Weekend fun, more traveling to come

Hey everyone,

Well it's that time again.  Blogging time.  Sorry for such the long gap between posts.  But enough with apologies; let's get down to business. 

Weekend fun...
Two weekends ago was eMi family camp.  The purpose of the camp was for eMi staff and their families to get to know each other on a more personal level.  While the staff members and their spouses (we'll call them the adults) were busy talking about grown up things, the eMi interns (myself included) had the privilege of enjoying the finer things in life with the kids of the staff members, such as playing kickball and making tie dye t-shirts. Ahh...it was fun to be a kid again. One highlight of family camp was reading Bible stories to the kids before they went to sleep.  It reminded me of when my parents would read the Bible to me when I was that age, and the impact that it made in my life.  Those were some of my favorite memories.  People may say not to bother teaching a child about God because they're too young to understand.  I beg to differ.  To quote Pastor Tedd Tripp: "Our children must know God!"  What a great responsibility and privilege it is to properly shape a child's view of who God is.

Last weekend, with our 90-day tourist visas quickly approaching day 90 in Costa Rica, we (eMi interns) decided to make the most of our situation and take a trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama!  Needless to say, Van Halen's "Panama" (Pa-nah-ma-ha!) was the theme song of the bus trip (to the dismay of everyone else on the bus, haha).  

Here's a few photos from Bocas:

No man's land (Costa Rica-Panama border)

Yes. We saw dolphins.

(No. This is not a postcard. But it was taken by Ben "Big Guns" Gunden)

Snorkeling at Red Frog Beach (carefully avoiding jellyfish)

 

Surfing at Wizard Beach

Drinking oatmeal in a juice box (muy intersante...)

The view from our hostel in Bocas

The gang (minus Ben, but plus a cool Swiss) assuming the "chill" position.

What's been going on in the office...

Recently, I have had a part (although a small part) in putting together a structural template for the future eMi trips to Haiti in response to the earthquake earlier this year.  The idea of creating a design template (specifically architecture and structural) is to have a group of architects and engineers come in to Haiti and be able to produce a complete set of construction documents in a week, which the ministry/organization that we are serving can use to begin immediate construction.  The template is a streamlined design specifically created for Haiti and the vast amount of reconstruction that is needed there.  

Speaking of Haiti... 

We are missing a great couple here in the Costa Rican office.  Josh Ayers, our staff Construction Manager and Disaster Response Coordinator, got offered the opportunity to work in Haiti on a transitional housing project in coordination with Food for the Hungry.  Josh will be overseeing the construction of temporary houses being built for those who have been displaced by the earthquake.  Thus, Josh and his wife, Alli, will be spending the next three months in Port au Prince.  Alli is a physical therapist and she will most likely be working at a hospital helping rehabilitate those injured from the earthquake.  The Ayers have had amazing servants hearts through the whole process.  Please pray that God would continue to give them the strength to be servants during their time in Haiti and that they would not lose hope amidst a country of hopelessness.

Speaking aun mas (even more) of Haiti...

I have recently been given the opportunity to serve the people of Haiti myself.  I will be traveling with eMi staff and volunteers to Mirebalais, Haiti to work with Global Vision Citadel.  Global Vision Citadel runs an orphanage that has had an influx of IDPs (internally displaced people) as a result of the earthquake of Jan. 12.  The orphanage is proving to be inadequate in serving all of the internally displaced people.  Our project trip will be addressing this problem.  The project trip will be June 5-13.  Please pray for our team: that we would work well together, that we would not face obstacles, that we would strive for the best possible solution, and that we would give God the glory He so greatly deserves.  

Final thoughts...

Although the earthquake of Jan. 12 in Port au Prince was a devastating event to a country that was already devastated, God's redeeming hand is already at work.  Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has seen an overwhelming response of people and organizations willing to serve.  Through this, I am reminded of how good God is during the difficult times; how He uses life-shattering events to capture the hearts of His people; how He cares so much more about our souls than our comforts in this world.

Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3:19-24

Pray that Haiti would hope in Him.
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PRAYER REQUESTS (the rundown from above)

• Josh and Alli Ayers in Haiti (transition, stamina, hope)
• My project trip to Haiti June 5-13
• All summer project trips in the eMi-AL office (one in Guatemala, one in Honduras, and another one in Haiti)
• The people of Haiti

Work, family, and travel

Well, March proved to be a very busy month for me with much of my time spent at work, with family, or traveling.  Thus, here I sit in April writing.  I will try to summarize the month by work, family, and traveling. 

Work
I have some exciting news as far as work goes - we (the eMi-AL office) issued the construction documents for a two-story student dormitory for YWAM in Gonaïves, Haiti. Also, we have heard news that there is a team ready to start building. So that's exciting as well!


Here's some background on YWAM and Gonaïves, Haiti:

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is an international movement of Christians from many denominations dedicated to serving Jesus throughout the world, whose calling is to know God and make Him known. Since its establishment in 1960, YWAM’s main focus has been to get youth into short-term mission work and to give them opportunities to reach out in Jesus’ name. 

YWAM Gonaïves is the most recent branch of YWAM’s ministry to the youth of Haïti. Under the leadership of Director Maula Jean-Marie the ministry serves the large impoverished youth population in Gonaïves. Forty percent of Gonaïves population is eighteen years old and younger. Combined with the extreme poverty, two devastating floods in the past five years, and the most recent earthquake, there is a sense of hopelessness in the city that needs the light of the Gospel. 

We hope that through our work at eMi in providing construction documents for the YWAM student dormitory, Jesus will be made much of in Gonaïves through the work of YWAM.  It is our prayer at eMi-AL that redemption and hope in Jesus would be brought to an area so desperately in need of the hope of Jesus.

A rendering of the YWAM dormitory

In other news, Josh Ayers (emergency response personnel with eMi-AL) and other eMi staff and volunteers returned safely from Chile after performing structural assessment on 50 churches/hospitals that were impacted by the earthquake in Chile.  In comparison to Haiti, Chile seems to have endured much less lasting devastation from the earthquake due to the aid of the Chilean government.

Family

 My time with my host family has been a huge blessing.  They are continually patient with my Spanish and include me in everything.  I definitely feel like part of the family.  My host mom asked me the other day to make a typical American meal for the family one night.  I thought, "What's typical in America?"  Honestly, I have no idea.  Barbeque is the only thing I could come up with and say, "That's America!"  But if you have any suggestions, please let me know.  Otherwise, we may be having Cereal Night on behalf of me.

Travel

Last week was Semana Santa (Holy Week) here in Costa Rica.  There is no school for the week and many people do not work.  Thus, many people are on vacation.  I and the other interns at eMi-AL decided to use some of our vacation time to travel around Costa Rica.  We visited Arenal Volcano (which is still active), went hiking in the rainforest around Monteverde, and finished the trip surfing and enjoying the beach at Samara on the Nicoya Peninsula.  It was fun to play the part of a typical Gringo tourist for a few days :)  The last day in Samara before we headed back to Atenas, we got up early to enjoy the sunrise on the beach.  It was simply amazing.  As we were watching the sunrise, I felt as Augustine must have when he was watching a beautfiul ocean sunset.  In response to the sunset he said, "If these are the beauties afforded to sinful men, what does God have in store for those who love Him?"  Well said.  If God graciously gave such a beautiful painting for broken people in a fallen world, I cannot imagine what His perfect plan of “making all things new” (Rev. 21:5) will be. 

And with tomorrow being Easter Sunday, I cannot help but give thanks to God for more than just sunrises and sunsets.  Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross and taking away our sins so that we could be reconciled to God.  Thank you God for not only taking our sin away in grace, but extending Yourself to us in mercy because we so desperately need You.  Amen.

For His glory, my joy, and the good of others,

Amos

Project Trip - "Colegio Cristiano - Avivando el Fuego" - Tizate, Guatemala

Hey everyone

I have come to the realization that there has been a great deal of undocumented information in my life, some of which is worth noting. That being said, I thought I’d catch everyone up on my eMi project trip to Tizate, Guatemala.

Project Trip – Tizate, Guatemala – February 6 – 14

Tim Clem (eMi staff and project lead), Michael Baden (eMi arch. intern), and I left the San Jose airport for Guatemala Saturday afternoon, Feb. 6. I prepared myself for the trip by going over the project trip packet, which details the conditions and needs of the ministry, the members that would be on the eMi team, and a daily schedule for the week that we would be in Tizate. This helped me know a little bit about what I was getting myself into, but honestly, my best preparation was prayer for an open mind and a servant's heart. We arrived in Guatemala City later that night and met the rest of the eMi team, which was made up six professionals who graciously gave up a week of their life - family, career, etc. - to volunteer their services for the eMi project in Tizate. That's mainly how eMi functions. Professional volunteers offer their services for a week to gather any needed information about a project and spend the next few months in coordination with eMi full-time staff and interns to produce a project that - hopefully - the ministry is pleased with and God is glorified in.

eMi Colegio Cristiano project team

On Sunday, Feb. 7, we were able to visit the project site with the ministry, Global Shore, and come to a better understanding of what conditions we were dealing with and what the ministry wanted. Afterward, we were able to listen to the ministry's history and vision. Global Shore is an organization that was founded by Robert and Caroline Konrad from Canada, who after their daughter, Juliana, had a life transforming experience in Tizate, Guatemala established Colegio Cristiano - a Christian elementary school in Tizate. The establishment of the school was a miracle from God in that the funds necessary to build the school were well out of the hands of the Konrads. Robert is an asparagus farmer and God provided the funding for the school by doubling the number of asparagus crops that year (which just does not happen). The abundance of asparagus provided the Konrads with the exact amount of money needed to build the school. I think that's a pretty awesome example of God's provision. Check out http://www.globalshore.org/ for more information about this great organization.

Now for a little background on Tizate. Tizate is a small town just outside of Antigua, which is a very beautiful city rich with history and culture. At one time, Tizate was a community that really could not be called a community. The people of the Tizate were takers - they had no problem robbing each other of their possessions and dignity. What the town struggled with is ultimately what most of us struggle with in our human nature - pride. As C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity, "Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind." Pride reared its ugly head in Tizate in the form of competition, since pride is competitive by its very nature. As Lewis states further in Mere Christianity, "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only having more of it than the next man." The people of Tizate have a much lower standard of living then say middle-to-upper class America. Yet, Tizate struggled with (and probably still continues to struggle with, because the battle over pride is not easily won) the same competitive pride that is found in the suburbs of the American dream, namely "keeping up with the Joneses." By the grace of God and the transforming, self-sacrificing love that only comes from Him, Tizate is being changed by God's working through Global Shore and Colegio Cristiano. We heard stories of how kids at the school are given the opportunity to worship and learn about Jesus and share Him with their parents at home. After hearing how God has used Global Shore and Colegio Cristiano in the past, we were able to get a better understanding of where and how God is calling them in the here and now. We had confidence in offering our services to Global Shore, a ministry which God is using and blessing. Also, eMi designed the school that Colegio Cristiano is currently occupying and will soon outgrow. Thus, it was neat to not only work for a return client, but also to see an eMi-designed structure currently in use.

View of Tizate from the current school

During our time at Tizate, a typical day (M-Th) was as followed:

• 
  
  breakfast at 6 am
• 
  
  15 min. bus ride with cute kids (who loved pictures taken of them) to the school
• morning worship with kids at the school (7:30 am)
• 
  
  eMi team Bible devotions
• work until lunch
• lunch with Guatemalan host families in Tizate
• work until dinner
• dinner with same host family
• work until 10-10:30 pm

It made for a pretty long day! And after four days of the same routine, it was pretty exhausting. I also got food poisoning on Wednesday. (After being in Guatemala, I have come to appreciate the easy accessibility to clean water here in Costa Rica.) I was down for the count for about a day and a half. Note to self: Don't drink Guatemalan fruit puree. Although it looks delicious, goes down smooth, and is quite the delectable drink. Unfortunately, it also packs quite the punch! All joking aside, praise God that nobody on the project trip was seriously ill or injured. God gave us all the stamina to come up with a design and produce a presentation Friday afternoon to the ministry and teachers/staff at the school. It really was amazing the amount we work we were able to accomplish as a team, by the grace of God. This is what is unique about eMi. The amount of design work that eMi is able to produce would usually take much longer than a week in a typical construction setting. But because we have all disciplines - surveyor, civil engineer, structural engineer, architect, etc. - working long hours together, we are able to do it in a week. Plus, we have a big God who loves to do big things through small people. The final product is “Colegio Cristiano – Avivando el Fuego” (“Stoking the Fire”), a two-story school for 350 kids. 350 kids meeting Jesus and sharing Him with their parents and the Tizate community...now that's impact.

Although design work consumed a major portion of our project trip, the most memorable part of the trip was definitely the daily morning worship with the kids. There is something about little kids pouring their hearts out in song to Jesus that is so powerful and so moving. It breaks whatever stoic behavior that we tend to develop as we mature. As it says in Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Watching the children sing, it was obvious that they didn’t doubt God. They weren’t skeptical. They weren’t preoccupied or busy. They were just singing to Jesus in the childlike faith that God has given them. It was a glimpse of Heaven that I will always remember.

Check out this youtube clip of morning worship at Colegio Cristiano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmE-5nIanXE

 

Our "clients" - students of Colegio Cristiano in Tizate, Guatemala

I have more to share about being back in Costa Rica, but I will save it for another time. Thanks for praying for me during my project trip and my continued time here in Costa Rica.

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Praises

• 
  
  All eMi-America Latina project trips have been complete for the spring term – Guatemala, Costa Rica (San Jose), and Peru – without major difficulties!
• All eMi-AL staff and interns are now back in the office with the completion of the project trips
• 
  
  My host family is amazing
• 
  
  My real family is also amazing and God is doing amazing things in my family.
• 
  
  My sister is getting married on Aug. 7! His name is Cameron and he loves Jesus. He’s a pretty awesome guy.

Prayer

• 
  
  With all project trips complete, there will be a lot of work to do in the office to complete the design for the projects – pray for stamina and efficiency in the work the Lord has for us
• 
  
  A continuation to develop deeper relationships with my host family. Honestly, some days are harder than others to learn and speak Spanish. Pray that God would give me a willing attitude on those hard days for my family’s sake.

Lastly, if you get a chance, check out this youtube clip on eMi's efforts in Haiti:
http://www.youtube.com/watch#playnext=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=4CEV8oZVDaM&v=WBjBDbzUztg

Off to Guatemala!

Well, I think it's about time for another blog post about the happenings in and around my life in Atenas, Costa Rica. So let's get it started in the words of my Tico family - Vamos Amos! ("Let's go Amos!")For two weeks, I and three of the other interns - Ben, Emily, and Michael - attended language school here in Atenas. And I will say, it has been an intense but very beneficial two weeks. We had class from 8 to 12, followed with 3 to 4 hours of homework, and then topped off with more Spanish practice at home with our host families. The complete immersion is difficult at times (sometimes my brain wants a break from Spanish), but it has been very beneficial.

On Thursday afternoon, we were able to take a break from Spanish in order to meet two members of the eMi-America Latina staff, Micah Faldea (structural engineer) and Josh Ayers (construction manager), who had been in Haiti for the relief efforts. They gave a presentation to the rest of the staff and interns of eMi-AL about their time in Haiti. They were in Haiti for about a week and half performing structural assessment on damaged buildings and designing a temporary displacement camp for people who had lost their home in Port Au Prince to the earthquake. The structural assessment they performed was on hospitals and other buildings requiring immediate use. They deemed buildings as either safe or unsafe for use. They also taught seminars to individuals on how to structurally assess their own house or apartment because it was not practical or possible for Micah to inspect each individual house. The remainder of their time was spent designing the temporary displacement camp. However, they ran into frequent problems with the Haitian government regarding the design. There were many compromising issues, such as the government wanting the overpopulate the camp. It's sad to think that this temporary displacement camp will more than likely be permanent. Since the camp is located far from Port Au Prince, many people will not only lose their home, but their livelihood. This will likely result in more jobless, government-dependent people. There are considerations of eMi staff returning to Haiti to work towards a better solution with the displacement camp.

Tomorrow is the presidential election here in Costa Rica. And it's pretty obvious when you walk around town. Billboards, posters, flags of various colors, and cars with loudspeakers are sure to let you know of the big day and it's candidates. One candidate running is Laura. Her slogan is "Con Laura" (With Laura) and she has an interesting (and pretty catchy) song-and-dance commercial. Many people that I talk to are going to vote for her and she may very well be Costa Rica's first female president. Another candidate's slogan is "Cambia", which means "Change". His publicity plan (complete with appealing graphic design) seems eerily familiar to Obama's. But it worked for Obama, right? I think it's a pretty good plan, because everyone wants change in some way or another. Another noteworthy candidate's slogan is "El Menor Malo", which means "The Least Bad". I'm not sure exactly what he's going for there. Anyway, people are excited to vote. From my perspective, it's pretty neat to see democracy at work in another country.

In less than an hour, Tim Clem (eMi staff and project leader), Michael Baden (architecure intern), and I leave for El Tizate, Guatemala for our project trip. We will be working alongside Global Shores Opportunities in designing a two-story Christian high school called Colegio Crisitano Avivando El Fuego. We will return to Atenas, Costa Rica on Sunday, February 14th. I'm really excited to be a part of this project and would really appreciate your prayers in our labor of love (1 Thess. 1:3). Please pray that that we would serve well and joyfully, that God would be glorified in our efforts, and that through the use of the building we design many people would come to love and obey Jesus as Lord and Savior.

"May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened: that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working fo His mighty power." Eph. 1:17-19

For His glory and our joy.

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A couple funny side notes:
-The background music of the morning news is "I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas
-My new favorite drinks: batidos con leche (basically smoothies) and fresco leche in a juice box (vanilla milk...sheer genius)

Meet the Family: first week in Costa Rica

Alright, so here we go for another round of blogging. Week one in Costa Rica is in the bag. Pura vida! Monday night, we (Jim, Michael, Emily, and I) we flew into San Jose to meet Dan Puttcamp, our intern director, and Ben, eMi-America Latina's returning intern. Tuesday morning, we went to the office in Atenas and were given a crash course in how to survive in Atenas with a host family for six months without being kicked to the curb (although they would never do that - they're very hospitable). This was the beginning of a week long, cultural specific (Costa Rican) orientation after the general orientation in Colorado Springs. Furthermore, we start language school this next week, which will last for two weeks. So you may be asking, as I asked myself, "That seems like a whole lot of orientation. When does the actual work start?" Dan answered that question before any of us interns asked. He said that it really may seem like you're not doing anything for the first three weeks or so, but it is part of having an effective ministry in Central America. And he's right on. We have to assimilate the culture. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:20-22, "To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews...to the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people,that by all means I might save some." So along those same lines - to the Tico, I became as a Tico. Ok, so if it seems like I just threw a fastball past you for strike three when you were looking for that off-speed pitch, sorry about that. Let me explain myself. Here's how it works around here: native Costa Rican = "Tico" and awkward American oblivious to his surroundings and possibly sporting a fanny pack and continually saying either "donde" or "bano" (usually together) = "Gringo".

So, time for this Gringo to assimilate the culture. On Tuesday afternoon, I met my Tico host family - the Gamboa's. eMi interns are assigned to host families by the eMi staff.
Let me introduce you to my family.
My Tico dad is Giovany. He works in the management department at MegaSuper, which is a supermarket here in Atenas. (On a funny cultural side note - I've noticed that the Costa Rican marketing is big on English superlatives: MegaSuper, Big Mega Cola, etc.) Giovany is a hard-working man who takes his responsibility of being the provider for his family seriously. He works long hours and isn't around the house much, but when he is, he's busy fixing something. When I arrived, he was busy making my bed frame to sleep on that night. In the week I've been here, he has fixed-up a second bathroom with a functioning shower for me and my Tico brothers to use. The man knows how to get things done! But he knows how to have fun as well. He and I had a good time watching the Argentina/Costa Rican soccer game the other night.
My Tico mom is Kathya. She is one of the most gracious and giving persons I have ever met. She continually asks me if I need anything or is offering me something, which is often accompanied with the phrase "si quiere" ("if you want"). This has become the phrase around the house. The first night, she asked me what my favorite food was and I tried to tell her that Tico food was my favorite, but she didn't believe me. So I told her steak and sweet potatoes, which I felt a little bad about telling her because I knew it was not at all common in Costa Rica. But the next night, we actually had steak and sweet potatoes! I don't know how she pulled that one off. (I had a good time explaining sweet potatoes as papa dulce and have now been jokingly called ¨sugar daddy¨ by my fellow interns). She has such a sweet and giving heart. Her love for Jesus is evident and contagious. And she is very patient with my Spanish! I feel very blessed to have her as my Tico mom.
I have three Tico brothers. Ariel is the oldest at 17 years old. He is currently going into his senior year of high school. Costa Rica is currently on break from school, but will start back up in February. He is a very talented musician in both the guitar and keyboard. He actually leads worship at the church we attend. He loves hard rock - The Almost and Chevelle are two of his favorite bands. The church that we attend is missions minded and he will be attending a missions conference in Guatemala in February. Ariel can also speak English pretty well, which has been a big help for me at times. He has taken a couple years of English at school, but he said that he didn't learn much. He said he's learned the majority of his English from chatting online with Americans and watching movies in English, such as Twilight. How about that?
Daniel is the middle child at 11 years old. I didn't get to see much of him during the week because he was at a church camp. However, we were able to hang out over the weekend. He's really curious about American culture and now his new favorite saying is "That's legit." It's pretty awesome and yes, I'm to blame. He has a really funny personality and is always smiling - which is pretty "legit".
Gabriel is the baby of the family at 4 years old. He is a wild little man who is always laughing and looking for fun - and trouble. But it's impossible to be upset with him because he's just too cute. He loves having a strange looking Gringo around to play with. And he loves to eat natilla (sour cream) by the spoonful.

Sorry if the description of my Tico family was a little lengthy, but I wanted to share with you my Tico home, which is where the majority of my life outside of the office will be spent. Hopefully, I will be able to put pictures up soon of my family. The Gamboa's love Jesus and it is evident in how they "do life" with those around them. An awesome example of Jesus being worshiped cross-culturally has been at the dinner table. Before dinner, they pray in Spanish and encourage me to pray in English. How cool is that? One of the biggest concerns that I had going into the internship was the interaction with my host family, but I know that it will be a great six months in which we all learn how Jesus bridges cultural gaps. There really hasn't been much of a cultural shock. Yes, it is different. Yes, there are some adjustments to be made, such as communication barriers. But I really haven't sacrificed. I'll admit, in the selfish pride and systematic, controlling nature that I can tend toward as a sinner saved by grace, I thought that putting "my life" and "my plans" of a high-paying engineering job on "hold" was a big sacrifice. And although there's nothing inherently wrong in wanting that kind of job - God can definitely honor that and use it for good - I know that this is exactly where God wants me at this moment. And it is no sacrifice to delight in God.

I recently read an amazing statement by David Livingstone, pioneer missionary to Africa: "People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa...Away with the world in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us [Romans 8:18]. I never made a sacrifice."

I am by no means David Livingstone, but I completely agree with his statement.

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PRAYER REQUESTS
Please pray for...
-the eMi staff and volunteers in Haiti, specifically Micah Florea and Josh Ayers, who are on staff with eMi-AL. Pray for their safety and their wives as they're away.
-my relationship with my host family, that cultural/language gaps would continue to be bridged.
-language school, that I would soak in as much as possible in two weeks.
-the upcoming project trip to Guatemala with Tim Clem (project leader), Michael Baden (fellow intern), and volunteers. We leave Feb. 5. I will explain more about this later.
_____________________________________


By the way, store names around town can be pretty funny. It makes me wonder what funny Hispanic store names there must be in the US.
Here are a couple fun examples:
-Soda Tio Mano - literally "Soda Uncle Hand"
-Pollo Jeffrey #1
-Pizzeria 2000
As you can see, the clash between Costa Rican and American cultures can have some pretty funny and awkward results. Hopefully this gringo (me) isn't another awkward cultural casualty! haha.

Costa Rica, here we come!

This post was written before I arrived at Costa Rica. Another post regarding my first week in Costa Rica at eMi will be written at a later time.

Well, the time has come to start my internship with eMi in Costa Rica! But before I begin my time in Costa Rica, I must try to summarize my week of orientation in Colorado Springs, CO. This orientation was with 23 other eMi interns and full-time staff who were sent all over the world - Egypt, Uganda, India, and Costa Rica - or stationed at two of the three sending offices - US (Colorado Springs, CO) or Canada (Calgary). The orientation ranged from the technical to the relational in the nature of discussions. The discussion included a brief history of eMi; God's heart for the nations and our role in that; cultural training; tricks of the trade, which involved architecture/engineering design considerations in developing countries; and God's workmanship, which involved an in-depth look at Ephesians 2:10 - "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." The training in God's workmanship throughout the week focused on how God has graciously gifted each one of us with certain strengths - not for internal self-actualization (as much of the secular world will teach) but for external Christ-exaltation.

One highlight of the week was many new friendships that I have formed with the staff and interns of eMi. Our orientation group was made up of individuals from a variety of majors - interior architecture, architecture, architectural/civil/mechanical engineering - from colleges all over the country - UC Davis, MIT, Texas, LSU, Colorado School of Mines, Texas A&M, NC State, Kansas State, Hope College, UW-Madison, and even Oxford (yes, by jove, that prestigious school in England). Through various team-building exercises, activities (ie: rock-climbing, hiking, visiting Garden of the Gods), testimonies, and simply living together for a whole week, we got to know one another at a personal level and hopefully develop friendships that last a lifetime. Although we came from many different backgrounds, we all have one purpose in mind: To see God glorified in a practical way through the application of architecture/engineering. That is the heart of eMi - designing a world of hope for the physically and spiritually poor. The recent catastrophe in Haiti was a very real reminder of the need for organizations like eMi in countries that are hurting. On Friday, eMi sent two teams down to Haiti to provide short-term solutions - creating clean water systems - and long-term solutions - assessment of structural damage and restoration possibilities. One of my roommates during orientation, Josh Canez - an architecture student from Texas A&M - had visited Haiti a couple weeks before the earthquake and has family living in Haiti. His immediate family is safe - praise God. Please pray for the safety of his family with the current state of chaos that Haiti is in.

Today, I am traveling with three other interns to Costa Rica. Our group is made up of Emily, Michael, and Jim. Emily is a civil engineering grad from Texas A&M. Michael is an architecture grad from NC State. Jim is a civil engineering grad from Cal Poly - just like this guy (me). The funny thing is, Jim and I never knew each other even though we both graduated in December. Pretty crazy, huh? We will be joining Ben, an engineering intern returning from the fall semester for 6 more months in the Costa Rican office. I'm looking forward to how we will mesh together as a group. The intern group from last semester (including Ben) actually created their very own full-length (yes, 25 min.) episode of The Office - eMi-America Latina-style! Needless to say, we have a lot to live up to!

This next week will involve intern orientation in the eMi-America Latina office and meeting our "Tico" (local Costa Ricans) host families. After a week of orientation, we will be put through two weeks of language school. Which brings me to a point on language. During the flight, I was able to finish reading "Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ" by John Piper. The book is totally legit and demonstrates Piper's intense, all-in passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ. In the book, Pipe discusses the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9) and how God confused their languages because of the pride of man in building a tower to make much out of himself and not God. How does God use this "spectacular sin" and it's resulting consequence of many languages for the glory of Christ? Piper believes that it guards us from pride. "Humans are far too evil to be allowed to unite in one language...The gospel of the glory of Christ spreads better and flourishes more because of 6500 languages, not in spite of them." I will definitely have to remember these words when encountering language/cultural barriers!

Well, that's it for now. I'm excited to give these next six months of my life to "building" God's kingdom...hopefully it becomes a habit.

PRAYER REQUESTS
Please pray for...
-physical/mental stamina during these next three weeks of orientation and language school
-Josh Canez and his family in Haiti, as well as all others affected by the earthquake
-eMi staff/volunteers on their current trip to Haiti
-the integration of us new interns with the staff at eMi-AL
-a good first impression/relationship with my host family
-an open mind and a humble, servant's heart around my host family and in the office