Pictures from my trip!

I finally finished going through all the pictures I have from my project trip to Kenya and Nigeria. Here's a link to the website that I've posted them on if you want to check them out: http://picasaweb.google.com/melhaagsma/EMiTrip. I actually started out with thousands upon thousands of them, but I didn't want to bore you, so I've narrowed it down to just some of the more interesting ones.

I only have 2 weeks left here at EMI, and then I'll be moving back to Seattle. I'm still looking for a job for when I'm done, so please continue to pray that everything will work out with that. I've got a lot of stuff to get done in the next couple weeks, so also pray that I'll be able to wrap everything up efficiently. I've got a lot of fun things planned too. Mostly weekend activities with the other interns. This past weekend my parents and grandparents came to visit, and we had a really fun time. The weather wasn't great, but we still got to see a lot of stuff. I think the highlight was our visit to Bishop's Castle: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2047

Also, I finally found out the total cost of my project trip, and it ended up being about $600 more than what I was originally told. Mostly because we traveled to two countries rather than just one, and also because we visited a lot of ministries during our time there. Anyway, I am now in debt to EMI, and I'm hoping that I can raise enough support to pay that off and possibly get enough money for my last month of rent as well. If you would be willing to donate toward the cause, you can do so on the EMI website by going to their donation page: https://emisecure.org/donate.html. Just fill out your info, and put “Melanie Haagsma-2746” in the designation box.

Hope you all enjoy the pictures! I hope they give you a good idea of what my trip was like and the kind of work we did.

Sorry it's been awhile!

I've been a bit busy lately and haven't had much time for writing on this thing, but here's a quick update of what I've been up to for the last couple weeks:

Most of the interns are back from their project trips now, so I've been hanging out with them again which is always fun. At work I've been going to meetings, writing reports, and working on drawings for our Kenya and Nigeria projects. Bob is hoping we'll be able to wrap up the Kenya one before I'm done at EMI....which is only a few weeks away now. The Nigeria job is going to take a few more months, so I probably won't get to see that completed.

I've also started applying for jobs. Things at Harmsen are still slow, so they don't really have enough work to hire me back. I've been submitting resumes like crazy for the last several days, but haven't had much luck so far. I'm really hoping I can find something in the Seattle area because I'd really like to move back there, but I'm not sure how much longer I should keep hoping for that before I give up and start applying anywhere and everywhere. Anyway, if you could all add that to your prayer list, it would be much appreciated!

On a happier note, Jared (my boyfriend for those who don't know) came to visit me this past weekend. The weather didn't cooperate too well. Friday and Saturday were cold and snowy, but we still had a really good time. And luckily things cleared up on Sunday so we actually got to see the mountains and do some outdoor activities. It was hard coming back to work after dropping him off at the airport on Monday. I wish I could have just gone back to Seattle with him! Living in CO has really made me realize how much I love WA, and I really miss all of my friends and my church and the scenery and even the rain sometimes. Not that CO isn't nice too, but I'm ready to go home.

My parents and grandparents are coming to visit this weekend, so now I have that to look forward to. I have a lot of work to get done before then too, and only a couple more days to do it, so it looks like I'll be staying pretty busy. Thanks for your continued support and prayers!

Back in the USA

It's good to be home. I'm even enjoying the snow. The trip home was actually pretty bad....for me at least. I got violently ill somewhere between Amsterdam and Minneapolis, and spent the rest of that flight and the flight from Minneapolis to Denver throwing up about every 1 or 2 hours. I did get to be pushed around the MSP and DEN airports in a wheelchair though, so that was pretty exciting. Thankfully I'm doing much better now, and I'm very grateful that I wasn't traveling alone. The rest of the team helped me out a lot with carrying my luggage, pushing my wheelchair, getting me drugs and water, etc.

On a happier note, I'm really excited about the work that we were able to do in Nigeria, and even more excited about the work that God is continuing to do through great organizations like Back2Back and Self-Sustaining Enterprises. It was a real blessing to partner with both of these ministries. They are doing great things, and have visions for even better things to come. It made our eMi team proud to be a part of it. Our last day in Nigeria we went to a village way out in the bush for the dedication of a borehole that SSE had just drilled. The villagers threw quite the celebration with tribal dancers and everything. It was amazing to see how something as simple as clean water was such a lifesaving blessing to these people. So many of the diseases that Nigerian children suffer from and often die from are caused by not having access to clean water. I could go on forever about how amazing I think these ministries are, but I'd probably start boring everybody.

4 more days in Africa

We're nearing the end of our time in Africa. I'm ready to be back home, and the sooner I can get out of this heat the better. But I'm going to miss the work we've been doing here and all the people that we've met.

This morning we went to a church service at a pretty large church here in Jos. It was in English which was nice, and they had two choirs, both of which were very good. After church we went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. Nigerian Chinese food is about the same as American Chinese food in case you're wondering.

In other news, we've been getting a lot of work done, and should be in good shape to make our final presentation to the 'clients' on Tuesday evening. That's about all for now. Hope you all are having an excellent weekend!

Hello folks! I'm in Jos, Nigeria now, and will be staying here for about another week.
We're having a good time here, and the work is going really well. I've been helping with the surveying for the past couple days, which involves lots of walking around and fighting my way through brambles, but it's fun, and luckily the weather hasn't been too hot.
This afternoon we went to the village of Kisayhip which is right next to the property that we're helping to develop. We handed out candy and oranges to all the little kids, and of course took lots of pictures of them. They're really cute....one little girl just wanted to hold my hand the whole time. Bob (our project leader) did a magic show that had a Christian message to it (mostly for the kids, but the adults liked it too), and at the end we had about 20 people coming up to accept Christ and have us pray for them. The pastor there said he had never even seen most of those people in church before. It's been pretty exciting to see God working, and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the trip!

Kenya is awesome!

Hey folks, just wanted to quickly update you and let you know that I made it to Kenya safely.
We're having a really good time and accomplishing a lot of work too which is awesome.
This morning was pretty exciting....there were a whole bunch of monkeys playing in the trees and on our roof. They were really fun to watch, and we took quite a few pictures. The baby ones were especially cute. Diane (one of the missionaries here) said that they'll get in the house if you leave the windows open, and they really like to steal fruit if they can find it.
Tomorrow we're planning to wrap up our work here, and then we'll have a couple of days for relaxing and sightseeing before heading to Nigeria.

Visa Update:

We just got a call that our visas are on their way. They should get here tomorrow....just in time!
Thanks for your prayers!