Hey everyone,
Well, yesterday was the mid-project presentation to MAF. Basically, we showed them what we were thinking as far as master planning and initial building designs go. Leading up to the presentation, we were extremely busy preparing for it. It was a crazy few days. The presentation went really well though and we are now ready to finish designing and early next week we will start to work on final presentation work (sounds like Architecture School all over again, lol). It's been a challenging project but it's looking like God is somehow pulling it all together to create a good design for MAF's future on their airfield.
I have been loving almost every minute of this trip. God has really been working on my heart through it all and it's been really good. The team is great and we have all grown close over such a short period of time. It's awesome. This trip has really been re-fueling my passion for architecture (which I had been losing) as well as working in missions - whether that's for a season, part time, or full time is yet to be determined, but the fire has been lit. :)
If you're curious about what we're doing every day, let me give you a quick peak into yesterday's activities...
We had devotions at the eMi East Africa office in Kampala. It was great to meet the entire staff there and be involved in their worship/prayer time. Later on we had lunch with the entire MAF team at their Kajjansi airfield. That was neat. After that we had the presentation which was really good to be a part of - I'm really learning a lot from all these design meetings. We then went back to the guest house, ate dinner, had our own team devotions, and crashed - I fell asleep as I was falling onto my bed. Well, that last bit was a bit of a stretch. Haha!
I'm starting to ramble and blurrrrr my sentences so I'll get off now. I'd like to get some sleep tonight. :)
Cheers.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
..Work Begins!
Hello from Uganda!
The last 2 days have been intense (understatement of the year). We have had meetings with MAF about all that they want to do with their site - future development and such. We have since walked around the site surveying it and talking to MAF staff while at the same time discovering it's beauty. I would upload a photo, but the internet connection and data plan is so slow that it would take an hour. There are so many constraints on this site, but at the same time, so many opportunities! It's a massive master planning project with some building designs included.
I'm loving it, but I'm also realizing that I'm in a bit over my head. I'm only one of two architects on this trip - the other being the head architect. That means that a lot of design and work falls into my lap. :0 It's amazing, but also intimidating. It also means that I probably won't be updating this blog very much over the next few days. Please be praying for me, the other architect and the rest of the team as we try to come up with a long term solution for MAF that could really solve some of the massive problems that they have right now and really bless them in the future.
This trip has been a great experience for me so far. I had kind of forgotten how good these trips are. One thing that has been good is that I'm the same age and at the same stage in my life as the interns that are on this trip from the Uganda eMi office. They are great. I do have a bit more responsibility (in how I act and the work I do) since I am an assistant architect as opposed to being an architectural intern. Also, my skills as an architect have already been pushed and I'm really learning a lot. It's so good, but I'm also finding myself fighting the urge to work all night on it.
God is also stretching me in multiple areas that the nature of this trip naturally demands - from leaving the comforts of my home in AZ to being vulnerable with my team about things that I'm struggling with. On that note, I'm leading the devotions tomorrow so I should probably start preparing for that. :0
I threw this together really quick so please forgive the grammatical errors and such. I just wanted to update y'all on what we're up to and what God is teaching me. Hope you enjoyed getting a peak into this trip on the other side of the planet (for those reading from back home). Again, please pray for the team. We have an awful lot to do and it could potentially greatly impact and help a few awesome ministries that are doing vital (and hard) work for the poor and broken people of Uganda and surrounding countries. I also still need some support to get this trip fully funded. Please pray that I can get that by the end of the trip - that's when it's due. You all are awesome!
Cheers.
The last 2 days have been intense (understatement of the year). We have had meetings with MAF about all that they want to do with their site - future development and such. We have since walked around the site surveying it and talking to MAF staff while at the same time discovering it's beauty. I would upload a photo, but the internet connection and data plan is so slow that it would take an hour. There are so many constraints on this site, but at the same time, so many opportunities! It's a massive master planning project with some building designs included.
I'm loving it, but I'm also realizing that I'm in a bit over my head. I'm only one of two architects on this trip - the other being the head architect. That means that a lot of design and work falls into my lap. :0 It's amazing, but also intimidating. It also means that I probably won't be updating this blog very much over the next few days. Please be praying for me, the other architect and the rest of the team as we try to come up with a long term solution for MAF that could really solve some of the massive problems that they have right now and really bless them in the future.
This trip has been a great experience for me so far. I had kind of forgotten how good these trips are. One thing that has been good is that I'm the same age and at the same stage in my life as the interns that are on this trip from the Uganda eMi office. They are great. I do have a bit more responsibility (in how I act and the work I do) since I am an assistant architect as opposed to being an architectural intern. Also, my skills as an architect have already been pushed and I'm really learning a lot. It's so good, but I'm also finding myself fighting the urge to work all night on it.
God is also stretching me in multiple areas that the nature of this trip naturally demands - from leaving the comforts of my home in AZ to being vulnerable with my team about things that I'm struggling with. On that note, I'm leading the devotions tomorrow so I should probably start preparing for that. :0
I threw this together really quick so please forgive the grammatical errors and such. I just wanted to update y'all on what we're up to and what God is teaching me. Hope you enjoyed getting a peak into this trip on the other side of the planet (for those reading from back home). Again, please pray for the team. We have an awful lot to do and it could potentially greatly impact and help a few awesome ministries that are doing vital (and hard) work for the poor and broken people of Uganda and surrounding countries. I also still need some support to get this trip fully funded. Please pray that I can get that by the end of the trip - that's when it's due. You all are awesome!
Cheers.
Monday, September 12, 2011
..Arrival
Greetings from Kampala Uganda!
Wow. Today has crazy. After an overnight flight from the UK, I arrived with the eMi UK team in Entebbe at 7am this morning (9pm AZ time). We spent the morning at the MAF guest house (which is way nicer than I was expecting it to be) meeting the eMi EA team members who will be joining us for this project. The afternoon started with an introduction of MAF and all that they do by Steve their program director. It's an amazing ministry. We then drove down to Kajjansi airfield (MAF's airfield) and spent the rest of the afternoon talking to Steve about their ideas for future development of their site while walking around their site. It's an awesome location!
We returned to the guest house for dinner and after that spent the rest of the night together as a team. We first had a devotional that was really good and then talked about some more logistics of the trip. After that meeting, we had a time of testimonies, where we all shared our life stories and how God has brought us to Him as well as how He has called us to this eMi trip. Everyone had very unique and awesome stories. Some of their testimonies were really powerful and really impacted me. It's amazing to think how God handpicked this whole team to come together from all of these completely different backgrounds to work on this project trip in Kampala, Uganda. Mind boggling. God is wonderful.
I'm extremely knackered (exhausted) - as I think my blog will reflect. Despite that, I'm so excited for what God will be doing through our team on this trip. There are a few prayer requests that I feel compelled to mention before I go. The MAF redesign is so much more complicated than we could have imagined and there are many problems with the existing infrastructure / master plan. There seem to be a lot of difficult decisions that will need to be made before much can be done to the site. Pray that God would lead the MAF leaders to know what to do, and that we would be able to help guide them to know how best to use their site - so many possibilities! Also, pray for energy for our team. A few of us are a bit behind on sleep and we really need to be able to focus on this design this week. It will be a hectic 2 weeks.
That's all for now folks. I'll try to update when I can, but I'm afraid that I won't have much time to blog once this trip gets going in full gear. Also, the internet hear in the guest house is horrid. I keep losing connection and it's really slow. They've said that they sometimes lose power for 12hr periods almost every other day. I hope that doesn't effect the work we'll be needing to do. That also means that I probably won't be able to post any photos - uploads take too long and use up too much of their data plan. :/
Cheers.
Wow. Today has crazy. After an overnight flight from the UK, I arrived with the eMi UK team in Entebbe at 7am this morning (9pm AZ time). We spent the morning at the MAF guest house (which is way nicer than I was expecting it to be) meeting the eMi EA team members who will be joining us for this project. The afternoon started with an introduction of MAF and all that they do by Steve their program director. It's an amazing ministry. We then drove down to Kajjansi airfield (MAF's airfield) and spent the rest of the afternoon talking to Steve about their ideas for future development of their site while walking around their site. It's an awesome location!
We returned to the guest house for dinner and after that spent the rest of the night together as a team. We first had a devotional that was really good and then talked about some more logistics of the trip. After that meeting, we had a time of testimonies, where we all shared our life stories and how God has brought us to Him as well as how He has called us to this eMi trip. Everyone had very unique and awesome stories. Some of their testimonies were really powerful and really impacted me. It's amazing to think how God handpicked this whole team to come together from all of these completely different backgrounds to work on this project trip in Kampala, Uganda. Mind boggling. God is wonderful.
I'm extremely knackered (exhausted) - as I think my blog will reflect. Despite that, I'm so excited for what God will be doing through our team on this trip. There are a few prayer requests that I feel compelled to mention before I go. The MAF redesign is so much more complicated than we could have imagined and there are many problems with the existing infrastructure / master plan. There seem to be a lot of difficult decisions that will need to be made before much can be done to the site. Pray that God would lead the MAF leaders to know what to do, and that we would be able to help guide them to know how best to use their site - so many possibilities! Also, pray for energy for our team. A few of us are a bit behind on sleep and we really need to be able to focus on this design this week. It will be a hectic 2 weeks.
That's all for now folks. I'll try to update when I can, but I'm afraid that I won't have much time to blog once this trip gets going in full gear. Also, the internet hear in the guest house is horrid. I keep losing connection and it's really slow. They've said that they sometimes lose power for 12hr periods almost every other day. I hope that doesn't effect the work we'll be needing to do. That also means that I probably won't be able to post any photos - uploads take too long and use up too much of their data plan. :/
Cheers.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
..In My Seat
My heart is heavy as I remember the events that took place on 9/11/01. Just saw this video. Amazing.
"I've got to live my days with a sense of urgency."
Ditto.
"I've got to live my days with a sense of urgency."
Ditto.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
..Designing a World of Hope
As I'm leaving to Uganda tomorrow, I figured I'd fill y'all in with a little bit about eMi:
Engineering Ministries International (eMi) is a
non-profit Christian development organization made up of architects, engineers and design professionals who donate their skills to help children and families around the world step out of poverty and into a world of hope.
Each year, more than 2.2 million people in developing countries die from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene (UN Water Policy Brief, 2005).
That is where eMi comes in. We are a Christian ministry that designs facilities that serve the poorest of the poor in developing countries. These facilities (including hospitals, orphanages, schools, clean water projects and more) directly impact communities by meeting their physical needs and communicating God's love in a very practical way.
I could continue on explaining all that they do and how they do it, but that could quite possibly become very boring. Instead, I've decided to share with you this short video that I just discovered that the eMi East Africa office has recently made about the work that they do. It is not only about the East Africa office, but about every eMi office. It's so great. Check it:
The other cool thing about that video is that we (eMi UK) will be joining up with the eMi EA team on this project trip. There will be about 4 of us from the UK office joining something like 6-8 others from the EA office (there will also be a Canadian helping from his home in Canada). I'm really looking forward to meeting all of the team in 2 days! Can't wait.
Thanks for reading. Please continue to pray for me for God's direction on my life and for the project trip coming up. Thank you!
Cheers.
Engineering Ministries International (eMi) is a
non-profit Christian development organization made up of architects, engineers and design professionals who donate their skills to help children and families around the world step out of poverty and into a world of hope.
Each year, more than 2.2 million people in developing countries die from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene (UN Water Policy Brief, 2005).
That is where eMi comes in. We are a Christian ministry that designs facilities that serve the poorest of the poor in developing countries. These facilities (including hospitals, orphanages, schools, clean water projects and more) directly impact communities by meeting their physical needs and communicating God's love in a very practical way.
I could continue on explaining all that they do and how they do it, but that could quite possibly become very boring. Instead, I've decided to share with you this short video that I just discovered that the eMi East Africa office has recently made about the work that they do. It is not only about the East Africa office, but about every eMi office. It's so great. Check it:
EMI from Halle Project on Vimeo.
The other cool thing about that video is that we (eMi UK) will be joining up with the eMi EA team on this project trip. There will be about 4 of us from the UK office joining something like 6-8 others from the EA office (there will also be a Canadian helping from his home in Canada). I'm really looking forward to meeting all of the team in 2 days! Can't wait.
Thanks for reading. Please continue to pray for me for God's direction on my life and for the project trip coming up. Thank you!
Cheers.
..Detour
Well, the last couple of days here in the UK have gone a bit different than I had imagined them going. The plan was to recover from jet-lag and help eMi prepare for the upcoming trip. I also wanted to get a lot of reading in and spend a lot of time in prayer. However, the first night I arrived here, I received an email from a friend who I actually worked with last summer when I was with eMi. She just moved back to Wyoming and recently scored a job in her home town of Casper. In her email she informed me that one of the junior architects working there just put in his two weeks notice, and that if I was looking for a job I should send her my resume. She described the firm and it seemed like a great place to work and that they'd be very willing to help me work on my IDP hours (internship hours required to get licensed) while there.
At first I really didn't know what to do, but after a bit of thinking I felt like I should at least send my resume to her and see what happens. I mean, I hadn't yet heard of an opening in an architecture firm that I qualified for. Not to mention that I have someone working there that would recommend me. The only catch was that the only resume I had was old and outdated as I haven't created a new one in quite some time (that was one of the first things on my to-do list for when I get home). Also, I had only just started working on my portfolio and didn't have any of my work with me. The one good thing was that eMi was already prepared for the project trip so they didn't really need my help with anything.
So, I got busy. I spent the last 2 days creating a LinkedIn profile, a new resume, and a blog to showcase some of my work (mostly via links to other course blogs I'd made). I sent her my resume yesterday and she replied saying that she turned it into one of the principles today and that he said, "he knows revit! - top of the list" so that sounded promising, haha! So now I wait. I can't really do anything about it for 2 weeks since I'll be in Uganda so there's no use worrying about it. I'm still not 100% sure that I'd take it if I was offered the job. Lots of praying still needing to be done on that front.
Speaking of prayer, I really felt like I needed be doing a lot of that today. So, after another restless night of sleep last night (it didn't help that the sun devils game was super early here in the UK - w00t!), I got up and spent the morning in the Woods' garden - or 'yard' for us Americans. After a lot of wandering around the garden (it's rather large), I the perfect tree to lay under and just rest in God's presence.
[my view for the morning]
At first I really didn't know what to do, but after a bit of thinking I felt like I should at least send my resume to her and see what happens. I mean, I hadn't yet heard of an opening in an architecture firm that I qualified for. Not to mention that I have someone working there that would recommend me. The only catch was that the only resume I had was old and outdated as I haven't created a new one in quite some time (that was one of the first things on my to-do list for when I get home). Also, I had only just started working on my portfolio and didn't have any of my work with me. The one good thing was that eMi was already prepared for the project trip so they didn't really need my help with anything.
So, I got busy. I spent the last 2 days creating a LinkedIn profile, a new resume, and a blog to showcase some of my work (mostly via links to other course blogs I'd made). I sent her my resume yesterday and she replied saying that she turned it into one of the principles today and that he said, "he knows revit! - top of the list" so that sounded promising, haha! So now I wait. I can't really do anything about it for 2 weeks since I'll be in Uganda so there's no use worrying about it. I'm still not 100% sure that I'd take it if I was offered the job. Lots of praying still needing to be done on that front.
Speaking of prayer, I really felt like I needed be doing a lot of that today. So, after another restless night of sleep last night (it didn't help that the sun devils game was super early here in the UK - w00t!), I got up and spent the morning in the Woods' garden - or 'yard' for us Americans. After a lot of wandering around the garden (it's rather large), I the perfect tree to lay under and just rest in God's presence.
I had a lot on my mind today, so it was really nice to clear my head and just talk with God. I really want to focus on this trip coming up tomorrow and not worry about what the future holds. I want to be invested in the present. On that note, our flight to Uganda is in 31hrs! Can't wait.. oh!.. yesterday, I met one of the volunteers at eMi UK who is also going on the trip too - an awesome Egyptian engineer named Andrew. We'll be sharing one of the rooms of the MAF guest house in Uganda so I'm sure we'll get to know each other pretty well.
[my view for the morning]Today has been great. It's so good to just spend time with God in His creation. It's times like this when you realize that as long as you have Him, nothing else matters. Such a great reminder - especially considering the circumstances I'm in. God is in control. I trust that he'll continue to guide me through this crazy thing called life. Please pray for me to know if He is leading me to Wyoming (crazy thought! - I don't want to leave all my friends and family) or to stay in Phoenix (or quite possibly come back to eMi UK long-term). Also, please pray for the project trip. I mean, that is the reason that I'm where I am right now. Pray for the team as they also prepare individually for this trip. Thank you so much. Any prayer is much appreciated!
*random thought: you know that awkward moment when someone asks you a yes or know question and you answer "no" but then they didn't hear you so they ask you if you said "no"? Well, that is much more awkward here in the UK and for some reason it keeps happening to me and I'm never quite sure if I should answer "yes" or "no" to that second question.
Anyways.. I'm off to go spend some more time in the garden. I think it's time for a nap. Cheers.
*random thought: you know that awkward moment when someone asks you a yes or know question and you answer "no" but then they didn't hear you so they ask you if you said "no"? Well, that is much more awkward here in the UK and for some reason it keeps happening to me and I'm never quite sure if I should answer "yes" or "no" to that second question.
Anyways.. I'm off to go spend some more time in the garden. I think it's time for a nap. Cheers.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
..Castle Walk
Greetings from across the pond!
I'll be in the UK for the next couple of days prepping for this trip to Uganda. Well, most of the actual preparations have already been made, so it looks like I'll get to spend my time recovering from jet lag and praying for this upcoming trip. w00t!
Last night I was able to spend it at the cell group I was a part of last summer while I was here. It was great. I only told one person I was coming so it was quite a shock for everyone else. We spent the night drinking (lots of) tea, playing an English version of spoons, and just catching up. I loved it - even though I was half asleep. I'd only gotten about 2hrs of sleep in the past 2 days at the time.
Today, I was up bright and early because I couldn't sleep. This jet-lag thing is a bit annoying. I spent the morning talking with Mike and Marietta about all that's happened since I've left. It was really nice to catch up with them. They then told me that I should do the 'castle walk' since I didn't get a chance to last summer. So, after Marietta jotted down some directions, I was off on a beautiful walk through Great Wenham. To see more photos that I took during the walk, go to my Picasa.
the start of the walk
took a detour to see this medieval church
the only key that unlocks this ancient door to the church
this church was built in the 1100's!
this is a moat that surrounds the castle (which I didn't get to see)
back at the baylies after the walk
I'll be in the UK for the next couple of days prepping for this trip to Uganda. Well, most of the actual preparations have already been made, so it looks like I'll get to spend my time recovering from jet lag and praying for this upcoming trip. w00t!
Last night I was able to spend it at the cell group I was a part of last summer while I was here. It was great. I only told one person I was coming so it was quite a shock for everyone else. We spent the night drinking (lots of) tea, playing an English version of spoons, and just catching up. I loved it - even though I was half asleep. I'd only gotten about 2hrs of sleep in the past 2 days at the time.
Today, I was up bright and early because I couldn't sleep. This jet-lag thing is a bit annoying. I spent the morning talking with Mike and Marietta about all that's happened since I've left. It was really nice to catch up with them. They then told me that I should do the 'castle walk' since I didn't get a chance to last summer. So, after Marietta jotted down some directions, I was off on a beautiful walk through Great Wenham. To see more photos that I took during the walk, go to my Picasa.
the start of the walk
took a detour to see this medieval church
the only key that unlocks this ancient door to the church
this church was built in the 1100's! 
this is a moat that surrounds the castle (which I didn't get to see)
back at the baylies after the walkThat last photo is of The Baylies - the quaint english house that I'll be staying at for the next few days. It is the home of Mike and Marietta Woods. Mike is the director of eMi UK and every time we talk we usually have long conversations about life and/or God. It's so great that they've let me stay with them here before we head off to Uganda. Such a great time of rest - well, spiritually, I still need to adjust to the time zone.
Thank you all for your prayers! I'll do my best to keep in touch.
Cheers.
Thank you all for your prayers! I'll do my best to keep in touch.
Cheers.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
0 days!
Greetings from Sky Harbor! I'm sitting in the airport with a bit of time to kill before we start boarding (w00t!). Needless to say, my flight was today - I discovered that at about 9:30am today! I was really banking on it being tomorrow, so today was a lot busier than it should have been. I mean, I already have a problem with procrastination, so knowing that my flight might leave a day later made it 10x worse!
It's hard to put into words how excited I am right now. I haven't felt this way since May 20th of last summer. The combination of travel/adventure/independence/unkown is quite a lot to think about, and I'm the guy who finds himself thinking about thinking (lol). Sometimes words are inadequate to justly describe a moment in time and right now is one of those moments. I am about to embark on a 9 hr and 40 min flight but I have a feeling that I will still feel this way when I land. I mean, I'll be in a foreign country (with no phone) and I have to make my way through the underground (subway) onto a train that'll take me an hr and a half outside of London and hope that I can somehow get there by 5pm tomorrow (that's when my ride will be there). Here's to that!
Cheers. (hopefully the next time I say this will be over a pint o' Guinness)
It's hard to put into words how excited I am right now. I haven't felt this way since May 20th of last summer. The combination of travel/adventure/independence/unkown is quite a lot to think about, and I'm the guy who finds himself thinking about thinking (lol). Sometimes words are inadequate to justly describe a moment in time and right now is one of those moments. I am about to embark on a 9 hr and 40 min flight but I have a feeling that I will still feel this way when I land. I mean, I'll be in a foreign country (with no phone) and I have to make my way through the underground (subway) onto a train that'll take me an hr and a half outside of London and hope that I can somehow get there by 5pm tomorrow (that's when my ride will be there). Here's to that!
Cheers. (hopefully the next time I say this will be over a pint o' Guinness)
Monday, September 5, 2011
..1 day! (...?)
I leave the US of A tomorrow!!!
Well, probably. I won't know until sometime in the morning - I know, I know... "how could you not know when you leave?" - I've heard that a lot. It's quite simple really. Our flight from Heathrow (UK) to Entebbe (Uganda) was moved back a day, so last week Mike asked me if I wanted to move my flight to Heathrow back a day as well, and I said sure, but either was fine with me. Long story short, he told his travel agent to switch the tickets, but she hasn't said whether or not that she has yet. She's in Canada, so there's an 8hr time difference which is part of the problem. She said she'll send us confirmation the day after labor day - which is tomorrow.
So, today has been somewhat weird. I've been doing laundry, shopping and starting to pack. Oh, and I got my hair cut. It was so long that after she (the Fantastic Sams lady) cut my hair, it looked like there were a couple of dead animals laying on the ground (sorry for the graphic). Needless to say, that took quite a lot of weight off my shoulders. Ha ha!
Before I forget, I have some encouraging news to share! Since my last update on my funds - I've been able to raise a lot more towards my trip thanks to my very generous friends and family! I now only need about $600-$650 - which I feel God will take care of rather easily (plus, I know of a couple of people who told me they'd donate). Praise the Lord! Thank you to everyone who has contributed financially towards my trip! I really, really, really appreciate it! Thank you also for praying for me and my team! Prayer is key. I've seen God really move on trips like this, and I feel it is largely because of all of the prayer going out from back at home. So, thanks!
Well, I'm tired. I need to get some sleep so I can finish packing in the morning (I know.....) and make sure I'm prepared to leave the country. Pray that I don't forget anything important!
I'll be in the UK for a couple of days before heading on over to Uganda, so I'll try to update on what the trip will look like from there. I learn more and more about it every day. It looks to be an exciting, busy, but epic trip!
Thanks for reading. Cheers.
Well, probably. I won't know until sometime in the morning - I know, I know... "how could you not know when you leave?" - I've heard that a lot. It's quite simple really. Our flight from Heathrow (UK) to Entebbe (Uganda) was moved back a day, so last week Mike asked me if I wanted to move my flight to Heathrow back a day as well, and I said sure, but either was fine with me. Long story short, he told his travel agent to switch the tickets, but she hasn't said whether or not that she has yet. She's in Canada, so there's an 8hr time difference which is part of the problem. She said she'll send us confirmation the day after labor day - which is tomorrow.
So, today has been somewhat weird. I've been doing laundry, shopping and starting to pack. Oh, and I got my hair cut. It was so long that after she (the Fantastic Sams lady) cut my hair, it looked like there were a couple of dead animals laying on the ground (sorry for the graphic). Needless to say, that took quite a lot of weight off my shoulders. Ha ha!
Before I forget, I have some encouraging news to share! Since my last update on my funds - I've been able to raise a lot more towards my trip thanks to my very generous friends and family! I now only need about $600-$650 - which I feel God will take care of rather easily (plus, I know of a couple of people who told me they'd donate). Praise the Lord! Thank you to everyone who has contributed financially towards my trip! I really, really, really appreciate it! Thank you also for praying for me and my team! Prayer is key. I've seen God really move on trips like this, and I feel it is largely because of all of the prayer going out from back at home. So, thanks!
Well, I'm tired. I need to get some sleep so I can finish packing in the morning (I know.....) and make sure I'm prepared to leave the country. Pray that I don't forget anything important!
I'll be in the UK for a couple of days before heading on over to Uganda, so I'll try to update on what the trip will look like from there. I learn more and more about it every day. It looks to be an exciting, busy, but epic trip!
Thanks for reading. Cheers.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
..No place I'd rather be
This song is my heart's cry out to God today. It is so powerful.
No place I would rather be
No place I would rather be
No place I would rather be
Than here in Your love, here in Your love
Set a fire down in my soul
That I can't contain, that I can't control
I want more of You God
I want more of You God
Cheers.
No place I would rather be
No place I would rather be
No place I would rather be
Than here in Your love, here in Your love
Set a fire down in my soul
That I can't contain, that I can't control
I want more of You God
I want more of You God
Cheers.
Friday, September 2, 2011
..5 days!
Hey everyone!
So, I skipped a few days, and you might have noticed that today's post should say "4 days", but my flight was moved back to next Wednesday, so I should be sticking around for an extra day. That's the play anyways. It might go back to Tuesday.. it's hard to stay in good communication with the team from the UK with the 8hr difference and everything.
Anyways, this week has been busy. I ended up working quite a bit which is awesome, but unexpected. This is a part of the reason that I haven't kept updating my blog daily, but the bigger reason is that I was kind of in a funk spiritually. I wasn't sure why. I didn't have a good reason to be. God blessed me with work this week. I was able to spend some time with some good friends and I was even given tickets to the Cardinals game (w00t). It didn't make sense.
It wasn't until today that I figured out the reason for the funk - selfishness. This week I've just been thinking of myself. I've been worried about how "I" was going to raise the rest of the funds needed for the trip. How this upcoming trip was going to help "me". How "I" was going to help the team and all the good that "I" would accomplish in Uganda. I was so consumed with how everything was going for me. that it lead to me valuing my time over others - specifically my family. I mean, I'm leaving next week, my time is valuable, right?
Wrong.
God is faithful. He helped me to see my selfishness this morning. He led me to this passage in Romans:
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
I'm so thankful to God for showing this to me. It's time for me to wake up! - to put aside selfishness and instead clothe myself with Jesus Christ (such a crazy, but cool analogy)! In Him I will see how He sees. I won't see my own needs, only the needs of others. Again, I can't emphasize how much I needed this today. It would truly be a shame if I went through the entire trip to Uganda thinking about myself. This isn't to say that I've mastered the art of selflessness. Rather, I've realized that I can't BE selfless. Not on my own anyways. I need to first go to Jesus - to rely on Him to help me through the many temptations and trials that come my way. Afterall, God tells me that I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Phillipians 4:13).
It is simple: without Jesus, I am weak. I need to realize that I am weak in order to understand my great need for a savior. It is through weakness that I learn to cling to Jesus. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).
This morning, after this realization, and through a random series of events/mouse clicks, God led me to this video once again:
This video echoes my struggle to pursue God. I ask Him to come and sculpt me. To make me more like Him. Yet, when He faithfully shows up to work on me, I hide. I'm like Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden - unwilling to expose my nakedness before Him. I worry that I'm inadequate. That I'm a mess. I forget who He has created me to be.
Yet, every time - and just like in the garden of Eden - He calls out to me. He draws me to Himself and tells me that He loves me just as He created me. That He wants me just as I am - with all the filth that I've let build up in my life. That when He sees me, He sees His holy son, Jesus. He tells me that I am loved. That I'm precious to Him. That I am valuable. That I'm legit. That He has plans for me. He overwhelms with Truth. I am refreshed.
This was good for me to unload all of this. I pray that God will continue to work on me. To chisel away at all the filth in my life and draw me closer to Him. He is faithful, so I know He will. I just need to be ready for it. To come before Him in full confidence - not because of who I think I am, but because of who He says I am. Bring on the chisel!
I hope that for anyone else going through a "funk" that this would encourage you. I'll try to be back on here tomorrow with an update on the trip that is rapidly approaching. Thanks for reading (even if you just skimmed it :p)!
Cheers.
So, I skipped a few days, and you might have noticed that today's post should say "4 days", but my flight was moved back to next Wednesday, so I should be sticking around for an extra day. That's the play anyways. It might go back to Tuesday.. it's hard to stay in good communication with the team from the UK with the 8hr difference and everything.
Anyways, this week has been busy. I ended up working quite a bit which is awesome, but unexpected. This is a part of the reason that I haven't kept updating my blog daily, but the bigger reason is that I was kind of in a funk spiritually. I wasn't sure why. I didn't have a good reason to be. God blessed me with work this week. I was able to spend some time with some good friends and I was even given tickets to the Cardinals game (w00t). It didn't make sense.
It wasn't until today that I figured out the reason for the funk - selfishness. This week I've just been thinking of myself. I've been worried about how "I" was going to raise the rest of the funds needed for the trip. How this upcoming trip was going to help "me". How "I" was going to help the team and all the good that "I" would accomplish in Uganda. I was so consumed with how everything was going for me. that it lead to me valuing my time over others - specifically my family. I mean, I'm leaving next week, my time is valuable, right?
Wrong.
God is faithful. He helped me to see my selfishness this morning. He led me to this passage in Romans:
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
I'm so thankful to God for showing this to me. It's time for me to wake up! - to put aside selfishness and instead clothe myself with Jesus Christ (such a crazy, but cool analogy)! In Him I will see how He sees. I won't see my own needs, only the needs of others. Again, I can't emphasize how much I needed this today. It would truly be a shame if I went through the entire trip to Uganda thinking about myself. This isn't to say that I've mastered the art of selflessness. Rather, I've realized that I can't BE selfless. Not on my own anyways. I need to first go to Jesus - to rely on Him to help me through the many temptations and trials that come my way. Afterall, God tells me that I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Phillipians 4:13).
It is simple: without Jesus, I am weak. I need to realize that I am weak in order to understand my great need for a savior. It is through weakness that I learn to cling to Jesus. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).
This morning, after this realization, and through a random series of events/mouse clicks, God led me to this video once again:
This video echoes my struggle to pursue God. I ask Him to come and sculpt me. To make me more like Him. Yet, when He faithfully shows up to work on me, I hide. I'm like Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden - unwilling to expose my nakedness before Him. I worry that I'm inadequate. That I'm a mess. I forget who He has created me to be.
Yet, every time - and just like in the garden of Eden - He calls out to me. He draws me to Himself and tells me that He loves me just as He created me. That He wants me just as I am - with all the filth that I've let build up in my life. That when He sees me, He sees His holy son, Jesus. He tells me that I am loved. That I'm precious to Him. That I am valuable. That I'm legit. That He has plans for me. He overwhelms with Truth. I am refreshed.
This was good for me to unload all of this. I pray that God will continue to work on me. To chisel away at all the filth in my life and draw me closer to Him. He is faithful, so I know He will. I just need to be ready for it. To come before Him in full confidence - not because of who I think I am, but because of who He says I am. Bring on the chisel!
I hope that for anyone else going through a "funk" that this would encourage you. I'll try to be back on here tomorrow with an update on the trip that is rapidly approaching. Thanks for reading (even if you just skimmed it :p)!
Cheers.
Monday, August 29, 2011
..8 days!
Today has been great, but long and I'm tired, so I'll keep this short:
For starters, I found out how I'm doing as far as finances go for this trip today. I've raised $1500 out of $2850. Most of that is from me and one other person (hooray for them!). I'm expecting another $200-$250 soon, which is awesome. That will leave about $1100 left to raise. That's cake. Hopefully I'll get it soon. Mike (eMi Director) says that I need to have it paid in full by the time I return from my trip. So, that means I need to get $1100 donated by September 26th! I am in faith that God will provide - with a little help from you. :)
Secondly, I had a great conversations with one of my best friends tonight. It was great. We talked about how God calls us to live out his calling on our lives daily, not just when we go do "big" things for Him - aka this trip. He wants us to be faithful with the little things before He will give us the big things. As my friend said, "If He gives us the big things when we aren't able to even carry the little things, the big things will crush us". We can only grow when we daily live as children of God and are obedient in the little things. That way, we will someday be strong enough to carry the big things that He has in store for us. It's just like working out - muscle has to be broken down so that it can be rebuilt stronger than it was before. We grow through trials, through being faithful, through being obedient.
Anyways, it was a great conversation
, and it was really encouraging for me. I already know these things, but I find myself talking about knowing these things more than I live them out. Knowledge without action will lead to unfulfillment. Knowing Jesus and what he has done for us should compel us into action. Through obedience, we will find something more fulfilling than any fulfillment we can get out of doing something on our own.
It's so simple - yet so profound. It's all about Baby steps - just a baby walking with my daddy (God).
Cheers.
For starters, I found out how I'm doing as far as finances go for this trip today. I've raised $1500 out of $2850. Most of that is from me and one other person (hooray for them!). I'm expecting another $200-$250 soon, which is awesome. That will leave about $1100 left to raise. That's cake. Hopefully I'll get it soon. Mike (eMi Director) says that I need to have it paid in full by the time I return from my trip. So, that means I need to get $1100 donated by September 26th! I am in faith that God will provide - with a little help from you. :)
Secondly, I had a great conversations with one of my best friends tonight. It was great. We talked about how God calls us to live out his calling on our lives daily, not just when we go do "big" things for Him - aka this trip. He wants us to be faithful with the little things before He will give us the big things. As my friend said, "If He gives us the big things when we aren't able to even carry the little things, the big things will crush us". We can only grow when we daily live as children of God and are obedient in the little things. That way, we will someday be strong enough to carry the big things that He has in store for us. It's just like working out - muscle has to be broken down so that it can be rebuilt stronger than it was before. We grow through trials, through being faithful, through being obedient.
Anyways, it was a great conversation
, and it was really encouraging for me. I already know these things, but I find myself talking about knowing these things more than I live them out. Knowledge without action will lead to unfulfillment. Knowing Jesus and what he has done for us should compel us into action. Through obedience, we will find something more fulfilling than any fulfillment we can get out of doing something on our own.
It's so simple - yet so profound. It's all about Baby steps - just a baby walking with my daddy (God).
Cheers.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
..9 days!
So... I'm going to take a break from posting about my upcoming trip (well, mostly) to share a cool God-story:
There is this college program at my church called Faith Works that I've been wanting to attend since they started doing it a couple of years ago. I've been really busy with architecture school so I haven't had time to do it, until now. I was really hoping to go, and was practically planning on going - then I lost my job. I was hoping to may for most of my trip to Uganda and also for Faith Works but with the recent change in income, it wasn't looking like a smart idea.
A couple of days ago, I payed the down-payment for the eMi trip which was a bit of a leap of faith - since, again, no money coming in now. I'm now still trying to raise a large portion of the fee for the trip, so paying for Faith Works didn't seem like a good idea either. Anyways, today was the last day to sign up for the early bird price for the college program. I really felt God was calling me to take it so I was planning on signing up for it and just acting out in faith (I only just came to that conclusion in the past couple of days).
Well, last night, I heard from my old job - which I thought had pretty much closed its doors - and they said they were wrapping up a few projects and could give me some work this week if I was available. Needless to say, I'm going in to work tomorrow to help them finish up some things and it looks like I'll get enough work this week to pay the tuition for Faith Works - and possibly, a little more. (w00t!) I'm reminded of these verses from the Sermon on the Mount:
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
*I know that He promises that He will take care of us if we pursue His kingdom and righteousness, but I'm still blown away when He comes through for me. He is so good.
On that note, I am still looking for contributions towards my trip. If you are able to or know of anyone who could support me financially just go to www.emiworld.org and click on the “Donate” tab at the top right of the page. Then, fill out your payment information and finally, type, “Tim Berry - eMi UK - #11008” in the “Designation” line and click the "Submit Contribution" button. I will have an update on the progress of that by tomorrow - hopefully. Look for that as well as a better project description in the coming days. Also, please continue to pray for me and the team that God is putting together for this trip. Thank you so much.
Cheers.
There is this college program at my church called Faith Works that I've been wanting to attend since they started doing it a couple of years ago. I've been really busy with architecture school so I haven't had time to do it, until now. I was really hoping to go, and was practically planning on going - then I lost my job. I was hoping to may for most of my trip to Uganda and also for Faith Works but with the recent change in income, it wasn't looking like a smart idea.
A couple of days ago, I payed the down-payment for the eMi trip which was a bit of a leap of faith - since, again, no money coming in now. I'm now still trying to raise a large portion of the fee for the trip, so paying for Faith Works didn't seem like a good idea either. Anyways, today was the last day to sign up for the early bird price for the college program. I really felt God was calling me to take it so I was planning on signing up for it and just acting out in faith (I only just came to that conclusion in the past couple of days).
Well, last night, I heard from my old job - which I thought had pretty much closed its doors - and they said they were wrapping up a few projects and could give me some work this week if I was available. Needless to say, I'm going in to work tomorrow to help them finish up some things and it looks like I'll get enough work this week to pay the tuition for Faith Works - and possibly, a little more. (w00t!) I'm reminded of these verses from the Sermon on the Mount:
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
*I know that He promises that He will take care of us if we pursue His kingdom and righteousness, but I'm still blown away when He comes through for me. He is so good.
On that note, I am still looking for contributions towards my trip. If you are able to or know of anyone who could support me financially just go to www.emiworld.org and click on the “Donate” tab at the top right of the page. Then, fill out your payment information and finally, type, “Tim Berry - eMi UK - #11008” in the “Designation” line and click the "Submit Contribution" button. I will have an update on the progress of that by tomorrow - hopefully. Look for that as well as a better project description in the coming days. Also, please continue to pray for me and the team that God is putting together for this trip. Thank you so much.
Cheers.
..10 Days
Hello all!
I leave the USofA in 10 days! I usually don't do countdowns, but I thought I'd start one on this blog. I'll aim to blog every day up until I leave.. we'll see how that goes. Anyways, for this first blog, I thought I'd share with y'all a little bit about MAF Uganda - the ministry that we are going to help in Uganda.
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has been flying since 1945. It is a Christian ministry that flies light aircraft to inaccessible areas in developing countries to reach out to people in need. They offer their services in areas where local alternatives do not exist or are not suitable. They are committed to provide a reliable and efficient service and operate according to the highest safety standards based on many decades of bush flying experience.
In Uganda MAF currently operates 5 aircraft from its base at Kajjansi (that's a fun word to say!). Through this airfield, MAF provides safe travel to missionaries going out to minister to normally unreachable people throughout Uganda and the surrounding areas. They also transport doctors and nurses to bush villages to set up clinics that provide healthcare (surgeries, checkups, cataract removal, dental work, etc.) to these unfortunate people groups. Another vital thing they do is deliver cargo - medical supplies, food, etc. - to people that have no other way to access it. Awesome, right?!
I just skyped with Mike Woods - the director of eMi UK and former pilot for MAF Uganda for 5 years. It was great to hear from him and to be able to learn a little more about MAF and what we will be doing for them. It's awesome to see how God has used his experience in flying with MAF to now collide with what he (or rather, what God) is doing through eMi UK. While talking with him, he continually stressed the importance of what MAF Uganda does. He said that the roads in Uganda are terrible. It is virtually impossible to travel to most parts of Uganda (and most of Africa) by car. This makes what MAF does so vital.
I will write more about what we are going to do for them on this eMi project trip on the next blog - stay tuned!
this is a photo of a MAF plane taking off from Kajjansi airfield
side note: Mike said during our skype conversation that since the airfield borders the northern side of Lake Victoria, there is a lot of marshy land surrounding the runway that sometimes alligators wander out on to the runway... definitely something to keep an eye out for!
Cheers.
I leave the USofA in 10 days! I usually don't do countdowns, but I thought I'd start one on this blog. I'll aim to blog every day up until I leave.. we'll see how that goes. Anyways, for this first blog, I thought I'd share with y'all a little bit about MAF Uganda - the ministry that we are going to help in Uganda.
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has been flying since 1945. It is a Christian ministry that flies light aircraft to inaccessible areas in developing countries to reach out to people in need. They offer their services in areas where local alternatives do not exist or are not suitable. They are committed to provide a reliable and efficient service and operate according to the highest safety standards based on many decades of bush flying experience.
In Uganda MAF currently operates 5 aircraft from its base at Kajjansi (that's a fun word to say!). Through this airfield, MAF provides safe travel to missionaries going out to minister to normally unreachable people throughout Uganda and the surrounding areas. They also transport doctors and nurses to bush villages to set up clinics that provide healthcare (surgeries, checkups, cataract removal, dental work, etc.) to these unfortunate people groups. Another vital thing they do is deliver cargo - medical supplies, food, etc. - to people that have no other way to access it. Awesome, right?!
I just skyped with Mike Woods - the director of eMi UK and former pilot for MAF Uganda for 5 years. It was great to hear from him and to be able to learn a little more about MAF and what we will be doing for them. It's awesome to see how God has used his experience in flying with MAF to now collide with what he (or rather, what God) is doing through eMi UK. While talking with him, he continually stressed the importance of what MAF Uganda does. He said that the roads in Uganda are terrible. It is virtually impossible to travel to most parts of Uganda (and most of Africa) by car. This makes what MAF does so vital.
I will write more about what we are going to do for them on this eMi project trip on the next blog - stay tuned!
this is a photo of a MAF plane taking off from Kajjansi airfield
Cheers.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
..Adventure calls!
Hey everyone!
More details on the trip to come!
Here comes the fun part:
The total cost of the trip will be $2850, which is $350 more than I thought it would be. Also, I was originally planning on paying for it - or at least most of it. Now, since I'm jobless, that becomes much more difficult. I already have around $1000 saved up for it, but that still leaves a lot left that needs to be payed. So, I'm going to try to raise money for the remainder of the cost of the trip in the next few weeks. This is where you come in. Please pray that I could raise the money and be fully funded by the 25th of September (the due date).
Also, I know the rest of the team is still up in the air (figuratively). Some people have backed out and we might be short a few people. Pray that God raises up the perfect team to go on this trip and that we all raise the money needed to go. If any of you could support me financially I would also appreciate that. I'm not worried too badly about getting the funds needed so if you aren't able to give then that is totally fine! If you know of other people who might be interested in supporting me - give them the link to this blog. Thanks!
Donations are tax deductible if you donate online. Go to www.emiworld.org and click on the “Donate” tab at the top right of the page. Then, fill out your payment information and finally, type “Tim Berry - eMi UK - #11008” in the “Designation” line and click the "Submit Contribution" button. That should be it. If you have any questions, let me know.
If you're old fashioned, I will also take checks/cash. Those won't be tax deductible though. :/
Thank you so much for both your prayer and financial support! I really appreciate it! God bless!
Cheers.
As you all may or may not know, I have been planning on going to Uganda with eMi to help design/re-plan the MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) airfield base and surrounding buildings next month. Today, I finally heard back from Mike Woods (the eMi UK director). He said that the trip is definitely happening, and I am definitely on the team (w00t!). Here are a few trip details:
I will be leaving Phoenix on Tuesday September 6th at 7:25pm and arriving into Heathrow (London) on Wednesday (7th) at 1:05pm (zzz...). I'll be with my UK peeps for the next couple of days. Then we all (the entire UK team, plus a couple of fellow Americans flying into Heathrow that day) leave together to Uganda, departing 9:15pm from Heathrow on Saturday September 10th. I'll be in Uganda until the 25th doin' work (designing, etc.). We will leave Entebbe (Uganda) at 9:05am on the 25th. We'll arrive back into the UK at 3:55pm on Sunday 25th and I'll finally leave Heathrow on the 26th at 2:35pm, which will put me back in Phoenix at 5:10pm on the 26th... whew, that'll be a fun couple of days.
More details on the trip to come!
Here comes the fun part:
The total cost of the trip will be $2850, which is $350 more than I thought it would be. Also, I was originally planning on paying for it - or at least most of it. Now, since I'm jobless, that becomes much more difficult. I already have around $1000 saved up for it, but that still leaves a lot left that needs to be payed. So, I'm going to try to raise money for the remainder of the cost of the trip in the next few weeks. This is where you come in. Please pray that I could raise the money and be fully funded by the 25th of September (the due date).
Also, I know the rest of the team is still up in the air (figuratively). Some people have backed out and we might be short a few people. Pray that God raises up the perfect team to go on this trip and that we all raise the money needed to go. If any of you could support me financially I would also appreciate that. I'm not worried too badly about getting the funds needed so if you aren't able to give then that is totally fine! If you know of other people who might be interested in supporting me - give them the link to this blog. Thanks!
Donations are tax deductible if you donate online. Go to www.emiworld.org and click on the “Donate” tab at the top right of the page. Then, fill out your payment information and finally, type “Tim Berry - eMi UK - #11008” in the “Designation” line and click the "Submit Contribution" button. That should be it. If you have any questions, let me know.
If you're old fashioned, I will also take checks/cash. Those won't be tax deductible though. :/
Thank you so much for both your prayer and financial support! I really appreciate it! God bless!
Cheers.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
..Learning Humility
Hello again!
It's been a while, but rather than rabble on for a few paragraphs about nonsense (like normal), I'll get right to the point of this post.
The last few weeks, I've been asking God to purify me - to make me more like Jesus. One of the things that I struggle with is pride. Thus, I've been asking God for humility - to rid me of my pride. I really desire humility. I do. I desire it so much, that I've realized just come to realize that I'm proud of that desire (pride is really sneaky like that). You'll understand exactly what I mean in a few paragraphs.
Friday.
Friday started out normal. I woke up tired from the week, but after a shower and the 20min drive to work I was finally awake. I parked, set up the sun screen on my windshield and went into the office. As I entered the office I noticed that it was unusually dark and quiet (it's usually pretty dark and quiet too). When I walked past the conference room, I noticed my boss in there. I said, "good morning!"... and waited for him to reply in kind, but he didn't. Instead he said, "Tim, I need to talk to you about something.."
I went in and sat across the table from him all the while wondering I had done something wrong and was about to get reprimanded or possibly let go because of finances. Instead, he just said, "Tim, There's no easy way to say this so I'll just get right to it. As of today, we are closing our doors (filing for bankruptcy)." I just sat there, staring at him. Finally, I asked, "You're serious?" I knew he was, but that's all I could get out at the time. After he told me a little more about the situation, I just sat there for a minute, trying to process what he just told me. The company was over. Everyone there had no job. No more paychecks. Nothing. It was hard to think about.
Bankruptcy.
What a humbling word. It truly is. It tells the world that you need help. That you can't make it on your own. Without Jesus, we would all be spiritually bankrupt.. OK, this time I am going to resist the urge to elaborate on that potential analogy.
Anyways, back to my story - I left work trying to process what just happened. As much as it sucks for me to lose my job in this economy, it is probably 10x worse for most of the other guys I worked with. The ones that have families. The ones that had money invested in the company. The ones that will have a much harder time paying their bills. I feel for them. It hurts. It hurts more than me losing my job. I'll be fine.
When I got home, I jumped on my bike and rode... and rode. More than I ever have. I prayed the whole time. I prayed for all my co-workers families. I prayed that God would use this for good. It was a great time of prayer. I really needed it.
I kept thinking that this was God's way of purifying me and ridding me of some pride in my life. I mean, I just lost my job. That's a big deal and could be a source of pride, right? I thought I had it figured out. I was above it. This was just a setback for me, but God would help me out. I was handling it perfectly. At least outwardly.
I got home after a 2hr bike ride. I took a long nap and woke up in good spirits. I was handling this well. God was removing the pride... I knew what was going on and was ready for it. I'm the man. I thought I had learned my lesson and was done with it.
I wasn't.
I took a shower and jumped in the car to pick Evan up to go to a meeting for this non-profit we're starting. I was on Greenfield and there was construction so traffic merged into a single lane. I was potentially running a bit late so I looked down and pulled out my phone to look up the address for the office we were going to meet at. Then I looked up. Brake lights. Traffic had stopped in the couple of seconds I had taken to look down at my phone. I slammed on my brakes. It was too late (man, I wish I had anti-lock brakes). Tires skidding. Metal crunching. Seat-belt locking.
Pride exposed.
I never cuss. At least, I think I don't. As I sat in my car that was smashed into the car in front of me, I cussed under my breath. Instead of instantly thinking if anyone was hurt, I was worrying about how this would affect me. I might be out of a car. I got out to check the damage. It was bad. It might be totaled (this ended up being true). Not only was the physical damage on my mind, but I couldn't stop thinking about how this damaged my pride. After all, it was my fault. I couldn't get away from that. It was blatantly obvious. Whatever pride I had in my driving was squashed. I mean, this is the second time I've wrecked one of my cars. My pride was hurt, and I didn't like it. Not one bit.
Then it hit me. I realized that I didn't have everything figured out. That I wasn't able to handle the situation in the right way in my own power. That I'm selfish. That I don't always react well. My pride was exposed and I knew it. I was tested and I failed. God showed me what was truly in my heart. He showed me that I still have a lot of pride. I love that He uses the crappy things in life to help us grow and to turn us to rely on Him.
Needless to say, I then quietly/humbly walked around the wreck to see how everyone was. I had hit a girl about my age in an older car. She was still in her car, on her phone, crying. She didn't look up so I went to the truck in front of her (I hit the car in front of me hard enough that it hit the truck in front of her). A lady was in it, also on her phone, also crying. Neither would really acknowledge my presence. So I just moved my car and waited for the police/fire dept to come. What a humbling experience. Any pride I had before that accident was gone. I was humbled.
Needless to say, I learned my lesson: When I think I've got it all figured out, I don't. It's as simple as that. Humility is having a right perspective of who God is and who I am. When I realize that, I realize that I can't know everything (sounds basic just saying it, but I forget this). I am nothing without Him. All the good I do is through Him working through me. I keep forgetting that. I need wake up calls now and again to remind me of those truths. Now that I have no car and no job, I see that. He really does use all things for the good of those who love Him.
He is faithful.
This post was really good for me. I have a hard time sharing about my weaknesses but I know that even in writing this (really long) blog that God has been working on my pride. While writing, I kept catching myself trying to sugar coat my reactions and put me in a good light. I probably still did that, but I hope that you were able to see my heart through it all.
Prayer.
If you could pray for all of my co-workers who lost their job I would really appreciate it. I know that we all need God to provide for us in the coming months, weeks, and days. Thank you.
Also, I am going to Uganda in one month on a project trip with eMi UK to help MAF's airfield base with some new building designs, a new master plan, and water/waste water engineering. If you could pray that God brings all the right people to join the team and that we all are able to get the money we need to go. I had planned on mostly funding the trip, but with the recent loss of my job, I will need to rely on donations to help me reach my goal. I need about $2500 in one month, and I will be able to pay a good chunk of that. But, I will need quite a bit of money in a short period of time. So, please pray for that. Thank you!
God bless!
Cheers.
It's been a while, but rather than rabble on for a few paragraphs about nonsense (like normal), I'll get right to the point of this post.
The last few weeks, I've been asking God to purify me - to make me more like Jesus. One of the things that I struggle with is pride. Thus, I've been asking God for humility - to rid me of my pride. I really desire humility. I do. I desire it so much, that I've realized just come to realize that I'm proud of that desire (pride is really sneaky like that). You'll understand exactly what I mean in a few paragraphs.
Friday.
Friday started out normal. I woke up tired from the week, but after a shower and the 20min drive to work I was finally awake. I parked, set up the sun screen on my windshield and went into the office. As I entered the office I noticed that it was unusually dark and quiet (it's usually pretty dark and quiet too). When I walked past the conference room, I noticed my boss in there. I said, "good morning!"... and waited for him to reply in kind, but he didn't. Instead he said, "Tim, I need to talk to you about something.."
I went in and sat across the table from him all the while wondering I had done something wrong and was about to get reprimanded or possibly let go because of finances. Instead, he just said, "Tim, There's no easy way to say this so I'll just get right to it. As of today, we are closing our doors (filing for bankruptcy)." I just sat there, staring at him. Finally, I asked, "You're serious?" I knew he was, but that's all I could get out at the time. After he told me a little more about the situation, I just sat there for a minute, trying to process what he just told me. The company was over. Everyone there had no job. No more paychecks. Nothing. It was hard to think about.
Bankruptcy.
What a humbling word. It truly is. It tells the world that you need help. That you can't make it on your own. Without Jesus, we would all be spiritually bankrupt.. OK, this time I am going to resist the urge to elaborate on that potential analogy.
Anyways, back to my story - I left work trying to process what just happened. As much as it sucks for me to lose my job in this economy, it is probably 10x worse for most of the other guys I worked with. The ones that have families. The ones that had money invested in the company. The ones that will have a much harder time paying their bills. I feel for them. It hurts. It hurts more than me losing my job. I'll be fine.
When I got home, I jumped on my bike and rode... and rode. More than I ever have. I prayed the whole time. I prayed for all my co-workers families. I prayed that God would use this for good. It was a great time of prayer. I really needed it.
I kept thinking that this was God's way of purifying me and ridding me of some pride in my life. I mean, I just lost my job. That's a big deal and could be a source of pride, right? I thought I had it figured out. I was above it. This was just a setback for me, but God would help me out. I was handling it perfectly. At least outwardly.
I got home after a 2hr bike ride. I took a long nap and woke up in good spirits. I was handling this well. God was removing the pride... I knew what was going on and was ready for it. I'm the man. I thought I had learned my lesson and was done with it.
I wasn't.
I took a shower and jumped in the car to pick Evan up to go to a meeting for this non-profit we're starting. I was on Greenfield and there was construction so traffic merged into a single lane. I was potentially running a bit late so I looked down and pulled out my phone to look up the address for the office we were going to meet at. Then I looked up. Brake lights. Traffic had stopped in the couple of seconds I had taken to look down at my phone. I slammed on my brakes. It was too late (man, I wish I had anti-lock brakes). Tires skidding. Metal crunching. Seat-belt locking.
Pride exposed.
I never cuss. At least, I think I don't. As I sat in my car that was smashed into the car in front of me, I cussed under my breath. Instead of instantly thinking if anyone was hurt, I was worrying about how this would affect me. I might be out of a car. I got out to check the damage. It was bad. It might be totaled (this ended up being true). Not only was the physical damage on my mind, but I couldn't stop thinking about how this damaged my pride. After all, it was my fault. I couldn't get away from that. It was blatantly obvious. Whatever pride I had in my driving was squashed. I mean, this is the second time I've wrecked one of my cars. My pride was hurt, and I didn't like it. Not one bit.
Then it hit me. I realized that I didn't have everything figured out. That I wasn't able to handle the situation in the right way in my own power. That I'm selfish. That I don't always react well. My pride was exposed and I knew it. I was tested and I failed. God showed me what was truly in my heart. He showed me that I still have a lot of pride. I love that He uses the crappy things in life to help us grow and to turn us to rely on Him.
Needless to say, I then quietly/humbly walked around the wreck to see how everyone was. I had hit a girl about my age in an older car. She was still in her car, on her phone, crying. She didn't look up so I went to the truck in front of her (I hit the car in front of me hard enough that it hit the truck in front of her). A lady was in it, also on her phone, also crying. Neither would really acknowledge my presence. So I just moved my car and waited for the police/fire dept to come. What a humbling experience. Any pride I had before that accident was gone. I was humbled.
Needless to say, I learned my lesson: When I think I've got it all figured out, I don't. It's as simple as that. Humility is having a right perspective of who God is and who I am. When I realize that, I realize that I can't know everything (sounds basic just saying it, but I forget this). I am nothing without Him. All the good I do is through Him working through me. I keep forgetting that. I need wake up calls now and again to remind me of those truths. Now that I have no car and no job, I see that. He really does use all things for the good of those who love Him.
He is faithful.
This post was really good for me. I have a hard time sharing about my weaknesses but I know that even in writing this (really long) blog that God has been working on my pride. While writing, I kept catching myself trying to sugar coat my reactions and put me in a good light. I probably still did that, but I hope that you were able to see my heart through it all.
Prayer.
If you could pray for all of my co-workers who lost their job I would really appreciate it. I know that we all need God to provide for us in the coming months, weeks, and days. Thank you.
Also, I am going to Uganda in one month on a project trip with eMi UK to help MAF's airfield base with some new building designs, a new master plan, and water/waste water engineering. If you could pray that God brings all the right people to join the team and that we all are able to get the money we need to go. I had planned on mostly funding the trip, but with the recent loss of my job, I will need to rely on donations to help me reach my goal. I need about $2500 in one month, and I will be able to pay a good chunk of that. But, I will need quite a bit of money in a short period of time. So, please pray for that. Thank you!
God bless!
Cheers.
Monday, May 23, 2011
..Hibernating
Hello again!
I have had so much on my mind/heart/spirit in the last few months but whenever I sat down and tried to blog, I was unable to articulate my thoughts. So, I didn't. However, I believe that is changing. Right now.
I feel like I have been in a state of hibernation.. ya know, just kind of sleeping in a nice, warm cave while food is scarce and it's freezing cold outside (I do my best with analogies, lol). Seriously though, since my time with eMi last summer, I feel that I've been slowly losing that fire that was burning deep in my soul last summer. The fire that fueled my willingness to do whatever God wanted me to at whatever the cost - my time, my resources, my energy, my desires, my everything. I didn't quite realize it until just recently. It slowly crept up on me.
APATHY.
Seriously, it's so sneaky. I didn't even realize that I was giving into it until after the fact. It is so easy to just go with the flow. To not do anything risky. To be safe. To be indifferent. (I may be being a bit over-dramatic here..)
However, God is good and He is faithful to wake us bears after our long sleep (I really should just abandon this analogy.. I'm no C.S. Lewis). Even as I type this, I feel Him stirring my soul. Re-kindling that fire that was once blazing and bright.
I hear Him close by. Can you hear Him? He's here. He's now. He's waking us up. He's telling us how much He loves us! He's calling out to us.
I feel Him near. Can you feel Him? He's so close. Stretching His arms out towards us. Drawing us into Himself. He wants to be with us. He wants to hold us. Why?
LOVE.
He loves us. He desires to be with us. How humbling is that? That the God of the Heavens (click on the link!) would want to be in relationship with us! That the Designer of the universe cares deeply about everything about us. Not just the big things, but even the small things. He cares so much about us:
From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
And with that, I'm done. More to come soon. :)
Cheers.
I have had so much on my mind/heart/spirit in the last few months but whenever I sat down and tried to blog, I was unable to articulate my thoughts. So, I didn't. However, I believe that is changing. Right now.
I feel like I have been in a state of hibernation.. ya know, just kind of sleeping in a nice, warm cave while food is scarce and it's freezing cold outside (I do my best with analogies, lol). Seriously though, since my time with eMi last summer, I feel that I've been slowly losing that fire that was burning deep in my soul last summer. The fire that fueled my willingness to do whatever God wanted me to at whatever the cost - my time, my resources, my energy, my desires, my everything. I didn't quite realize it until just recently. It slowly crept up on me.
APATHY.
Seriously, it's so sneaky. I didn't even realize that I was giving into it until after the fact. It is so easy to just go with the flow. To not do anything risky. To be safe. To be indifferent. (I may be being a bit over-dramatic here..)
However, God is good and He is faithful to wake us bears after our long sleep (I really should just abandon this analogy.. I'm no C.S. Lewis). Even as I type this, I feel Him stirring my soul. Re-kindling that fire that was once blazing and bright.
I hear Him close by. Can you hear Him? He's here. He's now. He's waking us up. He's telling us how much He loves us! He's calling out to us.
I feel Him near. Can you feel Him? He's so close. Stretching His arms out towards us. Drawing us into Himself. He wants to be with us. He wants to hold us. Why?
LOVE.
He loves us. He desires to be with us. How humbling is that? That the God of the Heavens (click on the link!) would want to be in relationship with us! That the Designer of the universe cares deeply about everything about us. Not just the big things, but even the small things. He cares so much about us:
From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
And with that, I'm done. More to come soon. :)
Cheers.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
..Maybe later
This was written for me.. seriously.. spot on:
How Perfectionism Can Lead to Procrastination (and What to Do About It) [Work]
How Perfectionism Can Lead to Procrastination (and What to Do About It) [Work]
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5
Now you know why I've been putting off updating this blog lately.
Cheers.
Friday, February 18, 2011
..Compelled
Since I really like infographics...
This makes me feel extremely blessed, but also extremely compelled to act on this. More on this topic in a later post.
Cheers.
This makes me feel extremely blessed, but also extremely compelled to act on this. More on this topic in a later post.
Cheers.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
..Sleepless
Hello again,
I have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow just to spend the entire day in class and studio. I tried going to bed early but to no avail - my body just isn't ready for me to sleep.. so, I thought I'd share the lyrics to a song that has been on my heart all day since I had hoped to blog about it earlier.
This is my hearts cry out to God:
Draw me close to You!
Never let me go!
I lay it all down again!
To hear You say that I'm Your friend!
You are my desire!
No one else will do!
'Cause nothing else could take Your place!
To feel the warmth of Your embrace!
Help me find the way!
Bring me back to You!
You're all I want!
You're all I've ever needed!
You're all I want!
Help me know You are near!
(I added the !'s for effect)
Now, hopefully my body will let me get some zzz's...
Cheers.
I have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow just to spend the entire day in class and studio. I tried going to bed early but to no avail - my body just isn't ready for me to sleep.. so, I thought I'd share the lyrics to a song that has been on my heart all day since I had hoped to blog about it earlier.
This is my hearts cry out to God:
Draw me close to You!
Never let me go!
I lay it all down again!
To hear You say that I'm Your friend!
You are my desire!
No one else will do!
'Cause nothing else could take Your place!
To feel the warmth of Your embrace!
Help me find the way!
Bring me back to You!
You're all I want!
You're all I've ever needed!
You're all I want!
Help me know You are near!
(I added the !'s for effect)
Now, hopefully my body will let me get some zzz's...
Cheers.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5
Monday, January 17, 2011
..Old into New
Hello there! I know it has been forever since I've been on here, but I'm hoping to change that again... before I get to my blogging, here's an interesting infographic on what happened in 2010:
I think it's interesting how we can try to summarize a year by looking at a range of different areas - design, economics, politics, health, etc. - and turn them into statistics to see how good the year was.
However, when I try to do this with my life in 2010 I see it as a to-do list of things that I had hoped to achieve that I did or did not meet. I also see things on that list that had been checked off that I hadn't planned for at the beginning of the year but were a welcome addition. But, in the end, a list doesn't summarize 2010 well enough for me. 2009 was a year of hard trials for me, and 2010 looks to be a year of transition out of those hard times and into the early stages of God's calling on my life.
Looking ahead at 2011, I have an urge to make a list of all I want to accomplish and then focus on those things. However, I am going to resist temptation and just dive into what God has for me - one step at a time! I don't want to get bogged down by THINGS, but rather focus on HIM. I know - and am still discovering that - when I daily give my life (and TIME) to God, He truly leads me. It is there that I truly live and live to the fullest.
I am eager to step into my final semester of architecture school (I think). I know that if I discipline myself (oh, that doesn't sound fun) and keep my priorities straight through all the business, then it will be a semester that promises to propel me forward into the unknown (my future) with confidence. I am stoked. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me.. and YOU!
Cheers.
-Tim
I think it's interesting how we can try to summarize a year by looking at a range of different areas - design, economics, politics, health, etc. - and turn them into statistics to see how good the year was.
However, when I try to do this with my life in 2010 I see it as a to-do list of things that I had hoped to achieve that I did or did not meet. I also see things on that list that had been checked off that I hadn't planned for at the beginning of the year but were a welcome addition. But, in the end, a list doesn't summarize 2010 well enough for me. 2009 was a year of hard trials for me, and 2010 looks to be a year of transition out of those hard times and into the early stages of God's calling on my life.
Looking ahead at 2011, I have an urge to make a list of all I want to accomplish and then focus on those things. However, I am going to resist temptation and just dive into what God has for me - one step at a time! I don't want to get bogged down by THINGS, but rather focus on HIM. I know - and am still discovering that - when I daily give my life (and TIME) to God, He truly leads me. It is there that I truly live and live to the fullest.
I am eager to step into my final semester of architecture school (I think). I know that if I discipline myself (oh, that doesn't sound fun) and keep my priorities straight through all the business, then it will be a semester that promises to propel me forward into the unknown (my future) with confidence. I am stoked. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me.. and YOU!
Cheers.
-Tim
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