What a whirlwind the past month has been! We arrived in Kampala on September 13th, and were immediately welcomed by our new coworkers. Over the past few weeks we have been learning so much about life here in Uganda, and are so grateful to have such a supportive team here to help make this place our home.
One of the highlights of this month was being able to take part in a project trip! EMI frequently sends teams of architects and engineers for these 1-2 week trips to address different design challenges around the world. Typically, these projects consist of a preliminary design consultation with the partner ministry and as such might be limited to an assessment of an existing property, or develop a master plan and concept design of the initial phase of the ministry’s overall plan. The trip I attended was located here in Mukono, Uganda, just east of Kampala.
We walked the site with some church members and were able to learn a lot about the needs of the congregation and the community as a whole.
We partnered with Mt. Olives Community Church in order to produce a ministry campus master plan, as well as a conceptual design for a guest house and other buildings on site. When not being utilized for pastoral training and other ministry related activities, the guest house can be used for visitors, providing an additional source of income to fund church projects. Mt. Olives is committed to community development, and has installed boreholes, established women’s health centers, schools and many other facilities over the years. With the additional income generated by the guest house, they are hoping to continue to work in their local community, as well as many rural areas of Uganda to provide things like clean water and healthcare to those in need!
Hannah discussing the needs of the children’s ministry with Pastor Patrick.
Albert our structural engineer, and Sarah, a volunteer civil engineer were both crucial to the success of the project. They are also really fun people!
During the trip, most of my time was spent gathering information. Working cross-culturally and with a community means asking a lot of questions! In order to provide good design solutions and guidance, we needed to understand the needs of the ministry. We were able to spend significant time with the church community and the pastor. At the end of the week, we presented a conceptual master plan, as well as the conceptual design for the guesthouse. But the project doesn’t stop there! The Uganda office will continue to work on the master plan and conceptual design. Once we hand over the documents to the ministry, they will be able to start fundraising for the project. Our prayer is that this project is followed through to completion in a manner that glorifies God and contributes to the community!
Hannah spent time producing site inventory and analysis diagrams to present to the team. Diagrams like this help to determine buildable area and building design. We want the buildings to respond to the existing site and surrounding landscape.
It was such a great experience working alongside our architects and engineers during the week and I learned so much! I’m so excited to continue working alongside other professions and integrating my skill set into the design process here at EMI.
For the Nerds out there:
Some of my coworkers came across an invasive species on our site walk! Procambarus clarkii or the Louisiana Swamp Crayfish, have been invading East African lakes since 1970. They have devastating consequences on the plant life there, which in turn impacts biodiversity and the future of freshwater fishing in the area. Once they saw the crayfish, everyone instinctively responded “Well that certainly doesn’t belong in Uganda”. Unfortunately, these crayfish are here to stay, meaning we may have to have a cookout soon (you know, invasive species control). If you have any crayfish recipes, please send them our way!
Arensen Update
Bruce and I have spent the last month looking for a house and a car… and I am happy to say we are closing in on both! We are so grateful for those who have hosted us during our first month here, but are equally excited to have our own space! We moved into our house this past week. Unpacking our bags and setting up a home will contribute significantly to the settling in process. We’ll be posting more pictures as we move in so that you can have an idea for where we’re living.
Bruce has also had the opportunity to do some work in the office when we’ve had free time between all of the logistics involved in setting up life here. He’s been able to get involved in some of the R&D projects, including making a battery powered anemometer to do some ventilation verification at one of the recent EMI builds. As we get more settled, we plan to start going into the office regularly over the coming weeks, and start full time late November.
Bruce hard at work soldering an anemometer with co-worker Daniel Propst looking on
The alway exciting (and rather cluttered) R&D office
Pray With Us
We are so grateful for your prayers and support! Please join us in prayer for the following:
- Pray for Mt. Olives Community Church as they pursue this new direction for their ministry. Pray specifically for strong leadership and wisdom as they navigate the logistics of a new building.
- Pray for us as we continue to settle into the culture here. Pray that we would have wisdom and grace as we make decisions.
- Pray for our families back home, we are all still grieving the loss of proximity. Pray especially for protection from the enemy as he will do his best to discourage us.
- We have multiple EMI families traveling to and from the states in the next few months, please pray for health and protection as they travel.
- Pray that God would be glorified in our work here, that we would navigate our work loads with patience and wisdom. There is still so much we are learning!
Praises!
- We are so grateful to have arrived in Kampala safely!
- We were able to spend our first 3 weeks here with the Gordons, who are a fantastic EMI couple that welcomed us into their home. They continue to be a huge source of encouragement to us.
- Our coworkers here have been so supportive and helpful in getting us settled. They went out of their way to help us find a house and a car, as well as show us around.
- Our work permits went through this past week! Praise God that process went smoothly and quickly.
Stay Connected
Each year, EMI’s people complete over 100 development projects which serve the poor and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To keep these design services affordable for Christian ministries, professionals like the Arensen’s on EMI’s staff are responsible for raising their own salaries. We are so grateful for God’s provision through the generosity of donors. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with the great things God is doing through the Arensen’s ministry at EMI?