Relocated

I have relocated! Please go to www.iyasinafrica.blogspot.com to follow me and my new wife!

Blessings,

Daniel

Shaking Things Up

This last month has been packed! A lot has happened in the last few weeks. The Uganda national football team, the Cranes, played two World Cup qualifying games - both of which I was able to attend with Corinne. Uganda ended up winning both games, and each provided its own form of excitement. The game against Angola was characterized by a nail-biting, come-from-behind victory in the dying minutes of the game. Naturally, as Uganda equalized and then won, the atmosphere in the stadium was near-pandemonium. Just imagine the deafening roar and spectacle of 45,000 fans simultaneously cheering and dancing in ecstasy!

Our experience at the game against Liberia was less pleasant, unfortunately: we were almost robbed while sitting in traffic after the game. A young man running swiftly through the middle of the gridlocked vehicles tried to snatch a phone out of my had through the halfway open window of our car. By God's grace I held on to it, and he kept running and disappeared. The whole thing was over almost as soon as it began. As it turns out, he (or another using the same method) had successfully stolen a phone from another vehicle we were traveling with that was further ahead. I was thankful that the phone I was holding was not stolen, but it was another reminder of the fallen world we live in. It was also a reminder to keep our car windows up at African sporting events.

"Uganda Cranes we go!"

Also, last week there were two earthquakes (and an aftershock) here in Uganda. Both times the epicenter was in the middle of Lake Albert, about 240km northwest of Kampala. The magnitude of the first was 5.2 and the second was 5.7 on the Richter scale - enough to rattle the windows here in town. While experiencing these earthquakes was surreal and not entirely pleasant, it did remind me of mankind's place before a great and mighty God who is over all of Creation.

"Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all."

1 Chronicles 29:11 (ESV)

Work has been busy at the Engineering Ministries International (EMI) East Africa office. Our project team met with the African Children's Choir ministry leaders last week for a final design review. They were very excited about the plans for the new Choir Training Centre that we presented. The following are renderings of the future building that were drawn by intern Samantha.

Exterior Northeast Corner

South Elevation

Floor Plan

Interior Training Room

I have also been working on civil plans for the Kigobe Mission Station in Burundi. This ministry was founded by a church body called CEEM, or Communauté des Eglises Emmanuel du Burundi (Community of Emmanuel Churches in Burundi). The Mission Station reaches out to the community by providing a health clinic, schools for the blind and deaf, a church, a Bible institute, a primary school, and a sports center. It has been exciting to be a part of service to reach the poor, spread the gospel, and help build the church in East Africa! Below is a list of the ministries EMI is partnering with on current projects in the region:

African Children's Choir Training Centre, Nkumba, Uganda

CEEM Kigobe Mission Station, Bujumbura, Burundi

Daystar University Water Harvesting, Athi River, Kenya

Restore Leadership Academy, Amuru, Uganda

Leadership Academy of South Sudan, Nimule, South Sudan

Kibuye Hope Hospital, Kibuye, Burundi

Cherish Uganda Hope Health Centre, Bulega, Uganda

Bridge a Life, Bulo, Uganda

Father to the Fatherless International, Mityana, Uganda

St. Paul's Primary School Construction Management, Rukungiri, Uganda

Lately, the Lord has been speaking to me about and growing me in faith. It has been especially encouraging to see the Lord work through various answers to prayer. I have been privileged to witness the miraculous provision of land for GSF's Light of the World Church, the granting of another Immigration Special Pass to cover the remainder of my time here, and the unlikely (from a human perspective) issuance of a passport for a child that one of the EMI staff families is adopting. It has given me a deeper understanding and appreciation of the support that you provide to my time here through your prayer.

I have 11 days left here in Uganda. It's hard to believe that it has been over 5 months already! As my time here draws to a close, please continue to join me in prayer for the following:

• The grace to finish well and bring good closure to work and relationships 
• Healing for staff and interns from sickness that is going around the office
• Corinne and I as we prepare to get married!

Thanks, and God bless you!

To Pray and to Live in Community

Work has gotten busy lately here at Engineering Ministries International (EMI) East Africa. It continues to go well, though. I have been working two projects: the African Children's Choir Training Center and Daystar University, Kenya dam and reservoir improvements.

However, amid all the work and deadlines, the EMI East Africa office was able to take some time last Wednesday to have a Day of Prayer. All of the office - staff, volunteers, and interns - spent the day focusing on our community. Specifically the focus was on Heritage Zone, the area in which the office is located.

The purpose of the Day of Prayer was to interact with the people in our zone, determine the prayer needs of the community, pray with them, and serve them by meeting an immediate physical need. All the while we kept in mind the example of the prophet Habakkuk: he presented his struggles and questions with what was going on in his nation before the Lord, striving in prayer, he waited expectantly for the answer, and he accepted the sovereignty of God in His response.

The EMI office divided into four groups, and I was part of a group that went on a walk through the Heritage Zone community in the morning. Along the way, we talked with different people and found out what has been going on in the community and what the current needs are. One of the individuals we met was Pastor James of Pure Hearts Church. After living in the area for a year, Pastor James has seen an encouraging transformation so far. A community that was previously plagued by substance abuse, prostitution, and witchcraft has turned into an area of hope and development. Pastor James expressed the need for further intercession though, and asked us to join with him in prayer - especially for the church to be more intentional in discipling the youth in the community.

Pastor James sharing the prayer needs of the community

In the afternoon, my group joined up with another to do some work at King of Kings Primary School. This school was started and is run by lady called Florence. Florence provides education for the children in the community and continues to develop the school through prayer and the Lord's provision. However, the school is built in a swamp area that has trouble with flooding whenever it rains. EMI saw a need that we could help with and decided to partner with Florence. The rest of the day was spent using hardcore, gravel, and dirt transported to the school to build it up and make it less susceptible to flooding. 

The flooding around the school after rainfall

Working to raise the ground level around the school 

Raising the ground level inside the lower classroom

Hauling blocks for the pathway

The finished pathway to the latrine

A well-traversed pipeline running through the swamp area

Florence with intern David 

The Day of Prayer was a good reminder of our call to live in community. We were able to see and hear the needs of our own community and join with those already working there in prayer and intercession. We were also able to work to meet one of those needs. Florence (who worked alongside us all day) could not stop expressing her happiness and gratitude to God for our help. And it was a blessing to me to see the joy that simple service can bring. What a privilege it was to experience the Lord's grace at work that day!


Also, last Saturday we had an EMI Family Fun Day. The East Africa office staff and families gathered together at the beautiful grounds of Acacia Classical Academy. There was food and games and a massive blow-up water slide. Corinne was also able to attend that day. : )  It was an awesome time of fellowship and appreciation for departing interns Belinda and David!

EMI EA staff and families at Family Fun Day

Blessings!

Daniel

Pressing On

Christ is risen! I hope that the Easter weekend was a time of remembrance and celebration. Even as we reflect on what the Lord has done for us, we can rejoice in the fact that our Savior is alive today and we can know Him personally.

                                   Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
                                                   His going out is sure as the dawn;

                                               He will come to us as the showers,

                                                   as the spring rains that water the earth.

                                                                                                 Hosea 6:3 (ESV)

This verse has been a theme for the interns as we meet together weekly to study the Word. Lately, I have been blessed with the reminder that when I press on and pursue God, He will be found. And as A. W. Tozer says, "God is so vastly wonderful, so utterly and completely delightful that He can, without anything other than Himself, meet and overflow the deepest demands of our total nature, mysterious and deep as that nature is."

I have also been blessed to be able to see God in the majesty of His creation - in mountains and waterfalls and rivers and rapids. Uganda is a beautiful country!

On the banks of the Nile river

My work with Engineering Ministries International (EMI) on the African Children's Choir Training Centre continues. We are completing a set of construction documents for the site and building, and I have been working on civil, electrical, and plumbing plans. On a recent site visit, our team was blessed to hear all the children sing at their morning devotions. Their voices were harmonious and beautiful as they sang a chorus and then the Ugandan national anthem! The devotions were led mostly by the kids, and three or four of them got up and shared. The other kids were engaged and gave excellent input. I was struck by their discipline and by the insight they showed at their age (the oldest kids are in P7, or the 7th grade). Truly a great work is being done in these children's lives in the way they are being educated and brought up to love the Lord! The kids were very happy to see us visitors from EMI. After the devotions were done, they all came one by one and each gave us a welcoming hug!

A student preaching at morning devotions

Determining the invert elevation of an absorption field

Here is a little glimpse of the design work being done for the Choir Training Centre:

Isometric view of the Centre

Exterior elevations

Praise reports:

• Praise God for His faithfulness in provision and protection for all the interns thus far
• Praise God for His favor with Ugandan Immigration for office staff visas and passes

Please pray for:

• Continued grace for all projects to be completed by their respective deadlines
• The two EMI project trips preparing to head back to Burundi in two weeks
• Continued wisdom as Corinne and I plan for marriage and our future together in ministry

Thanks, and God bless you!

Settling In

The past few weeks here have been exciting! Of course, the most wonderful and exciting thing was that Corinne and I became engaged! It was a blessing that her parents were able to share in the experience while they were here visiting Uganda. We all went to dinner, along with Corinne's roommate Casia, at a restaurant outside of Jinja called the Haven. The Haven is a beautiful location on the banks of the Nile River. I proposed to Corinne there after dinner and she said yes! : ) I am excited about our future life together and the plans God has for us!

At the Haven in front of the Nile

Corinne said yes!

Coaching soccer at Heritage International School has been going well! The boys are showing great improvement, and I have been able to pray with them and speak into their lives, especially in situations where there is conflict on the field that needs to be resolved.

I am now used to living and getting around in the city of Kampala. I have been able to attend some Sunday services at Gaba Community Church, and I hope to become more involved there. I have also adjusted to Engineering Ministries International office life, which has its colorful aspects. One day during lunch, one of the staff kids gave a very informative homemade PowerPoint presentation on the Three Mile Island incident. Another day, part of the office compound flooded as a result of torrential rainfall (and drainage issues)!

Paul testing out the new office wading pool

There are a number of different projects currently being worked on by EMI, including a hospital and a mission station in Burundi. The project trips to these sites returned recently, and it is wonderful to see and hear the reports of how God is using these ministries in the East Africa region.

One of the teams I am on has been able to do surveying and complete preliminary design work for the African Children's Choir Training Centre in Entebbe. The Training Centre building design consists of a main section with a practice stage and common living and dining areas. There are also two dormitory wings on either side that will house up to 40 choir children. The ministry leaders are excited about the design and are currently deciding where best to place the building on the site. There is also construction being completed on a rainwater harvesting system that EMI designed for the existing facilities.

Surveying at the African Children's Choir site

Performing a Percolation test

Rainwater harvesting construction on one of the dorms

As a praise report, interns Samantha, Belinda, and David made a successful border run into Rwanda this last weekend in order to get new visas for Uganda. They now have an additional three months to be able to stay here legally!

Also this last weekend, Corinne and I were able to visit George Byabagambi and see his ministries in Mbarara. George is a Ugandan pastor and bishop who has planted many churches in western Uganda. He is currently starting an orphanage ministry just outside Mbarara as well. You can check out more about George and the work he is doing here!

Please continue to pray along with me for the following:

• Wisdom for Corinne and I as we make plans for marriage
• Amazima/GSF as they work to purchase land for the Secondary School
• The new EMI Long Term Volunteers the Hornes as they settle into their new home here
• The completion of projects and continued sorting out of immigration issues at the office

Blessings!

Joy In Serving

Greetings from Kampala! These last two weeks have been ones of orientation and settling in. The people of Uganda are friendly and relational. Much about the city is very familiar - the sights, sounds, and smells, the power outages, boiling and filtering water, public transportation, mosquitoes, kerosene lanterns, bargaining at the market, and the list goes on. There are also a number of things that are different from Nigeria, the most notable of which so far are the side of the road cars drive on (left), traditional wear being less prevalent, and the apparent indirectness in the interactions of the people.

The first Saturday we were here, the new interns were taken on a Construction Management tour to project sites in Entebbe. At these sites we looked at facilities that Engineering Ministries International worked on for three different ministries: Calvary Chapel Entebbe, Music For Life - African Children's Choir (a project I will be working on), and Cherish Uganda.

Calvary Chapel kids having fun

Confined masonry wall and exposed trusses at Music For Life

Inspecting the forces at work in a gazebo at Cherish Uganda

I have really enjoyed hearing the stories of my fellow interns and growing closer in relationship with them. You can get to know them too and read about their time in Uganda at the following blogs:

Anne Herron - http://anneemiuganda.blogspot.com
Belinda Tam - http://byyt-emiea.blogspot.com
David Stringer - http://davidwithemi.wordpress.com
Daniel Nyongesa - http://danwexzar.wordpress.com
Meggie Meidlinger - http://archafrica.wordpress.com
Paul Smith - http://paulinuganda.wordpress.com
Samantha Forbes - http://anengineerinuganda.blogspot.com
Uriah McCall - http://uriahuganda.blogspot.com

All the spring 2013 interns in front of the office

Last weekend I visited Good Shepherd's Fold orphanage (GSF) near Jinja. I got to spend time with my girlfriend Corinne and meet all the wonderful kids and staff. I am part of the EMI project team working on the planning and design of a GSF/Amazima Ministries secondary school, and it was cool to see the ministry work being done. It was also exciting to see the progress of the toddler house renovation. On Sunday I attended church with the GSF community, and it was a blessing to worship with them.

Good Shepherd's Fold entrance

Light of the World Church at GSF

I also started volunteering this week as an assistant soccer coach at Heritage International School. I am looking forward to coaching and ministering to this group of 11-and-under boys in the coming weeks. Plus it's great to be back on the field again!

Dutifully waiting for positioning instruction

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go back out to Music For Life with an EMI project team. We walked the site and met with the ministry leaders to discuss the planning for a new Choir Training Center. We were able to meet some of the kids as well. The work that MFL is doing and the vision they have for the future is inspiring!

Praise God for the work that He is already doing this semester at EMI East Africa! Please pray for GSF and Amazima as they plan to purchase land for the secondary school in the next few weeks. Also, a volunteer electrical engineer that worked with EMI passed away suddenly yesterday. Please pray for his family during this time of loss. Finally, a group of interns and staff from the office along with volunteers is currently on a project trip in Burundi. Please pray for success in their work and safety in travel.

Thanks, and God bless you!

God's Workmanship

I have made it safely to Kampala, Uganda! My internship with Engineering Ministries International is officially underway.

Orientation in Colorado Springs last week was excellent. One of the most amazing things about it was the way that God so closely brought together a diverse group of interns and long-term volunteers in such a short period of time. It was cool to learn of how God is working in the lives of each of my new friends and fellow interns. As we travel out to various offices and project sites around the world, I have no doubt that God will continue to do an amazing work through each of us.

The orientation sessions were engaging and practical, and the EMI staff that gave them were passionate and willing to invest their time and wisdom to prepare us for ministry. There was introspective reflection and discussion of testimonies, personality traits, and spiritual gifts. There was very interactive practice of various cultural scenarios. There was a technical session on the "tricks of the trade". The worship and prayer were meaningful and empowering. And the accommodation and view at the Hideaway Inn and Conference Center were wonderful!

The view from the Hideaway

All the interns and long-term volunteers

The orientation week ended on Sunday with a service at New Life Church and then a trip to see beautiful rock formations at the Garden of the Gods. On Monday morning, I flew out from Denver along with my fellow EMI East Africa interns - Anne and Samantha. Over the next 30 hours, our travels took us first to Dulles International Airport in DC, then to Brussels, Belgium, then to Kigali, Rwanda, and then to Entebbe, Uganda.

After a bit of a delay and an extra form to fill out, I finally made it through customs in Entebbe late Tuesday night - but with only a 2-week visa instead of a 3-month visa. Praise God I was able to make it through customs, though! And thank you for your prayer for journey mercies in travel.

Corinne was able to meet me at the airport when we arrived! What an incredible, joyous blessing it was to be with her again after 6 months. She came to Entebbe with the EMI East Africa intern director, Phil Greene, to pick everyone up at around 11:30pm. From there we took a taxi bus to our housing in Kampala. Corinne spent the next day with us and was able to meet some of the EMI staff before leaving to go back to Good Shepherd's Fold Orphanage.

Rock formation at the Garden of the Gods 

Samantha, me, and Anne about to board our flight

Reunited with Corinne in Kampala!

These last few days in Kampala have been ones of project, cultural, and geographical orientation. The combination of the travel and adjusting to a different environment have been taxing, but I am excited to be here and I'm excited to serve!

Please pray for the following:

• Quick recovery from jet lag for all of us new interns
• Details to be worked out to obtain a special pass (extension) for my Uganda visa 
• Wisdom for getting into project work and community involvement

Thanks, and God bless you!

Daniel

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV) - For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.