4th Quarter - December 2018 Update

The EMI Nicaragua Office (with John, Gala, and I)

Arriving into Managua early last month, if I hadn’t know any better, I’d have thought the country was just as normal and stable as I’d ever seen it. There were no outward signs at all of the political tensions that had erupted earlier in the year. We did pass a couple of pro-government rallies en route from the airport, but that was just a small group of people standing in the traffic circles waving flags and large posters of the President’s face.

Fortunately, the political situation in the country isn’t for us to sort out. Instead, we were coming down to try to help the office chart the way forward given a number of challenges in the past year: the loss of three (of 6) ex-pat staff families, loss of the majority of project work due to the unrest in the country, the loss of the office director who departed in August to help his wife’s ministry in the country, some internal struggles in the office related to the challenge of working in cross-cultural teams, and a few other personal challenges for staff as well. And of course, underlying it all, was a spiritual component that always seems to be a part of such turmoil.

On site at one of the EMI Nicaragua construction sites.

John Dallmann, EMI’s CEO, and his wife Gala, were on this trip too, so it was nice to have enough of a presence there to meet with each staff member and spouse individually. Overall, our meetings went well and we were impressed with the quality of people we have trying to make the office survive despite so many ‘hits’ within such a short time period.

CEO John Dallmann giving his 3rd quarter CEO Update in
our office in Colorado Springs.

Beyond strategizing about project work and office finances, we named a new Office Director, something the staff had been anxious to see happen. We also talked through the need for a whole office debriefing time (and subsequently sent down our HR Director last week) to give the team a chance to talk through and debrief all they’ve been through this past year. All in all, we have high hopes that the office has survived a tough year and are well positioned to turn things around in 2019.

One of the EMI staff got married recently. I like to be sure
to wear my suit coat at least once every other year.

Meanwhile on the home front, we’ve been chugging along towards the upcoming holiday break. Even though it’s her second year back teaching, Alisha is still surprised at how much there is to do as a teacher! You can pray for her – though she loves her 1^st graders, she feels like her main joy in life is to be a wife and mom, so it’s difficult to be working full-time. Outside of work, we have just started a bible study with two other couples from EMI that will be going through ‘The Journey’ for the next year or so.

We've already had more snow this Fall than all of last year,
though unlike up in the mountain, it doesn't stick around long.

Meanwhile, fall in SoCal is very different. We
drove out to spend Thanksgiving with the
extended Crawford family in LA.

My parents with their 5 kids...getting these 7 people all in the
same place is a rarity.

The boys got some good cousin time.

And Alisha baked her very first cherry pie!

Jonah was sad not to make the basketball team at his high school this year, but is enjoying the positive side of having a lot more free time. He’s taken up painting in the past year – you might say he’s discovered the ‘Joy of Painting’…in fact, the soft-spoken, afro-haired PBS show host I used to take naps to every Sunday was how he first started becoming interested in painting! In addition, he’s also started doing some indoor rock climbing and is considering joining a team.

We've been trying to get out for some hikes lately especially
since we're not at a ton of basketball games this year.

See?

Oh my goodness, Brodie snapped this picture when I wasn't
even expecting it. And no, it didn't take 3 takes to get it right.

We've noticed there are rocks in the Rockies.

 Graysen is still playing soccer as his club switched to a 10-month program, meaning 3 practices a week from August through May. Some nights are outright miserable with the Colorado cold! He was also the narrator in the 8^th grade play at his school this past week, ‘Into the Woods’.

The Narrator...or was he just another tree?

Brodie is starting to think about college and is focusing on schools in Colorado. He plans to major in Computer Science. Right now, Colorado School of Mines, Univ. of Colorado, Colorado State, and UC Colorado Springs are his top choices. Beyond that, I’ll be coaching his club soccer team this Spring, and he’s been helping out each Sunday in church ‘running tech’ for all the youth programs.

As for me, I’ve just finished my men’s outdoor soccer season – we made the playoffs but were knocked out this past weekend (in 20-degree weather!) by a team of 20 year olds. (I can barely even remember being 20!) I’m thankful that I haven’t had any major injuries and am able to still play, though it seems each year  I include more and more neoprene as a part of my standard uniform. At EMI, this year wasn’t as bad of a travel year as I only traveled out of the country 3 times. This coming year looks to see the travel ramp back up though. I travel to Canada just after the New Year, and will probably take trips to our offices in the Middle East, Cambodia, and possibly India in 2019.

Day in the life of an EMI meeting in our conference room.

Thank you for following along with, praying for, and supporting our family and our ministry work with EMI for another year. We are very excited at what God is doing at EMI. And on that note, if you haven’t had a chance to glance through this year’s Inside EMI (EMI’s annual magazine), please take time to do so as it does a great job of chronicling some of the recent highlights at EMI around the world. We sent out a copy to all of our financial supporters so if that’s you and you didn’t get one, please let me know!

Merry Christmas and every blessing in the New Year!