Building for Hope: Where Architecture Meets Mission

Niki Djordjevic did not arrive at Andrews University planning to use his studies for mission work. When he began the five-year architecture program, his motivations were considerably more practical. “I was doing architecture more for the money at first,” Djordjevic admits.

A mission trip to Honduras during his third year began to change that perspective.

Invited by a friend only two weeks before the trip, Djordjevic traveled with a group that served at an orphanage and in nearby communities. There he met children with few material possessions whose joy challenged his understanding of fulfillment. “These kids have more joy than I do,” he remembers thinking. “What am I doing wrong in life?”

Djordjevic returned to Honduras twice and also participated in mission trips to Lebanon. During his third trip to Honduras he was asked to help replace a deteriorating garage for the woman who operated the orphanage. With only a few days to complete the project, he adapted the design and construction in the face of unexpected challenges. “That was my first time thinking, Maybe I can use architecture for missions,” he says.

That connection was strengthened during his final year at Andrews. As part of the Urban Design Studio class, Djordjevic traveled to Rwanda with his classmates to work with Impact Hope on plans for a school of excellence and vocational training center for refugee youth. Meeting the students who would eventually use the campus shifted his attention from simply planning buildings to designing for the people who would inhabit them.

His experiences ultimately shaped his final architecture studio project. After seeing a previous Andrews project that transformed a shipping container into a medical clinic, Djordjevic contacted Carey Carscallen, professor emeritus of architecture. Carscallen suggested a different need: housing for missionaries serving in Eswatini.

Djordjevic and several classmates began transforming a 20-by-8-foot shipping container into a compact dwelling. With limited space, the design incorporates multifunctional areas, including a bed that shares space with a couch and desk.

The project quickly expanded beyond the classroom. Djordjevic’s father helped him learn electrical work, plumbing, painting, and other construction skills, while his mother provided interior design guidance and helped source materials. Local businesses donated lumber and paint, and individual donors supported construction through Build for Hope, an initiative Djordjevic created during the project.

When the mission organization in Eswatini requested additional housing, other students began constructing a second container using the plans and material lists developed for the first.

The first completed unit faced one final obstacle: approximately US$8,000 in shipping costs. Djordjevic says he prayed about how the project would reach Africa. Then an anonymous donor covered the full amount. “I almost started crying,” he says. “At some point, you just can’t deny that God is leading.”

The container has been shipped to Eswatini, packed not only with its furnishings but also with hundreds of boxes of clothing, books, and donated tools. Djordjevic has traveled with Carscallen to complete the installation and spend several weeks with the community.

Looking back, Djordjevic says Andrews taught him that professional training and mission can coexist. “You can’t teach mission without doing mission,” he says. “Andrews definitely showed me that I can take my gifts and talents and my profession and use it for God.”

The original version of this story was posted on the Andrews University news site.