Civil engineering lessons, wicked hikes, and the like

I love working at eMi! The office is a really fun place to be. We start everyday in prayer which has been so excellent. Not only does it get me connecting with the Lord before I do much else for the day (which I'm hoping will also become a disciplined habit of mine), it is also a really unique experience to pray with all my co-workers, from CEO to intern. We had intern training session scattered throughout the week, including a couple days of AutoCAD exercises and water/waste water system designs. We even have a "group project" on designing water source and septic systems in a developing country, with a presentation this Friday and everything! Working closely with the engineers is another great aspect of this internship that I'm grateful to get to experience.

Friday was a pretty notable day. Every Friday the interns take shifts serving lunch at the nearby soup kitchen, The Marian House. I absolutely loved this experience--it's one of my favorite ways to serve. God has used my past experiences (serving meals at Our Savior's shelter in Minneapolis) and family situations to grow my heart for serving people less fortunate, economically, than me. We got to eat lunch and get to know some people, and I like the fact that we get to go back every week to continue to build relationships with people.
After lunch, a fellow intern, Chris, and I went to Walgreens to get our immunizations. We had called ahead so it would go a little quicker, but turns out that doesn't mean much. We spent a good 3 hours waiting and finally getting our doses of Yellow Fever, Hep A, Typhoid and Polio shot into us! Haha, we probably know every isle of Walgreens by heart, now, if you're every wondering where anything is (since all Walgreens are laid out the same. We know this because we had to go to two different stores to get all of our shots).
Due to our three-hour "lunch break", we stayed late at the office. This was fun because we ended up skyping our friends and fellow interns in the UK office! And, of course, getting work done.. ;)
Friday night the entire office went out to the Colorado Sky Sox baseball game. This was so fun! We got to all hang out casually and meet a bunch of our co-workers' families. I've decided if one works for eMi, they are also blessed with adorable kids. hahaha. The Sky Sox got beat pretty badly, but there was a sweet fireworks show afterwards! So, all in all, Friday was an eventful but really cool day.

Photo-op on the way up to the Reservoir!

Saturday was also packed. We helped Danna, eMi's intern coordinator, move in the morning. Then we hiked to Stanley Reservoir, in attempt to find somewhere to swim! I've discovered that lakes are hard to come by in Colorado, which was a little hard to wrap my head around coming from Minnesota where there are like 10 beaches in a 10 mile vicinity. So, we chose Stanley Reservoir purely because it was a hike with a lake at the end of it. When we told the staff we were going there, their reaction was, "that's a little intense!". And we found that it indeed was a pretty intense hike. Lots of steep uphills, but very beautiful! The swim at the end was a bit chilly---a little too chilly for the southerners---but totally worth it! The hike and swim took all afternoon, so afterwards we decided to get some food and have a relaxing movie night at one of the intern houses. It's been fun doing everything as a group this past week and weekend because this week the first project trip leaves, and from there on out there will always be at least one intern out of the country until November. So this has been good bonding as a group, and pretty fun, too!

Stanley Reservoir

This morning we went to a great church called Calvary Worship Center. A very alive, authentic, and diverse congregation! I would describe it as a southern-baptist-meets-northern-evangelical-free fusion. Pretty sweet.

The rest of today I'm spending catching up with family and friends, and updating this and pictures! I'm also working on my monthly update.

As for financial support, God has been so faithful in supporting me financially through so many of you! Thank you, again, for that. This week I only got a recent estimate of my project trip costs, but it seems to be higher than anticipated, so I'm still raising support to cover living expenses after I return. I will update more about that when I have more precise numbers. But I'm comforted by Jesus' words in Matthew 6:25-34:

"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 

Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?

Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

(30)And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?'

These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows your needs. 

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."