Orientation week

I spent the last seven days week at The Hideaway retreat centre in Colorado, USA, in a very beautiful landscape of mountains, foothills, snow, and only one species of tree.  With about twenty staff, long-term volunteers and other interns, I experienced 'orientation' for my time serving as an engineering intern with Engineering Ministries International Canada (eMiC).  Orientation included talks about the scope and history of eMi's work and how engineering and architecture in the 'majority world' (developing countries) differs from the North American practise we all learned in university.  We also did some fairly insightful personality tests and had talks about cultural sensitivity/awareness/understanding to help us be self-conscientious as coworkers and as foreigners in numerous countries where opportunities for misunderstanding abound.  There were some games and athletics included too.

Orientation week being completed, my fast-made good friends and I have spread out across five continents to continue learning how eMi does its work.  eMi has offices in Canada, the USA, England, India and Uganda, among other places, and is working toward opening three more.  Each office recruits and sends out teams of volunteers, most of them qualified as architects or engineers, to help Christian ministries ("clients") in need of design help for site planning, property development and infrastructure work.  Some of the "clients" this cycle are in Ethiopia, Gabon, Tanzania, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and my team is working (from Calgary) with a ministry in Haiti.

I have to say, I enjoyed air travel tremendously.  Intern Program Director Carl managed to get me window seats on all four planes to and from orientation, and it wasn't wasted on me.  It was my first time flying, as I've explained about ten times to different people.  Apparently that's unusual at my age.  In any case, it gladdens the heart to find that adulthood doesn't mean having nothing left to wonder at.

The Black Forest―Really looks black from the air.

Pike's Peak (Sam's photo)―Visible from The Hideaway, both out the window and in several paintings. 

Downtown Colorado Springs

A bouldering wall at the climbing gym we went to

Driving into Monument

An "album cover" photo take (by Kesley?) as part of a "photo scavenger hunt" 

The blindfolded jigsaw.  The pieces have writing on the bottom, presumably for some other activity.  (Carl's photo?) 

Morning twilight as Marcie, Molly and I arrive at the Colorado Springs airport after orientation

Sunrise at the Colorado Springs airport

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast."
Ps. 139