Response to Crisis in Haiti

For all those who have asked me for updates regarding the condition of the children at Haiti Children's Rescue Mission, I am thankful to report that all the children are safe, as is Pastor Jean-Fritz, Madame and their small staff of house parents.

I have just received news that a benefactor in Texas has applied to have all the children of HCRM be flown as soon as possible to Texas where they can be cared for while the process of adoption into American families is ongoing. This is wonderful news but as you can imagine, a stressful and vigorous process is needed to ensure the proper and excellent care of each child during this whole process.

Please pray for Pastor Jean-Fritz and Madame as they prepare to part ways with these children and look ahead to receiving many more during this terrible and trying time in Haiti. They still need funds immediately for the ongoing care of these children and also as they look to the future they will need money to construct the orphanage facilities that our eMi team has designed for them.

Please see the Support Us page at www.ourchildreninhaiti.com. Canadian donors will continue to receive receipts for their support through Acitve Christians With A Mission (ACWAM): www.acwam.ca. However, American donors cannot currently receive a tax receipt.

eMi now has two trained first response teams in Haiti. We work in conjunction with Samaritan's Purse and Food For the Hungry. To read more about our efforts go to www.emicanada.org and refer to our news items at the bottom of the page.

Haiti…no…Central Asia…ah…Uganda…Central Asia!

I have now "officially" been the leader of three different teams this Spring. Through it all we prayed for God's guidance in all matters and now that all is resolved, we can clearly see His guidance in all things. The months of project approval, volunteer recruitment and preparations are finally coming to an end: it's now "go time" for the Spring project cycle. First however, much has happened the past six weeks since my last post, so let me fill you in.

SUMMIT MEETINGS IN CALGARY. During the first week of May, five senior staff members of eMi USA came up to Calgary for a series of meetings with our growing staff. From exciting envisioning meetings to dry (but necessary!) administration topics the week was intense but ultimately encouraging. Although legally separate entities, there is no denying the unity of vision and inherent DNA in the ministries conducted under the banner of Engineering Ministries International.

RETURNING STAFF AND FOUR NEW INTERNS. Also in May we welcomed the return of our part-time staffers, Patrick Cochrane and his wife Joan. This year Patrick wears the mantle of Intern Coordinator and has helped to formalize our intern program, using eMi USA as our model and sounding board. Rose (UBC - Engineering), Wes (Royal Military College - Engineering), Sarah (U. of Guelph - Engineering) and Evangeline (U. of Illinois – Architecture), are our four interns this summer. Rose and Wes are traveling with Kevin to Haiti while Sarah and Evangeline are traveling with Steve to Uganda. Our little office is filled to its limits, going from two to eight in just two months!

THREE PROJECTS ON THREE CONTINENTS. Three out of thirteen international projects being conducted under the banner of eMi this Spring cycle is being led out of the Canada office.

Haiti. Kevin, just seven weeks on staff is already conducting his first trip as Project Leader. He is currently co-leading a team with eMi Central America Director, Tom Bastian, to Haiti to design new orphanage facilities for God’s Littlest Angels (http://www.emiworld.org/projectprofile_5429.html). This wonderful orphanage is already home to 200 infants and toddlers and ultimately will have the capacity to be home to 300 infants and toddlers. Besides site planning and building design the team will be exploring wind power technology to reduce the cost of operations for this busy home.

Uganda. Steve, eMi Canada director, will be leading a team to Mukono, Uganda to design a medical clinic and a hospice care home for Reach One Touch One Ministries (ROTOM). ROTOM serves the needs of poor and homeless seniors, an often neglected and forgotten part of society (http://www.emiworld.org/projectprofile_5431.html) when it comes to aid and mercy ministries.

Central Asia. From June 15th to the 26th, I will be headed to Central Asia with a team to master plan and initiate design for a school that serves the educational needs of missionary kids. The parents of the 200 students are missionaries with 34 different missionary organizations. As their parents work to spread the Good News of Jesus to the people of this region, considered the least reached in the world, the students will be looking to this international school to receive an education at Western standards. Our master plan will enable expansion to 500 students and include both boarding facilities and staff housing (http://www.emiworld.org/projectprofile_5430.html).

UP NEXT. Shortly after the return of all teams, the entire staff and interns will be going down to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to help celebrate eMi’s 25^th Anniversary. Not just four days of festivities, the weekend will include workshops, professional development courses, and training sessions for leaders and volunteers of the new Disaster Relief arm of eMi. (http://www.emiworld.org/conference2007.html)

Thank you for coming alongside us on this journey. We are always thankful for you.

Spring Brings New Staff and New Projects

After a Winter of completing projects, raising awareness for eMi Canada and office administration, the arrival of Spring (or at least the promise of it here in Calgary) has brought a season of new beginnings and exciting projects for 2007.

New Staff. The most exciting new beginning is the arrival of Kevin Wiens to the staff of eMi Canada. Kevin is a seasoned Civil Engineer and a veteran volunteer of three eMi projects. He brings experience in both design and management, having worked 11½ years for a multi-office, multi-disciplined engineering/urban planning firm in Fort St. John, B.C. Kevin, his wife Michele and their two daughters arrived in Calgary on April 1^st and already, he is immersed in preparation work for his first project as an eMi team leader. Kevin will be leading a team to Haiti to design new orphanage facilities on a new property for God’s Littlest Angels. Tom Bastian, Director of eMi Guatemala, will be assisting Kevin as he learns the ropes of project leading…eMi style.

Project Approvals. One of my administrative duties has been the role of approving potential projects. Since January I have processed the application for God’s Littlest Angels and now a second project, a new Missionary Kids school in Central Asia, is falling into place and will become my next project. This K-12 school currently educates children from almost 100 families from 34 different missionary agencies.

Central Asia…My Next Project! The school is currently housed in an older building which has been declared not earthquake safe and the property on which it sits is not adequate for expansion. Our project will be to master plan their new property, design a full-facility school for 250-300 children, design for road, power and water/waste water needs, and plan for future boarding facilities and staff housing. Please visit here to see the project description: http://www.emiworld.org/projectprofile_5430.html.

A Busy and Bustling Office. Besides Kevin's and Greg’s trips to Haiti and Central Asia, Steve our Director, will be leading a team to Uganda to design a senior’s care and hospice facility. Beyond the busy preparations for a record three trips in one project cycle for the eMi Canada office, in May we will welcome back Patrick Cochrane, our part-time staffer for the summer months. Along with Patrick we will also welcome four interns. Hailing from the University of British Columbia (Engineering), University of Illinois at Chicago (Architecture), Royal Military College of Canada (Engineering) and the University of Guelph (Engineering), our four interns will be traveling on the three project trips during late-May until mid-June and then assisting with the follow-up work. So in two short months eMi Canada grows from two to eight!

Lots To Be Thankful For, Lots to Pray About. Even as we grow, we continue to pray for wisdom and perseverance. At some point this year we anticipate being granted our own charitable status by the government. As much appreciated as YWAM Alberta has been as our umbrella organization, we would like to release them from that and become independent. Of course with independence come greatly increased responsibility (sounds like me talking to my kids) and a whole new level of administrative work and accountability. However, we look forward to it and are continuing to become prepared for such a time.

Thank you all for your continued prayers, encouragement and support.

A Season Of Missions Fests

Patrick and Steve with a potential volunteer

The eMi year is divided into three project “season” cycles: January/February (Spring), May/June (Summer) and September/October (Fall). The months in-between are filled with both follow-up work on reports and drawings as well as preparations for the next project cycle. Every few cycles each staff team leader will take a break from project leading in order to get caught up on project work and have some time for shared office administration duties.

After three straight projects in 2006, Greg took the Spring Cycle (which in Calgary is something of a misnomer) off from project leading in order to complete an extensive report for Zambia and also spend time “growing” eMi Canada with participation in Missions Fests in both Vancouver and Edmonton. In Vancouver Greg had the opportunity to speak at several youth and adult seminars and although these were not strictly to promote eMi, they did give further exposure to who we are and what we do. In Edmonton Steve had an opportunity to speak directly about eMi at a special seminar session.

Steve and Greg at the eMi booth

Steve and Greg were aided at both conferences by past volunteers and interns (Olwen, Johnny, Freeman, Donald, Rui and Tommy), a present part-time staff (Patrick Cochrane) and in-coming full-time staff (Kevin Wiens). Their participation at the booth helped give Steve and Greg breaks (Saturdays were 13 hour days) and Greg the opportunity to speak at the seminars. Thanks!

We met literally hundreds of people, from those who were eager to be personally involved to many spouses, parents and friends of architects, engineers and those of other related fields. “Oh, I gotta let _____ hear about this” was an often heard phrase. Each Missions Fest we have participated in has resulted directly in the participation of new project volunteers and great connections with numerous potential ministry clients seeking our service.

We intend to continue our participation in these conferences so make a point of coming to see us the last weekend of January in Vancouver (Canada Place) and the final weekend of February in Edmonton (Shaw Conference Centre). As we gain new staff and resources we plan to expand our presence to other Missions Fests across Canada.