOPE.

Vida Joven works in schools and communities building relationships with youth, inviting them to attend Club meetings where they have fun and encounter the wonderful message of the Gospel.  La Finca is an extension of that ministry.  Located in the mountains of Nicaragua and doubling as a working coffee farm, La Finca offers a unique opportunity for the Youth of Nicaragua where they can escape the struggles, heat, and desperation of the City and experience the beauty of God's creation, great food, extreme fun, adults who care for them as individuals, and the opportunity to meet Jesus Christ.
Many of us remember our summer camp experiences.  Imagine if along with all the other memories you have, you add the first time you saw a flush toilet, or the first time you had three meals a day?  This creates a wonderful opportunity for youth.

Here is a You Tube video about the camp:


The eMi design team will be supporting the ministry of La Finca by assisting with three specific technical issues they are facing.

1. A pedestrian bridge - the camp is split up by a lake
2. Drainage/sediment control - during the wet season, there is a large sediment load that fills up the lake.
3. Graphic design for the Camp Master Plan - As the camp looks to the future with their Master Plan, it will be helpful to have a three dimensional model.

We have a team of 12 of us who will travel to Nicaragua from the 21st to the 28th of February.  I will be trying to provide some blog updates as we move through the week, so keep an eye out for that!

I would really appreciate your prayers for our team as they seek to give of themselves, and learn more about what God is doing in Nicaragua.

EMI Orientation

Wanda and spent this last week at EMI orientation at The Hideaway near Monument, CO.  It was an awesome time that is honestly a little hard to explain.  It was a time to learn about ourselves, about Engineering Ministries International (EMI), about those around us, about experiencing different cultures, about poverty, about working as a team, and about a lot of things that I won't remember anyway.  EMI orientation week is done twice a year at the beginning of the fall and spring terms.  The main purpose is to welcome in and train new interns and new staff.

I was excited for the week for a few reasons - mainly getting to spend time with Wanda while my parents (God bless their giving spirits!) lived in our house and played mommy and daddy for our three wonderful kids.  I knew there would be things I learned as we looked at how our personalities, spiritual gifts and strengths worked together - and as we looked to learn more about living in different cultures, but I was impressed with a number of other things as well.

We spent a fair amount of time sharing our stories/testimonies.  In seven minutes we were to share the story of our lives.  For those of us over 30, there are a lot of things that have happened in our lives.  I could easily spend 7 minutes on dirty diaper stories, or stories from times I have seen the power of our creative God through nature, or stories of the times that our powerful God has seemingly saved my life and protected me, or stories of the times that our provider God has miraculously put food on the table and a roof over our heads, or the times that I have chosen to turn my back on God and walk my own way, or the times that those closest to me have shown grace and forgiveness, etc, etc.  So which stories do you share?

As 22 year old interns and 50 year old staff shared about their lives and God's movement through their lives, I was amazed at the openness, and at the brokenness of ... us.  We are broken, in so many ways by so many things.  Listening to the stories broke my heart.  To hear the pain that people have experienced, the broken relationships, the bad choices, the bad circumstances - And then to hear the beautifully rich stories of restoration, forgiveness, grace, and love.  It is good to remember that we are broken, and so is everyone around us.  But it is also good to remember that there is forgiveness and restoration.  That is the heart of God.  And I can't remember how many times during the sharing of stories that my heart filled up and my eyes overflowed with tears.

23 new staff and interns came together a week ago and played a silly name game, each wondering who these other 22 people were.  Today, Wanda and I said goodbye to 21 new friends.  Tomorrow, those friends will begin to spread themselves all over the world.  To Africa, Canada, UK, India, and the US.  Some back to work, some to partnership development, some to internships, all called by God.  Some of these new friends we will see soon, some we will see in the next few years, and some we will probably never see again. I am reminded of "The Four Loves" by C.S. Lewis:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”

Thank you fellow Orientation survivors for being vulnerable with us.