Next Stop Urubamba, Peru

Well it is that time. My 10-day project trip to Urubamba, Peru to design a campus Master Plan and prepare Construction Documents for the Church and Dormitory facilities for the Seminario Evangelico Bautista Independiente officially begins this Friday! This seminary project once completed will be used to train pastors to reach the Quechua people of the central Andes mountain region. Thank you all for the love and support that has made this great adventure possible.We will be working in Urubamba, Peru in the Urubamba Valley of the Andes Moutain Range. Please keep our team in your thoughts and prayers the next two weeks as we prepare and go to serve the people of Peru.

Urubamba, Peru

 

Yo hablo Espanol !!

Its official I graduated from my 40 hour introductory Spanish course on Friday!! I have learned a lot but I have a long way to go. I have been reminded the last two weeks of the respect I have for people who can speak multiple languages. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to practice and learn the Spanish language. The last two weeks have been full of exciting adventures and I am looking forward to a few days of a slower pace that two of my fellow interns are not able to enjoy. They left for their project trip to Mexico at 4 AM this morning! The relaxing will not last long unfortunately! We are bound for Urubamba, Peru on Friday!! You can read more about the project at the following link.

http://www.emiamericalatina.org/projects/project_7089_EN.php

Language school was intense. Class was from 8-12 each day Monday-Friday for two weeks straight. However, it also included several opportunities to be immersed into the finer things that Costa Rica has to offer. We learned a little Costa Rican history, got a taste of the traditional Costa Rican dances (salsa and merengue), shopped at the Atenas fresh produce market, and toured a coffee production facility. That's right some of your local Starbucks coffee may have been produced right here in my back yard. We also spent the Saturday between classes swinging through the trees on a canopy tour and visiting a nearby beach, Playa Jaco!

Coffee Beans

Playa Jaco

I cannot believe that I have been away from home for almost one complete month now. I am looking forward to settling down in Costa Rica and becoming accustomed to everyday life here. To this point it has seemed somewhat artificial with all of the orientation activities and schooling. In the past two weeks I have attended my first two church services and first Bible study all in Spanish. It is amazing seeing the passion for God in other peoples lives in an amazing new context. What has amazed me the most is the great passion that I have experienced from some of the younger generation of believers that I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet here in Atenas. Life here is much different than home and truly makes one appreciate the everyday things like a car to drive, hot water to shower in, and fast food restaurants just around the corner. However, here I am never far away from a beautiful mountain scene, a fresh fruit drink, and people who go out of their way to ensure that our experience in there homes is a good one.

I have had the opportunity the last couple of weeks to explore many of the local restaurants with my fellow interns, as well as, people watch in the park, enjoy a granizado (picture coming soon), try to teach a couple of ticos to play basketball, and spend time with my tico family and their friends. I was even fortunate enough to catch the Superbowl enjoying homemade pizzas with the interns and staff at Micah and Beth's outdoor pizza oven behind their house (I now have a future project to build).

Look Mom No Hands!

 

 

Our Classroom

 

 

Large Tree at the School 

Please keep me in your prayers this week as I will be packing and helping to make final preparations for our project trip to Urubamba, Peru as well as spending my first official week in the office. Keep our team of 16 people in your prayers as we work to complete designs for a future baptist seminary in the coming weeks and months. I am excited for the opportunity that we are going to have to help provide facilities necessary to train pastors for the people of Peru! Thank you for all of your love and support!

Mi Casa Away from Home

For those that have been asking here are a few photos from my new home in Atenas, Costa Rica. My family is great. This is their home that they have so graciously accepted me into. Life here is a little different as you may guess from the pictures below. Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I continue to adapt to my new surroundings and that my bond with my new family will continue to grow. Also, my fellow interns and I will be beginning language school on Monday. Please pray that this will be a very productive time and that we would all be able to acquire the language quickly. I am able to understand my family pretty well, but they speak almost zero English. It is very humbling when a five year old can speak better than you can!! We had a great day today on our first Saturday together. I was able to help wash the family car and play frisbee with my little brother until we got it stuck on the roof. We also played outside with the water hose while washing the car. My brother and sister had great fun spraying me and of course I got them back, but Dad had the last word and sprayed us all!! Its almost dinner time, so that is all for now!! Stay tuned! There will be many great adventures yet to come!!
                                                                          

 

Our Front Door

My Bedroom (That's All There Is and There Ain't No More)

Toucans in Our Backyard

My Brother Henry and Sister Eimy in My Boots

Eimy and Moli (Our New Puppy)

Bananas in Our Backyard

 

The Widowmaker aka Water Heater (Currently Broken)

Support Update

Hey Guys! Well my first week of orientation in Costa Rica is over and language school begins on Monday. This weekend I am spending time with my Costa Rican (Tico) family. My father is a pastor here in the local church. He and his wife have two children, mi hermano (brother) Henry and mi hermana (sister) Eimy. I will be posting pictures very soon. I wanted to take this time to update everyone on how my support raising is going. Currently I have received approximately $7500 in support for the next six months. Last week I was given the final amount that I would have to raise to cover the expense of my internship. The total was increased to $9500 due to increased cost of airfare, etc. I know that God has prepared the hearts of each one of you who have so generously donated and I also know that He will supply all of our needs. As I will be working closely with one of EMI's disaster response coordinators there is also the possibility that I could participate in a Disaster Response project if the opportunity arises. Again I would be responsible for raising support to cover the expense of any such trip above and beyond what I am already committed to raise. I trust and pray that His will is going to be accomplished through this experience. Thank you again for all of your support and prayers! Stay tuned for pictures and more exciting stories!!

WHERE DID THE TIME GO ?!?!

Costa Rica Bound!!! Orientation is over, next stop San Jose! The last several weeks have flown by. This week we stayed in Colorado Springs with 26 interns learning about EMI as well as learning and sharing our strengths, spiritual gifts and testimonies. We played volleyball, went hiking and rock climbing, and shared great times of worship and prayer for each other. Please keep all of our group members in your prayers as we each depart to serve in our respective offices and leave to visit our project sites. Please pray for our families as they will not see many of us for the next 4-6 months. Pray for our ministry partners as they prepare to host us and for our project teams that we would be efficient in completing our tasks. Thank you all for your prayer and support. Pics and more info will be coming soon!!! Almost time to board!! Hasta luego!!

November is Over Halfway Gone!!

I have not been able to update this in a while due to the fact that I am busy trying to finish all of my requirements for graduation at Clemson. Senior project reports are due on Monday before Thanksgiving so it is coming down to the wire. I want to say thank you so much to all of those who have contributed towards this internship so far. The responses have been great so far but I still have a long way to go.

I have been wanting to update this for a while now to talk a little bit more about where I will be and what exactly I will be doing since I have received several questions about it thus far. On January 15, I will begin a week long orientation with EMI in Colorado Springs, CO. From there I will fly to Costa Rica where the office that I will be working in is located. (a map of the area is shown below)

Once in Costa Rica I will attend two weeks of language school to help prepare me for life in Costa Rica. While in Costa Rica, I will travel to a project site somewhere in Central or South America or possibly Haiti ( trip assignment have not been made yet) to help with a Conceptual design of a project that has been selected for the site. One to two weeks will be spent at the project location before returning to the office in Costa Rica to help complete the designs for the project. The majority of my time in Costa Rica will be spent working in the office, drafting drawings, working with the designers, etc., as well as working in and around the local community.

Please pray for me as I continue this fundraising effort, that the necessary funds for me to complete this assignment will be provided and also that God would continue to prepare me for this journey He is leading me on.

In His Hands

Welcome

Welcome to my blog Engineering for Him where you will be able to follow my experience in Costa Rica with Engineering Ministries International. I plan to keep this page updated with information regarding my fundraising efforts and eventually my experiences in Costa Rica. Please bear with me as this page is still in infancy, but I hope this will become a place where everyone can keep up and stay in touch with me on this journey. I hope that you will check back often as I will do my best to keep this page current.

Tripp