Well, when I was considering going with eMi, the thought occurred to me that here was a trip for which I could probably justify the expense. This was not only because it just seemed to fit so well with what God has been doing in my life, but also because I would be using some pretty unique skills, that could maybe justify my $1,500 plane ticket from the States. In some sense, I've been worried that this is a dangerous way to feel. It's like..."Here I am and God is going to use me to do awesome things!" Who am I to say that?
But over the past few weeks, I've actually seen God using my skills in very specific ways to meet needs in the eMi Uganda office - and not necessarily the skills that I expected to be using. Sure, I've been using my training as an engineer to think about water and wastewater systems, but a lot of that has been stuff that I'm learning on the job (there's been a ton of learning, and I love it). But I've also been using a lot of the skills that I picked up from graduate school, of all places! For one, I've been put in charge of editing the report for my project, which includes putting together sections from all of the volunteers on the team. I think a couple years ago this would have sounded dullsville, but it comes pretty naturally after writing my Masters thesis - and I actually kind of enjoy it (especially when I'm editing other peoples' writing rather than my own. This is going to be a super impressive document, and I only have to write 1/10th of it!) At one point, I asked the project leader whether or not we were using the Oxford Comma, and he said "Wow, just the fact that you asked that question means that you're the right person for this job."
But also, some weeks ago I was talking with my supervisor, and he told me that because this project was so large, and at such an early stage, it was very research-intensive, and that it was very well-suited to my skillset. That was really cool to hear! I've even been able to use some of my chemical engineering background while researching possibilities for iron treatment on-site.
Finally, I've had extra time, so recently I was given a new assignment: to work on the draft of the civil engineering design guide. We have one professional civil engineer on staff, and this has been on her plate for almost five years, and she's leaving at the end of the term. So she really wants to get it done, but she's also swamped with work. And most of the outstanding things are straight up research assignments - again, my forte after three and a half years in graduate school. I spent a couple of hours looking for rainfall data one Thursday, and found a pretty neat dataset that might make finding precipitation data easier for anywhere in the world - she was really excited when she saw it.
So. Once again, it seems like God is taking my questionable career choices (in this case, going straight through graduate school instead of stopping to get some experience, until now) and using them to fine-tune me for a role He wants me to play. And all I can say to that is...well, it certainly wasn't my idea for this to happen. God set this up, not me. So I can be grateful that He is using me, even when it feels like I'm just kind of stumbling along.
But that's not all, because this goes both ways. Being at eMi has really blessed me - both professionally and personally. Seeing the examples of the North American staff here - whether they're here long-term or just for a year - has given me new insight into what it means to be a missionary. Seeing the examples of the project trip volunteers, who were only here for two weeks, has given me new insight into what it means to be a professing Christian while also a Stateside professional engineer (when I go back through our project archives, I keep finding some of these people!). Seeing the examples of our local staff has given me hope for diverse partnerships in the Body of Christ. And all of them are wonderful role models for Christian living. Also, I've by and large enjoyed the work I've been doing - while still getting distracted by interesting research problems - and still recognizing that it's work, and it can't save me. So I'm learning about my own temperament and inclinations in different areas of work as well.
I don't know what's going to happen after this term, but right now it feels like God has brought eMi and me together very purposely at this time, in this place, and given us very complementary needs and gifts. And that's a really cool thing to see.
Some pictures to make this post more visually appealing:
This is the view out of my office window. Actually, it's out of my window - my mentor, with whom I share an office, has his own window, too. I am living the dream!
