The Project

                Africa Renewal University, ARU (formerly Gaba Bible Institute), is a Christian University in Uganda, who are becoming one of seven accredited universities in the country.  Their primary focus is  “Equipping Christian leaders in Africa for the transformation of society.”  ARU is a Ugandan founded and run university with one fulltime missionary from the states.

see ARU (GBI's) Facebook page or http://www.gbiuganda.org/ for more info.

EMI Team

ARU has recently purchased new property in Buloba, Uganda.  There are current buildings have a capacity of 300 students, and ARU is looking in the future to have upwards of 700 students.  That is where EMI comes in as a supporting ministry.  Our team of 10 Architects and Civil Engineers (among other disciplines) flew over for two weeks to complete a master site plan for the expansion of this campus.  This included two more “campuses” of classrooms, an administration building, a chapel, staff housing, a football pitch (soccer field), and a library.
 

Master Plan (White buildings are existing)

 Perspective Rendering

Engineers: Mike, Rhet, and Jonathan at work

"Electrical Hub"

Rhet and I working some Civil details

It’s crazy, we basically get about 6 months of architecture and engineering done in a week and a half.  So the majority of our time is spent in some kind of makeshift office (in a third world country) designing and calculating a master plan and civil details. 

Me, Phil, and Ben (volunteer) doing percolation tests.

The work that Phil (the other intern) and I did was usually less specific, and more of a supporting role to the design professionals.  We did some water testing in the area, percolation tests (for septic leach pits), some final surveying of the site, and other odds and ends jobs.  One main job of ours was to make sure we understood everyone’s part so that, when we came back to Colorado Springs to finalized and compile everyone’s work, we would have a good idea of what they were doing.

Brad (project leader) at the final presenation

                At the end of our time there, we have a large presentation to the university board, to present our design to them.  Throughout the design, we only had one contact from the board, Jeff, and he was the one American missionary.  So going into the presentation, we were a little nervous that everyone may not be on board with our design.  But thankfully, Jeff had done a great job portraying the needs of the university to us, and our professionals did a great job designing to fulfill those needs. 

                So now, two months after the trip, our project is in the final stages and we should start publishing next week.  The grand opening of the new site was on April 7^th and ARU has already started to take steps toward our design.  The well was drilled, grading of the site was started, the new kitchen was being finished and the latrines for the dormitories are in progress.

EMI Videos

Here are some likes to some videos done by other organizations featuring eMi.  This will give you a great feel for the projects that eMi does.

Kenya Relief - eMi video

eMi - East Africa - Construction Management

Living like a Ugandan

I write that title to try and get you a feel for ‘poor living’, but in all reality we were living like kings in comparison to even the wealthy Ugandans. 

                Sleeping:  Nine men in one room never makes for a good night of sleep.  My bed is a normal steel frame with a wood plank and 3 inches of foam on top.  Every time I flip over I’m sure to wake everyone with a loud screech. Two nights of rain on the tin roof, and to put it as Jeff would (a missionary and our main contact for the project) when it rains, it’s like a fire hose. And, on the opening morning I was privileged to wake up with a friendly and rather large spider inside my mosquito net (a little ironic… I thought it was supposed to keep bugs out).

                Food: Rolex (rolled eggs) every morning (with that African instant coffee that I just seem to love).  Rice, beans, potatoes (they called them irish), metoke’ (like cooked plantains), poshoe (like grits), one bite size chunk of gristly meat, and g-nut sauce (… oh, the g-nut sauce…) everyday for lunch and dinner.  G-nuts are ground nuts (basically peanuts).  I have no idea why this soupy purple sauce was called g-nut sauce. I believe that it was largely eggplant based.  About half of us, along with half of the Ugandan staff, were sick one day.  All of the Ugandan guards said it must have been the g-nut sauce the night before.  I choose to stay away from the g-nut sauce after that.  My face about sums it up it the picture above, and I think that may have even been the g-nut sauce night.

The Kitchen

                Bathing: 1. Find a jug, soap, and bucket.

                                2. Fill jug at water storage tank (the only source of water)

                                3. Haul jug down to shower stalls

                                4. Now that you’re hot and sweaty, strip down and splash yourself.

                                5. Apply soap

                                6. Splash yourself again.

                This sounds like a lot of complaining, but I actually didn’t mind it. Simple living, refreshing outdoor baths, and most of our team really dreaded the meals, but I found them to be not half bad.  I was actually really thankful to live (a little bit) more like a Ugandan.  Humbling. And it allows for a better experience of what living is like for probably half of the world.

                Even with all of that, I will mention again that we lived like kings, in comparison to everyone else.  It seemed we drank more water in a day than the average Ugandan does in a week.  We had our emergency trail mix and beef jerky to snack on.  Our work was sitting in the office while Ugandans carried lumber up the steep embankment on their heads.  All of our meals where cooked for us (thanks Sam; the majority of a Ugandan’s time is spent preparing meals).  And a lot of the Ugandan workers were working separated from their families in order to provide and send money home (at a rate of 2 dollars a day, which was pretty good in relation to the majority).

Destination: Uganda

January 27^th – February 9^th 2011

How am I to type up a small blog about a two-week trip to Uganda, Africa?  It’s funny, when I get back to the EMI office in Colorado Springs everyone says “Hey, and welcome back.”  Just like it was not a big deal.  You know not like it changed my life or anything.  But I don’t blame them, about half of the office just got back from destinations across the globe; just another day of an international Christian design organization.

I step off the plane deep into the night after back-to-back 8 hour flights and it feels like I jumped in a hot tub.  The hot humidity was foreign to me after a winter in Wisconsin and then two weeks in dry Colorado Springs.  We walked through the Entebbe Airport and packed our stuff into a van and a Land Cruiser, but it wasn’t until the drive that the memories of a third world African country became a reality. 

You’ve seen pictures, you’ve seen documentaries, but it’s different when you’re there.  It’s no longer a picture on your television screen, but actual men and women and children living on the streets and in what we call shacks for homes.  I’m captivated by the foreign night life of people hanging out on the streets and in the markets, mostly in the dark.  All of the training we had at orientation about culture and the complexities of poverty flood my head and it seems overwhelming.  But life goes on in Uganda, so a large bump in the road (and they are often) wacks my face against the window I’m gawking out of and I’m back in reality.  We pull into where we are staying in the black of the night, unload our junk climb under a mosquito net and crash.

Only to be woken up by the rooster crow at 4 am.  I lay in bed, pondering what the next two weeks will entail.  A sunrise greets us in the morning to display the beautiful landscape our project sight is on.

More to come on life like a Ugandan, the project, and what God did in our lives on the trip.

Engineering Ministries International

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 round the world step out of poverty and into a world of hope.

http://www.emiworld.org/  

I started a mechanical engineering internship with EMI on January 15, 2011. I was really searching for a way that my talents could be used as an engineer for the Kingdom of God (and these things seemed on opposite ends of the spectrum).  But, wow, can they be united!  EMI has such an amazing niche in ministry.  They provide free technical support to empower ministries all around the globe.

I hope to write and keep everyone informed of what God is doing through me at EMI and to share what I have been learning in my walk with the Lord.

THE BLOG

Hi and welcome.   So this blog is to just share about my internship with Engineering Ministries International (EMI) and what the Lord is teaching me.  I ask that you would pray for me, EMI, and Uganda as you read.

Thanks so much for everyone who supported me financially.  My work at EMI is as a volunteer so I completely rely on your support!  Your support goes to my project trip (to Uganda) costs, tuition (office and overhead cost), and my living expenses (rent, food, gas, etc). Thanks so much.

On that note I am still in need of some support, so if you feel led, you can give at www.emiworld.org. Click on “Donate” and put “Alex Schmidt” in the designation blank.

God, I pray that you would use me.  I pray that you would use this blog for your glory.  I pray that you would impact the one who read it.  Bring them closer to you.  Challenge them.  Change them. Work in my heart to align me with your ways.

Amen and Amen.