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.

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.....