The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

I will be flying to Guatemala early next week for an internship with Engineers Without Borders (EWB) while also attempting to keep a blog with minimal internet access along the way.

The central EWB-Guatemala office is located in La Esperanza, Quetzaltenango, which is one reason I decided to title my blog “Tenemos Esperanza,” which is Spanish for “We have hope.” It is also named after the song I heard at Urbana 2018, a global student missions conference.

EWB is a non-profit humanitarian organization that partners with developing communities worldwide to improve their quality of life through engineering solutions. I have been very involved with EWB at Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), helping to design and build two bridges, a schoolhouse, and a retrofit of a cardamom spice dryer. It has been quite the adventure with some great stories to prove it. I have fallen in love with the organization and with Guatemala.

I have slowly been saying goodbye to friends and family and trying not to pack last minute. This process has been slightly daunting, but overall I AM EXTREMELY EXCITED!

Thank you for your support, encouragement, and prayers in my journey and life thus far, and keep checking in with me through these blogs. If you would like to continue supporting me, here are some prayer requests:

• For a safe flight and travels through the country to my homestay
• For my luggage to arrive with me (and good spirits if it doesn’t)
• For confidence in my Spanish speaking ability
• Para la esperanza en los corazones de los guatemaltecos y en la misión de EWB (for hope in the hearts of Guatemalans and in the mission of EWB)