Engineering Ministries International (EMI) is a non-profit Christian development organization made up of architects, engineers and desgin professionals who donate their skills to help children and families around the world step out of poverty and into a world of hope.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

More to Come I promise

Good Afternoon,

I hope all is well in your part of the world. I am writing this in Uganda, arrived this morning from Rwanda. A bittersweet good bye. I will show pictures and stories when I get back to the UK (leave wed morning early). Thanks for all the prayers and support. I LOVED Africa!

God Bless,

Laura

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Finally an Update: Before Africa!

Hello!
I hope and pray that all is well on your side of the pond. I’m writing this only 2 days before leaving for Africa. I am so excited. The last month has been wonderful!
My arrival in England was dramatic – when I landed in London on February 8th, I fainted at customs. It was a lovely way to enter the country, and I spent most of my first day in the hospital A & E (emergency room). Which is where I met my roommate Monica (from Brazil) and the long term volunteer Adam (from Northern Ireland).
During the month that followed I had orientation and prepared for the trip. I’ve learned Sketchup, a free Google program that can produce 3D images. My roommate and I have done a little touring of the area, as well as our home town of Colchester. We live in a 2 bedroom flat on the 2nd floor (which in the US is actually the 3rd floor), with almost no hot water pressure.  There are a few things that I have had to get accustomed to: as most of you know tea time is pretty big here and I’ve been trying all sorts of different teas. Most stores close at about 5/5:30pm, and everyone goes to the pub afterwards or home (I usually go home). When washing clothes it takes 2 hours to wash and 2 days to dry. That’s been fun.
Our Rwanda project trip spans March 5th to March 23rd and we’re flying through Uganda. We arrive in Rwanda on March 6th and will drive to Kibogora Hospital on the 7th (about 5 hours). We will be in Rwanda until March 19th. Then we’ll go back to Uganda for a few days, where we will have a closing session, gather more information from the EMI East Africa office, and enjoy a free day.
In Rwanda, we’ll be surveying, designing and redesigning buildings. There are 15 of us on the team, 4 of whom are medical staff, which is the first time that other professionals will join an EMI trip. It’s a larger than normal project, so there’s a good chance that EMI will visit Kibogora a few more times in the coming years. I am very excited to meet new people and experience a different culture. I hear Rwanda is a very beautiful country, so I’ll take lots of pictures! You can check out the hospital at www.kibogora.org. I can’t wait to see what the Lord will do in each of one us and the people we’re serving.
I have a few prayer requests concerning this trip:
-          Safe travel: I most likely will not have internet access, so you can assume if you don’t hear from me or my parents that all is well.
-          Health: a few of us have been hit with a cold, including me.
-          Rwanda: blessing on the people we will meet and on Kibogora Hospital.
-          Finances: I am still in need of about $2,000 for the rest of my internship.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support!
God Bless, Laura

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

TRAVEL PLANS


View Rwanda Kibogora Hospital Project Trip in a larger map


Good Afternoon! 
Above is a visual of where and when we are going to Rwanda, with flight and drive times to Rwanda. 


Prayer Requests:


* Health!! (my roommate and I are not feeling 100 percent, as well as our director)
* Safe travels- there are 15 of us from all over the world coming together
* Uganda and Rwanda as a whole, as a people
       - Uganda is ending elections this month
       - Rwanda even though its been 16 years since the genocide, its still have much part of their life