Cedarville Magazine, Summer 2018

as roads, bridges, tunnels, water supply, sewers, electrical grids, and telecommunications. Even still, finding and delivering clean water is often one of the most pressing civil engineering challenges in places like Vacas. Anna Parkinson ’18 traveled to Vacas on a missions trip the summer after her sophomore year. There, her team ministered to people who did not have clean water. “The people lived in homes with no heating, running water, or utilities,” she recalled. “The missionary working there, Dale Harlan, is a civil engineer. He worked with the community to install pumps, which the villagers paid for in part, and the mission organization paid the rest. The people learn how to build their own pumps and dig their own wells, so they can maintain them on their own. They had a sense of ownership.” Parkinson and the Cedarville team, led by Fred Harmon, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, surveyed the existing pumps and made repairs and changes that would make the pumps more functional and easier to use. “My passion has always been to go overseas and share the Gospel by working on water problems,” she said. “It was so rewarding to help make that a reality in Bolivia.” BUILT BY FAITH To fulfill the dream of a civil engineering major at Cedarville University, the School of Engineering a n d C omp u t e r S c i e n c e h i r e d Stephen Ayers as its inaugural civil engineering professor. Previously, “Churches in Vacas are growing because of this project. That’s what I want to do in the future, wherever the Lord wants to take me.” – Anna Parkinson ’18 8 | Cedarville Magazine