John McNeill
Former SMOi missionary in Rwanda and Uganda May-July 2008
SWO summer staff 2007
Birthday: November 23History:
As the Apostle Paul would say, "Greetings to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Some of you may know John from Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters in Andrews, NC. For the summer of 2007, he was a counselor there where he served diverse groups of teenagers through discipleship, mentoring, and outdoor recreation.
But for those that don't know John, it was at NC State, as a freshman, that he entrusted his life to Jesus Christ. Before his life changing decision his perspective on life was very skewed. John wanted to pursue a degree in engineering at NC State because his views of identity were found in what he possessed (a nice car, a big house, a high salary, and a good looking women). It was not until an on-campus ministry called Campus Crusade for Christ pursued John and shared with him the love of Christ and the penalty of his sinful nature. This was the first time he ever remember hearing the Gospel and he knew it was truth. So one night John cried out to God pleading with Him to let the blood of Christ cleans him from his rebellion, from his stubborn self-will. Once He came into John's life, Christ began breaking down these misconceptions John had about life and success. He sought change.
John knew he needed to pursue a degree in college that would further God's glory by changing lives. His degree, Biological Engineering with a concentration on the environment, has allowed him the incredible opportunity to do just that: make a difference in people's lives and permanently improve cultures. John's days at college and his summer at Snowbird helped prepare him for the leap of faith to combine his mission desires and his educational experience in engineering.
A year after John went to Africa we graduated in May 2009 from NC State University. He married Andrea "Aya" Haddock a week later. They are currently raising support to go on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ.
Contact info:
Strategy:
Engineering Ministries International (www.emiusa.org) offered John the privilege to intern as an engineer to serve a foreign people group in need – the Rwandan and Ugandan people from the sub-Saharan region of Africa – with the Good News of Christ. Engineering Ministries International (eMi) is a Christ-centered ministry that provides countries in need with physical and spiritual health in order to develop, through engineering, a world of hope. John has a tremendous passion to serve God and to spread God's love through Jesus Christ, and God has allowed him the opportunity to do this in Africa as a missionary and an engineer.
John had always wanted to serve the country of Africa because the people there are in so much need and we in the US are often times unaware of these tremendous needs. The project he will be assigned will focus on designing an educational building for the country of Rwanda.
