5Crawfords

Summer kicked into gear with our niece Holli's wedding to new nephew James in Southern California. So if you haven’t been tracking very closely, we generally try to post an update every 2-3 months. Sometimes, given the normal rhythms of how EMI works with its project cycles and so forth, on top of the bigger picture things we’re undertaking (like starting new offices, etc.), two months seems like a tad too close together since I’m acutely aware of the potential for those of us working in missions to be overly focused on and excited about every last detail of our work! Don’t get me wrong – we feel so loved and supported by our team of prayer and financial supporters who are every bit as much a part of our work with EMI as we are and we have never been given the ‘vibe’ that we’re annoying anyone (well done on hiding it if that’s ever been the case!). But nonetheless, I am always thinking about what to communicate and strive to do that in as concise a manner as possible! ...

Brodie and I earlier this month, setting out for France. Personal Update (Don't miss the ministry update at the bottom, below all the pictures!) This has been my heaviest travel year yet since I joined EMI, with 3 international trips in the first 5 ½ months of 2017. Looking ahead, I have 2-3 more before the end of the year – possibly a trip somewhere in August, then Nicaragua in September, and a multi-office stop (likely in Africa) in November. The bride and groom - John & Celine The day we arrived, John spent the day with us getting us oriented since he lived in Paris for 18 months when he attended language school. If you know me well, then you know that the travel is both the best and worst part about our ministry work with EMI. It’s the best part because it allows me to be directly involved with our ‘front lines’ work around the world and because I get to interact with people from any and every culture. But it’s the ‘worst’ part too because I am w...

Dubai On our trip to Uganda earlier this month, Alisha and I passed through Dubai for the first time. For those of you who don’t know Dubai very well, it is the capital city of one of the 7 emirates that make up the country of the United Arab Emirates. In recent times, it has become one of the world’s foremost economic powerhouses and centers for international trade due in large part to its central location near the entrance to the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Sea (the northern portion of the Indian Ocean). Over the last few decades, Dubai has been surrounded by (but largely uninvolved in) many of the world’s most difficult political and military challenges that have been spread across much of the Middle East. Seeing this place was an eye-opener. At one level, the extreme wealth of the city is unmistakable. We had an overnight layover on the way over, so to help us stay awake and get a jumpstart on our internal clocks adjusting to Uganda time, we decided to take a short to...