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.

What does progress look like?

We continue to work through the process of developing a ministry support team.  The question I answer most often these days is:

"How is the support raising going?"

I don't really know how to answer that question.  It is like another take on "How you doing?".  Does the person that asked this really care? What backstory have they loaded into their question?

Well, I thought it might be worth posting just how things are going in a couple different areas.

•  Prayer Partners - We have over 60 families/individuals that have indicated that they will be prayer partners, and I think there are a lot more who just haven't formally communicated.
• Financial Supporters - We have 41 families/individuals that have either given a one time gift, or have committed to regular support.
• Everyone likes to know how we are doing compared to our anticipated budget.  Right now we are at 21% 

We have been amazed, blessed and humbled at the response that we have received from  our family and friends. 

...Amazed at the desire that so many people have to partner in this ministry.  With so many unfortunate stories about how selfish Americans are, we are encouraged by the giving hearts of our supporters.  

...Blessed by the relationships that we have built throughout our lives.  Some of our supporters haven't seen us 10 to 20 years yet were some of the first to respond.  

...And humbled that God has allowed us to be apart of this ministry.

Numbers are difficult unforgiving things.  There are realities that are associated with numbers.