October Update - Obstacles - Recife Brazil
Building and rebuilding through many ups and downs and overcoming the obstacles
Obstacles along the road
With so much going on, I often feel stuck. Sometimes I get stuck in trauma responses, but sometimes I just feel lost in trying to work through so many options. I recently saw something about learned helplessness, and realized that some of the struggles I went through as a caregiver has left me in a mindset of overwhelm. But there is more to it than that. I just read this article which has good suggestions about flourishing. And going beyond just avoiding depression and anxiety.
It has been a tough month because we have had very little income, only about $200 last month. Near the end of last year I had started a consulting project to design an electronic nose based system. That project is currently on hold. Unfortunately, this was our main source of income. But that project got us started building our own platform to streamline and automate the electronic nose (Bosch BME688) training process. We plan to provide similar services to many other clients. In fact this is the basis of our makerspace and lab project.
E-Nose and Smart Technologies Lab
The BME688 uses artificial intelligence to train the device to detect specific gasses or sells in the air. This provides a good entry-point for teaching basic data and technical analysis skills. Goiana is an agricultural community, so the electronic nose is just a starting point. We plan to expand into other agricultural smart technologies as we build our system. I’ve had experience with other agricultural technology especially in smart irrigation, pest detection and greenhouse automation and aquaponics.
I used home automation and assistive technology to support my wife whose illness stole her eyesight and left her immobile. I integrated our business systems with our home automation and her assistive technology so that she could run our business from her bed. So I can guide Renato and his group supporting a wide range of IoT systems.
Renato and his friends in Goiana are excited to get to work on this project. When our main project went on hold, I started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to raise the money we will need for the lab and makerspace. Once the project starts back up by the end of the year, it should provide the ongoing funding needed to finish the basic platform. However, it would be good to have funding from another source just in case.
We have the first part of the electronic nose platform built enough that we can look for another client. Here or abroad. You can learn more about our electronic nose platform at e-nose.unswivel.com.
Missional Living Books and Training
Several months ago I had announced that I am working on a couple of books. It has been a very slow process. I am still recovering from the years of caregiving. A combination of my Autism and the stress of caregiving had left me nearly unable to write. This is what lead to my Autism diagnosis. In the early days of my career, I had been very good at writing technical documents in a way that non-technical people could easily understand. So I knew I should be able to write. I also knew that journaling would be very therapeutic for my recovery. It took several years, but I have been able to journal much of our most difficult memories.
However, I still go through periods where the trauma leads me to an Autistic meltdown. This explains why I have been very inconsistent on this newsletter. Between the emotional recovery and rebuilding my life after caregiving I get overwhelmed at times. There have been many times when the circumstances or some of the memories cause me to revert back to a somewhat non-verbal state. I have worked through a lot of the emotional trauma, and have learned some ways to pull myself out of (or through) this process. I will write more about that eventually.
I am working to get better at sharing my experiences through writing, and soon, video. I believe there is a need for more Christian discipleship based on faith, hope, love, grace, mercy and justice. We need to move past the culture wars and help one another have a deep relationship with God. Sharing Debi’s story of living in spite of her illness and circumstances. Sharing my story of choosing to build her up instead of building my career, and then going by faith to remote regions of the world to build up others. I am committed to sharing that journey through this newsletter.
Along with the book plans, I have been planning to launch a series of videos about living a missional life. The first in that series will be out later this week about the difference between faith and false optimism. I have much to share about economic development, caregiving, Autism, emotional recovery, and supporting the marginalized.
Can You Be a Supporter?
You can help with our projects either by becoming a paid supporter of this newsletter or through giving to our fundraiser. We need about $2000 for some of the basic equipment, and funds to go out and start talking to some of the companies in the area to launch the lab here. The paid newsletter subscriptions help support me, Yuri, Renato and Ingrid doing economic develop and spreading Jesus love.
Announcing a new segment
While researching and planning the training session about working with the community, I realized that many of you would like to know more about the people in the community. So I have developed an interview process, and will be doing running a regular article from the people we meet in our travels.
Even if you can’t go paid or otherwise support financially for now, please share this newsletter.
Thank you for supporting us and our projects.