Orientation

For the past week, I've been at the eMi (Engineering Ministries International) orientation at a retreat center in Colorado Springs. This week has been wonderful. Approximately 25 interns (depending on how you count) are here, and are going to 5 of eMi's 6 offices (Colorado Springs, Calgary, London, Costa Rica, India, & Uganda). I have been so blessed by all of the interns. We've really grown close over the last week, as many of the activities we've done have been either team building or sharing about ourselves. We've gone rock climbing, on two hikes (through mud and snow), learned about cross-cultural issues and God's heart for the poor, learned briefly about some developing country design techniques, met many eMi staff, shared our personal stories, and learned a lot about our own personalities (I'm a "CS", for those familiar with the DISC profile), gifts, and strengths.

It's been great to focus a lot on how we're each unique and made with different natural strengths and passions, in order to think a lot about how God might use each of us to make a difference in the world. Today, we wrote personal mission statements encompassing much of what we've been looking at in our own lives so far. Mine (in unofficial draft form) is: "Growing in love while serving and seeking justice for the poorest of the poor."

I love my 4 teammates who will be going with me to Uganda (Praise God!), and it's been exciting to see how we're similar in some ways and yet different and complementary in others.

This week has already stretched me and challenged me to step outside my comfort zone, be flexible, and truly trust my teammates, in preparation for Uganda. Also, as I've learned more about all that eMi does, I've been getting more and more excited about getting to Uganda and starting to work on a design project.

I think what's struck me the most this week is how much I'm really passionate about living simply and identifying with the poor, especially when serving the poor. I think it's important to try to live simply, both so that I can give more money to those without, and to try to live as economically-close to those I'm serving as is reasonable (obviously not in abject poverty, as I believe it needs to be a sustainable level). It's a struggle for me because I really do enjoy the "comforts of home" and want to have nice, comfortable, and convenient things, but I've also realized what a strong value this is to me. So I know that it's a big question that I'll be searching out through my time in Uganda. I've been blessed to have great communities and friends in Boston & Seattle who have been asking the same questions along with me. Fortunately, even though my teammates may not be in the same place as I am or have the same passions, they have been very supportive and seem to be excited about walking with me through these questions over the next several months. This strong support and care for each other has really come out in the short but intense week that we've had so far, and I'm excited to see it play out in Uganda.