Developing Leaders... "Why do I have to deal with people, I just want to design a septic tank!" This was Chad's sentiment many times earlier in his career. He had trained to be a civil engineer, but often he found himself in leadership positions working on personnel issues instead of designs he could figure out with a calculator and spreadsheet. Fast forward 20 years later and those earlier sentiments have fallen to the side and he hasn't designed a septic tank in years, but is so much more fulfilled in his role now than ever! Through attending seminars, reading books and being mentored by many others, he has grown more comfortable working with and developing people. His days are now spent working exclusively with the younger leaders within EMI. As Regional Director, he provides support for 3 offices that have 40 people with an average age of 32! Chad will be 50 later this week, so he has nearly two decades of mistakes and lessons learned that he can share with those in the various offices. Last November, we were blessed to be able to go to the Middle East to help in the leadership transition in that office. The current Office Director who has been in the role for nearly 10 years will be leaving EMI and handing over his duties to someone new to the role. Chad was able to help work through a transition plan, prepare the departing staff for their upcoming transition to their passport country and help the office plan for the new Office Director. For Thanksgiving, we spent time outside of Delhi with the India office staff as they planned for the upcoming year. Chad was able to teach about office finances and being wise in how we spend our time and resources. The conversations during the week were amazing as we marveled at God's faithfulness to the office, talked about future directions the office could take and how to address some of the struggles they are facing. So, no septic tank designs, no time spent in AutoCAD and no spreadsheets needed, but lots of great conversations with PEOPLE! It is ironic how the Lord works, but His plans are perfect! If you are interested in joining Chad in mentoring some of EMI's young leaders, we are looking for people in many different fields! Please check out this link for more details. Practicing Hospitality When we moved to Delhi we were anticipating finding a small one or two bedroom apartment and enjoying the inexpensive rent and quiet house. What we ended up renting was a large 3 bedroom apartment and we had no idea what we were going to use the extra bedrooms for. We began to offer housing to short term visitors to the EMI office and others passing through Delhi. It has been amazing to see how many different people God has brought to us! When we were in the Middle East a pastor and his family of 6 stayed at our place as they just arrived in Delhi and were looking for an apartment. A French cyclist was passing through on his way from France to New Caledonia and spent a couple nights resting his legs. We had another staff couple from EMI with us as they visited the office. It has been so wonderful getting to know their stories and show God's love and provision to them. | 
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