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!