CANADA
NEWS WINTER 2018
EMI team on Mary’s Home property
THE JOURNEY TO MARY’S HOME Even when God gives a vision, the journey to see it become reality can be long, indirect, and fraught with setbacks. So in this season of Advent, when learning to wait on God’s timing is a key lesson, we feature the story of Austin Omobhude and Mary’s Home. Austin grew up in Nigeria and had become successful in business. However, years earlier, God had given Austin a vision of helping needy and abandoned children. Mary’s Home (named after Austin’s mother) would be where vulnerable children could grow up in a loving, Christ-centered, family environment. With no idea how to begin such a venture, Austin wondered how God would make real this vision that lay upon his heart. In Spring 2015, Austin met EMI Canada Executive Director, Greg Young. When Greg urged Austin to establish a charitable organization and explained that EMI exists to provide professional design for such visions, Austin knew he had found a key partner in EMI. For two years, EMI Canada teams planned to carry out the project but were thwarted, initially by security concerns and later by visa-related challenges. In September 2018, a joint EMI Canada/EMI Senegal team of local and international design professionals finally arrived to work alongside Austin and his local team to bring the vision of Mary’s Home closer to reality. The modest property, purchased many years before, was laid out to house up to 50 orphaned and vulnerable children, along with their houseparents, in family-style apartments. This compact form saves space on the property for gardens and play areas. If additional land is purchased, through partnership with local churches, Mary’s Home may also provide primary education for these and other community children. Through the Fall of 2018, EMI staff, interns, and volunteers worked hard to complete a report and design drawings. The goal is for Mary’s Home to open its doors to the children of Irrua, Nigeria later in 2019, making real the vision God had given Austin many years ago. Thank you for your partnership with EMI and contributing to making this vision a reality.
Rendering of Mary’s Home