Heading to AP! :)

It's official - my bag is packed, the survey gear is loaded up, and we are ready to head to Andra Pradesh for my first project trip! :)

Driving from New Delhi to Ongole is the equivalent of driving from Chicago to Miami (according to Google Maps).  In other news, I'm bringing Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology to read on the train (no joke). :)

In about 4 hours, our group will leave Delhi on a 26-hour train ride down to Hyderabad (southern India). Then after spending the night in Hyderabad, we'll take another train (and various other forms of transportation) to reach the town of Ongole, where Sarah's Covenant Homes is headquartered.

Sarah's Covenant Homes (SCH) is a Christian ministry that helps children with neurological and development disabilities - children who have been abandoned by their parents and are unlikely to be adopted. The Homes (there are more than one) provide special education, therapy, and medical resources for these kids, lavishing them with the love of Christ. You can see a short video about SCH produced by a former volunteer (not from EMI) by clicking here.

In the past, SCH has rented out space in various apartment complexes in order to house the kids, but the landlords often complain about having "those kinds of people" living there, and they force them to leave, so it's exciting for SCH to be planning a more permanent/stable home for their ministry. They already own the land, they just need EMI to help develop a masterplan for the site, including a few buildings (and of course water distribution and wastewater treatment plans). :)

Over the course of a week, our goal is to meet with the client, verify their current and future needs, and then produce a conceptual design for them. They can then use this design (which includes 3D renderings of what the site will look like) to help do fundraising to make the project happen. If you don't hear from me between now and September 25, no news is good news - it means I'm busy working on the design with the rest of the team! :)

This is a data collector we'll use while surveying the site (it connects to a Total Station - the most important piece of surveying equipment). Perhaps my favorite part is that the data collector uses a stylus. :)

Hopefully I'll have the chance to do more blogging on the train!

Thankful to be in India,

David

[P.S. - for the internet robots: EMI = Engineering Ministries International]