emi: the office

I thought some of you might like a little tour of the eMi office, Colorado Springs.  Every morning I wake up at 6:45am and after hitting snooze twice, I'm up and ready for action.  I get to work around 8:30am and first thing is morning prayer/devotions.  We gather as a staff/interns to read the word and pray for the other eMi offices around the world.

The front desk right after you come in the door.

Then, it's time for coffee.  And since it's usually hot outside already, it's iced and delicious.

I spend the rest of the morning at my desk, working.  Right now I'm drawing a stack of structural details for a project in Liberia that seems like it's never going to end.  I sit in the fish bowl, which is a great place to work.  The ceiling is all skylight above us and it's right in the middle of all the action.  The draw back is, although fun, it's extremely hard to focus.

The fishbowl!  My desk is the one at the very bottom of the photo.

All of the interns each lunch together, except on Thursdays when I have lunch with my mentor, Kate.

The afternoons seem long but when 3:00pm rolls around the interns take a "DP Break," named originally for those getting a Dr. Pepper, but now we just walk to 7e and get a pick me up.  My favorite is Rootbeer with vanilla syrup :)

The rest of the day usually goes by pretty fast and before we know it it's 5:00pm and time to head home.

Flags hang from the skylight.  I've never seen an office with more flags and maps.

I'm leaving for home on August 6 and I'll be driving the 20 hours by myself in my little yellow bug!  Please pray for safety for me on the roads: no mechanical troubles and good weather.  I'm really looking forward to spending a few days at home with family and friends!

i (love) chicago

I'm spending a couple of days in Chicago.  I flew out of Colorado Springs Saturday afternoon (thankfully dodging the storms) and I'll be heading "home" early Tuesday morning.  I don't know if I can really call Colorado home yet... I love Chicago.  A whole bunch.  I've really enjoyed just being back in the city, riding the CTA, catching up with some friends.  I love it here, and it feels like home.

This morning I went downtown to the French Consulate to apply for my visa.  After almost sprinting from the L to the right building, I made it and everything went smoothly.  Now all I can do is pray that I get it back in time to depart on August 17th!

This past week has been challenging.  I'm learning to trust and to let go, faced by challenges that are completely out of my control.  I'm learning about commitment and integrity too.  Knowing that part of growing  up is doing what we say we are going to and persevering through the trials. Because God's at work in the waiting.  Calling is a process.  It's more than just the sending out.  It's a singling out and a standing up.  And all along the way all God wants to do it spend time with us.  Draw us closer into relationship with him.

2 Corinthains 12: 8-9 "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."

Why are you afraid, Gwen?  I've already won.

I have to be reminded of this, a lot.  I slip so easily into thinking my life somehow depends on me.  On my actions, my words and my performance.  But thankfully, it doesn't.  It's not up to me.

chicago weekend

I'm heading to chicago this weekend to apply for my french visa. Although right now I'm just sitting in the colorado springs airport, waiting for the storm to pass.

Please pray for the storms to move quickly and for clear weather so I can get in and out of denver safely tonight!

the hike/neature walk

First, watch this video:

Last Sunday I planned a hike for the interns.  We had originally wanted to go camping, but due to the Colorado Springs burn ban, we wouldn't be able to make a fire.  So we opted for just a hike instead.  We got up early and drove through the mountains to Buena Vista, CO.  

It was a beautiful and fairly warm day, perfect for a hike.  We were planning on 10.5 miles in about 5 1/2 hours, plus lunch at Bear Lake, our destination.  I was the planner of the hike so I registered the group, and we were off.

It was a little tough at some spots as we were gaining elevation and losing oxygen.  But the trail was beautiful.  We were really excited the first time we saw snow.  We thought, 'How neat is that?'  But pretty soon we were sick of snow and we were tromping through it and often our steps would land us in snow up to our knees.

After a few hours there was still no sign of the lake.  We past several hikers who turned back before they made it.  Finally, we stopped at a grassy plateau, and talked with a group who estimated it would be 3 hours more to the lake.  So needless to say we stopped there.

After leaving this spot, we had a little trouble finding the trail.  We had gone of course a little bit when the trees thinned out, so it wasn't clear.  We couldn't really find it, so we started following the river we had loosely followed on the way in.  

At this point, I was freaking out.  I thought we were going in the completely opposite direction.  I was just imagining us getting totally lost, the sun going down, and ending the day getting attacked by a bear.  Not to mention we were all cold and wet from the snow.  I was feeling so alone.  

But I began praying (I'm pretty sure we all were at this point) and not more than 5 minutes later, we stumbled upon the trail.  And we had missed the worst of the snow too!  You're probably thinking, 'Well, that's pretty neat!' It definitely was.  The hike was a huge wake up call that we've never alone.  Even when a situation feels completely hopeless and is completely out of your control, Jesus is sovereign.  He leads us and lays out our path before us, even when we can't see the end.  I'm never alone and I'm never lost.  I'm never on the wrong path because I have the power to call on Jesus and he listens.