5Crawfords

Cute kids in the nearby village - a good way to start any blog post PART IV of VI Saturday February 1 st Yesterday, a chunk of concrete fell off the top of the large thatched roof over the dining hall (there is a 2-foot wide concrete cap at the ridge line of the thatched roof to protect water from getting in). It’s a tall structure (30 feet), so if anyone had been struck it probably would have killed them. Fortunately that was not the case. So today, the ministry hired a contractor to come replace the entire concrete cap. The chunk of concrete that fell off the roof The dining hall - the concrete chunk fell from the peak of this roof and then slid down the back side to the ground. The chunk landed on this patio - fortunately no one was injured The workers were out early in the morning removing the remaining cap, so I got the chance to look at it. It was easy to see the problem. First, the concrete mixture was very weak – I could break small pieces off with my...

Out front of the Show Mercy site PART III of VI Friday January 31 st When Show Mercy Int’l started in Uganda back in 2004, their core mission was started to help the orphaned and abandoned children problem in Uganda (a problem experienced by nearly all of the AIDS ravaged countries of Sub-Saharan Africa). Seeing and meeting so many children without a mom or dad, or a home, tugged at their hearts to the point of compelling them to act. As their vision took full shape after years of working and partnering with a local children’s home ministry, they finally constructed a site of their own in 2011 based on the EMI master plan. As I mentioned before, their 3-pronged ministry approach was to operate children’s homes, mission guesthouses for short-term mission teams, and a medical clinic. Phase 1 of the construction was the mission and long-term guesthouses, and the medical clinic. The public entrance to the medical clinic. The well-manicured and pristine setting at the c...

The Survey Crew's debut album cover (I play a mean prism pole) PART II of VI Wednesday January 29 th I helped our surveyor (Sean Williams from South Carolina) all day today out on the site. It was a very hot and sunny day, and the site is very sloped, so it was a physically exhausting day – but a very fulfilling one! We got most of the survey done (thanks to Sean – he knows what he’s doing for sure!). A completely candid shot - I had no idea my right hand was taking this picture (sorry - there are long periods of inactivity during a survey so 'selfies' help pass the time). But we also enlisted the help of a few of the local guys who work for Show Mercy. Tom and Ronald helped man the rods, and David helped me at the instrument yelling out to the others since our radios weren’t working. :) After spending half the day focusing too much on our work and not on ‘being in the moment’, I finally took the time to start asking David questions. This is what I learne...

Part I of VI Mike and I with volunteer electrical engineer Eric, waiting for the flight to Uganda at Heathrow. On this trip, I’m going to write this blog differently. Instead of a daily journal of x’s and o’s, I’m going to try to convey things I’ve felt God spoke to me, or ways I’ve seen God working, or perhaps things I’ve learned about mission or the ministry we’re working with. Hopefully this will be a blessing! The basics of the trip are – we have a team of 15 engineers, architects and surveyors coming to help a ministry called Show Mercy International. Show Mercy’s motto is to ‘mobilize, empower and inspire people to live on purpose’. They accomplish this through three platforms: children’s homes and programs, a medical clinic, and mission’s teams. This is the second EMI trip with Show Mercy – in 2009 we came and master planned a 25 acres site for mission’s guesthouses, children’s homes, medical clinic and staff housing. That original project is now mostly constructe...

Probably one of our family's highlights here in the UK was visiting the Harry Potter Studios. Tomorrow morning at 5:35am (BST), I head out on the train to the airport to catch our late morning flight to Uganda for my next project trip. On this trip, I'll be working with a ministry called Show Mercy International (SMI). SMI was started a few years ago by an American couple who were captivated by the orphan situation in Uganda. In 2009, EMIUK led a project team to design their 'Field of Dreams' orphanage site. This past Friday, we were invited to attend a 'Burn's Night' celebration from our dear Scottish friends David and Fiona Prentice. It was such a fun night and a great chance to experience a little taste of Scotland. We had fully intended to make it up there while we were here, but sadly time ran out on us. Someday... That site is now partially constructed (we'll be staying in the EMI-designed guesthouses on the site), but they've di...

At the birthplace of Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon. Year two in the UK is going very well – much better than year one, and year one went pretty well! The two major differences this go-around are:  1) Jonah and Graysen are in school, and 2) the boys are signed onto football (soccer) teams. Of course, #1 means that Alisha is no longer home-schooling, and thus has a bit more freedom this year to do things both at home and outside the house.  She is enjoying helping with the Parents and Toddler group at the church, occasionally works in the EMI office, attends all the various school functions for the boys, and keeps up with all the house stuff. Getting ready to Trick-or-Treat after coming up with home- made costumes.  Costumes didn't go over well here as we forgot that Halloween costumes here are judged purely on how scary they are. As One Direction band mates Brodie and Jonah would only be scary if the person answering the door had teenagers. ;) The boys each l...