My husband, Alex and I met studying engineering at Virginia Tech, we were married here at St. Mary’s in July 2021, and we are soon moving out of the area to follow a new calling – one that I’d like to share with you today:
Engraved in our wedding bands is the Virginia Tech motto (Ut Prosim, which means: That I May Serve) as a reminder of how we seek to use our engineering education to serve the Lord. Since growing up in a strong faith-filled and service oriented family, I have always had a deep conviction to use the gifts God has blessed me with to serve others. Short term missions, service trips, and a semester abroad to Haiti, Ghana, and Ecuador strengthened that desire and enabled me to expand my water resources engineering education to focus on sustainable community development and Spanish as well. In a search to connect those passions with my faith, I found EMI - Engineering Ministries International, and I served as an intern in their Nicaragua office in 2019! Working with EMI Nicaragua, I felt such a joy and purpose, the kind of joy that comes from knowing you are a part of God’s wonderful plans and He has started a good work in you that He will fulfill.
After that experience, I discerned to pursue my master’s degree and commit to a longer-term mission after school. So now, I’m excited to share that I will be starting a 2-3 year mission with Engineering Ministries International this August. I aim to use my degree to serve at home and abroad by designing water and sanitation solutions, working towards my engineering license, taking theology classes, and engaging in discipleship. Alex will be finishing his master’s thesis and then working separately, but he is excited to be an active member of the EMI community and assist spiritually and technically, when able.
God hasn’t called us to this mission alone, and we need a team of supporters willing to assist spiritually and financially to make this mission a reality. In order to keep design services affordable for the communities we serve, I am responsible for raising my own salary, and I am grateful for God’s provision through the generosity of donors. I am currently at 54% of the monthly support goal I need to raise by August to start my mission, and I still need about 25 more monthly supporters to join my team. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with me to serve out calling?