Goodbye Uganda

Stephanie and I are now leaving Uganda, with no immediate plans to return. So as I leave Uganda, I thought I would share some of my thoughts regarding our time here. Professionally, working for eMi has been tremendously encouraging. I have grown a lot as an employee and hope to continue growing in Colorado Springs. There were several factors involved here, but I think chief among them were my fellow interns. Seeing their strengths encouraged me to try harder. Getting direction and guidance from such wonderful project leaders was also a strong component. On a personal note, I think the main thing I’ve learned has been what I take for granted regarding "needs." When I go back to America, and there is always running water, electricity, nice roads, families of four who live in 5-bedroom homes, couches, wide screen TV’s and grocery stores, I hope I can remember Uganda, where none of those things were available on such a wide scale. I hope I can remember that my per diem to cover food was more than typical worker’s daily wage. I hope I can remember families of six sharing a single room home that is less than a hundred square feet. I hope I can remember how privileged my life is in America, and thank God for it. I am curious if a life in America is for Steph and I. While I lived in America after college, I grew restless and ambitious, leading me to an internship with eMi. Will I get restless and ambitious again? Does God want me to live in the USA for the rest of my days or does he have something else in mind for me? I’ve never felt so unsure about the future as I do now, it is partly liberating, and terrifying. But God is a good God and I am certain that if I put my faith in Him, things should turn out ok. While I’ve been here, God has shown me that I am entirely too hard on myself. I’ve always had self esteem issues. God’s been showing me I am a good person through the wonderful relationships I’ve made. My friends here really like me. I haven’t felt this accepted by a group of people in years, if ever. People are constantly telling me that they will miss me, and that the office will not be the same without me. The part of me that thinks I’m an awful person can barely believe them, but they mean it. I will really be missed here at eMi EA. If I believe Jesus really can change lives, I also must believe that he can change my life. So now I hope and pray that God will give me a better self image. So I think about all God has done for me during my time here and I think about all the laughs I’ve had with the friends here, and then I remember the fact that I’m leaving soon. It almost brings tears to my eyes. I love Uganda, I love the people here, I hope God brings me somewhere else (or back here) where I love the work, people, and place as much as I do Uganda, but I don’t know if that’s possible. But once again, if I trust in Him, I’m sure I’ll be in good hands. Goodbye to Uganda. Hello to Colorado Greg

Support Update #8 – Project Trip Report - Iganga

The Iganga project trip was successful, though there were a few design challenges. The purpose of the project was to design a secondary school for 300 students who live on campus. The campus will be funded by a retired Irish couple who came down to share their vision for the site with us. As I mentioned earlier, the design challenges were numerous. First of all, the property had power lines running through the middle, meaning we couldn’t build buildings 15 m on either side of the power lines, which eliminated 20% of the site. Then we discovered a spring in the middle of our site, further limiting what we could do. Our architects had to be creative and strategic in their placement of the buildings, but they got it done. I was charged to work on both the water and waste water, which I had never done before. My only instructions were a previous eMi project report as a go-by along with a design guide, but I managed to get it suitable for the project presentation. On the relational side of things, Heather and I had a lot of fun getting to lead worship during the week. I forgot what a joy it is to lead worship. Heather danced with the Ugandan choir on Sunday morning, which I am certain will be talked about for years. A girl named Norah and I translated the song "I will worship" into Luganda so we could have cross cultural worship. All in all, the project was a success. I am very sad that I don’t get to stay with eMi for a few more weeks to finish the project, but was glad to be a part of the beginning of it. Heather Dancing with the Choir Multicultural Worship Our whole team