It takes water to make water

  

I never fully realized how much water it takes to drill a water well. This can prove problematic when drilling a well in an area that does not currently have a water source because water is going to have to be brought in from somewhere. One of the wells we drilled in Bolivia near Nucleo 41 required a considerable amount of water to get the well to a place where it would produce its own water. The landowners that comprised this group of 11 families worked tirelessly from about 8 a.m. to nearly midnight for several days in a row to get two wells drilled. The first well we drilled to a depth of 42 meters (about 137 feet) in two days of drilling. Once a well has been physically drilled you are only half way to making a well that will freely produce water - the second phase of the process is called conditioning the well. The conditioning phase is not as labor intensive as the drilling but can take days or even weeks. Conditioning a well requires washing the cased well and breaking up and removing all the drilling mud and bentonite used during the drilling. The drilling mud is used during drilling to help seal off and stabilize the walls of the well. Once you finish drilling you have to remove all the mud that is impregnated out into the walls of the wells so water can enter to hole. If you do not condition a well properly it may never produce water or may be a poor producing well. When you work as hard as they guys did to get a 42 meter hole drilled, you want to do all you can to make sure it produces adequate water. I am not sure how much water was used during the actual drilling of the well hole (several hundred gallons though), but during the conditioning phase we used somewhere between 450 to 500 gallons of water. All of this water had to be brought in from a small pond located about a half mile away in 5 gallon jugs. These fellows would put two 5 gallon jugs in a wheel barrow and walk half a mile to the pond and half a mile back, dump their jugs of water into a large barrel, and then do it all over again. Each jug when full weighs around 40 lbs, so with two jugs in a wheel barrow they were transporting around 80 lbs. for a considerable distance over rough terrain. I made one trip to the pond to fetch water and it was no easy task. At one point on the trail you actually have to duck down and scoot your wheel barrow under a barbed wire fence before proceeding down the jungle path to the pond. It was tough for me to do and I was easily 30 years younger than all of these guys. The desire to have a water well was enough motivation for these guys to make trip after trip to the pond to fill their jugs of water. It was humbling and convicting to watch these guys work. All of these guys were tired, they were on day three of working this hard, the temperature was in the 90’s, the humidity felt like it was around 600% (that is not an exaggeration. Yes I know the scale only goes to 100%, but it felt like way more than that!), but they kept working because a water well means a better life for them and their families. Just having a personal water well can improve the overall wealth of a family considerably over just a few years. The impact of every family in an area having their own clean water well can have huge positive economic effects, and can potentially transform an entire region.

Where we are now...

Well, we made it back from Bolivia mid August, quit our job at the station, packed up our home in Sonora, moved to Paint Rock, started our internship with Water For All, and have settled into a great routine in this sleepy little town.  Colin has worked every day from the beginning of September with WFA getting all the portable buildings (five total) finished for the drilling club that is taking place this week.   That included sheet rocking, painting, putting in hardwood floors, and finishing out two bathrooms with showers and sinks .  I had my friend, Marissa, visit the week after we moved and that was such a wonderful blessing and I can't wait for her to move closer.  Once she left I have helped Colin out every now and then along with the daily chores that come with life.  
Currently we are sitting in Terry and Kathy's house at a well drilling course that started today.  There are three people from Africa that made it here, one young man that will head to Mexico with his family, a couple that will head to Kenya after an internship with WFA next year, a returning lady that goes to Ghana, Colin and myself, Devin, Kim, and Terry and Kathy.  A very neat group that all share the same passion and goal! 
As far as moving to Africa goes for us, God is working out all the small details so Colin and I don't even have to worry!  We are all set up with a place in Uganda.  Our home and a truck are all taken care of and we are way excited about those two huge needs being all taken care of. 
Our date to leave in going to be anytime after the 15th of January 2012.  We are trying to see what the cheapest flights will be and that will set the final date. 
Our internet connection is very limited.  We don't have it at our house in town so we check it only every few days.  I hope to write more and post when I have a connection and need to make that a habit so that when we move I am ready to keep everyone updated with where we are at when we move to Uganda. 
There is so much I want to write down, but it would make this post way too long!  So for now this will do. 

The Lesson I Learned

There are quite a few things about our trip to Bolivia that I have come to love. The people here are for certain at the top of the list, if there is even a list. They are a very quiet, reserved people group. Very different from my personality altogether. But once you do sit down with them and start talking and wanting to know more, it is as if you opened a book! They are taught from a young age to be this way. It reminds me of that old saying of don´t speak unless spoken to. They are beautiful, but you can see that over the years beauty took a back seat to the hard life of providing for their families. I am still amazed at the women here. Not a day goes by while we are out that I don´t see a lady old or young, pushing a wheelbarrow full of whatever she intends to sell miles out of town heading to the market. Not only will she be pushing a 100+ pound wheelbarrow, but she may have one child tied to her back and another one, or two , or three that are old enough to walk tagging along. So there she goes, pushing past me and I am reminded of all the times I drove around the parking lot at HEB so I could get the closest parking spot. I think from now I will make sure to park far away just for her! I understand that me parking far from the door will not be of any benefit to her, but maybe it will benefit me to remember just how blessed I am. God has really been working on my heart these last few weeks. Reminding me of just how lucky I am and how easy I have it. I have a truck that gets me where I need to go, I am not pushing a wheelbarrow from my house in Sonora to San Angelo to sell what produce I grew, I have cold and hot water at the turn of a knob, a roof that is not made of palm tree bows that doesn´t leak when it rains, a warm bed when its cold and an AC when it gets too hot, I can wash my clothes and have them dry within a couple hours and the list can go on and on. I really am blessed! Thank you Lord for allowing me this opportunity to be reminded of that, and please help me to always be mindful of it even when I am having to sit and wait for a table at a very nice restaurant that is making me pay too much for the food I will eat. I could have it a whole lot worse!

So far in Bolivia...

It is hard to believe that we only have a little less than three weeks left here in Bolivia! Our time here so far has been great. Our second week here we went out into the brecha to work with a drilling club that has been working on several wells and to check on the wells that had already been finished. We accompanied Teo, Elias, and Sergio (the Water for All Bolivia guys) on the trip, along with Todd who is making a video about WFA. It was a long three hour drive out to where we were going so this meant that we would spend two nights camping. We set up our tents in a lady`s front yard right next to the roosters and her pigs. We would grow to hate those roosters come two or three in the morning! We got to eat some pretty traditional dishes while we were out. Up until then Colin had never had pork cooked with so much hair on it.
The guy in charge of the well club that we were going to assist is named Victor. He was a young guy in his early 20’s and has a little family. He was in the first drilling club that went through that area and was now showing others how to drill. We got to eat with his wife and mother and that was really a neat opportunity to be a part of. They prepared a big meal for the Water for All guys to show his appreciation. At the end of our meal he stood up and thanked the guys that were with us for helping him get water out on his little place. He told us that it was a dream of his to be able to farm and live on his own place and that he was now living out his dream. (For the record, I didn`t know that was what he was saying ‘til later, but I did know that what he was saying made him very emotional at the end.) Needless to say it was very clear that he was very grateful to the Water for All guys. He took us around his farm and showed us the crops he was growing, his garden, his fruit trees, and the rest of his property. Another thing that will forever stick out in my mind about our day with Victor was when we went to the town where he had been living before he had a water well on his farm. We got to meet with two older ladies that lived in this small village and Terry gave them a solar powered radio that only picks up two Christian stations and a Bible. We later found out that the village does not have a church. Terry told us as we were leaving that if there was a church in that village all the locals would come. To me that just means more people are needed to go and live with these people and become a part of their community and bring Jesus to them!
The next day we went out to help out and watch the water clubs drill a full well in one day! In one day they did everything! It was pretty great. This was their 8th well and you could tell they knew what they were doing. Victor did a great job training up this club.
We came home mid week, just in time for a cold front to make its way to us. I was glad to not be out sleeping in a tent once that hit.
Last week we went out and looked at five wells that were drilled and took pictures and marked them with the GPS. Then mid week we went to a new well club that was getting started. It was close enough that we could drive home and didn`t have to pack the tents. Thank goodness we came home! I had my first bout with food poisoning and was ever so thankful I wasn`t out camping somewhere. Colin went back the next day to help the group finish up and I slept in.
Terry had a meeting in Santa Cruz on Thursday night so he spent the night in town and we went in the following day to go to the Santa Cruz zoo and see the animals of Bolivia. That was neat, but once you know what animals are out in the woods where you are camping, it’s a bit un-nerving!
Another cold front has made its way to us and we are all bundled up tonight. Along with the cold air came rain! It is a bitter sweet rain for me. Back home in Texas we are going on record breaking days without rain so this is a treat! But it may postpone our trip out this week. I really want to drill and if it rains the roads get too bad to drive on and we won`t be able to make it out to the site.
The circus is in town! I don´t know if we will go or not, but every day a truck load of circus performers drives around town announcing over an horrible loud speaker that we should bring the family to their show. Well…I now understand why small children and some adults fear clowns and things of that nature.
One of the greatest things about this trip has been an overwhelming desire to go into full-time missions work. Just more conformation! It’s really not as though we needed more, but seeing what Terry has done here over the past 20 years just lights a fire under us. We know that we have a long road ahead of us, but we also know that our God is big and will be there with us, and has gone before us, no matter what we will face. I find so much comfort in that. A peace has settled over both Colin and myself and with it has come a great joy, it’s a joy that I want everyone to know and have in their own lives and hearts.

Our Trip Thus Far...

Well, we made it to Bolivia!! We left mid morning on Monday the 11th and landed here in Santa Cruz early Tuesday. The only trouble we ran into was with my carry on bag. I put most all my clothes into my carry on so if something happened to our stuff, I would still have clothes to wear. Well in Miami they took my carry on and said they were going to put it under the plane and I could pick it up when we landed. However, they asked us if we were going to La Paz, and I said yes, because we were. We had to stop there but we were not getting off the plane. While we were not getting off, my carry on bag that was now checked, was getting off! It never dawned on me to look at the ticket that they gave me, because if I had I would have seen that my bag was getting off the plane before me.


But it all worked out just fine! Terry talked to a lady and right away they had located my bag and were putting it on the first flight to Santa Cruz. So we spent the night in a hotel in the city and rested up from our 20 hour trip. My bag was flown in and we picked it up yesterday morning and headed out to San Julian where Terry lives.


Colin and I just love this area, the people and the way of life. It has just lit a fire in us to go and do this very same thing in Africa! We drove around yesterday afternoon and looked at some of the wells that the drilling clubs have done. I have taken a whole bunch of pictures, and I will upload some later.


Today Colin helped put one section of pipe in the ground with a local farmer that is putting in a well. They wanted him to stay and help because he worked so fast! They had rented the drilling machine and really didn't need our help or else we would have. Colin is picking up Spanish really fast! I am not. I hear little things and now and then I know what is being said, but not like Colin. He is able to have little conversations with people!


We are going to head out this afternoon and fix a windmill that feeds into a fish pond. Colin and I are truly amazed that we are here and thank God for this awesome oppertuntiy!

Bolivia in One Week!!

A week from today, Colin and I will be in Bolivia with Terry Waller for six weeks! We are both so excited we can hardly stand to wait any longer. I just wanted to share with you some pictures from the Water For All International facebook page to show who it is that these wells are helping in Bolivia. If you are not friends or "like" WFA on facebook yet, now is the time to do that. I am sure Terry will be posting pictures and updates while we are there. I can't wait to have my own pictures and stories! I am also very ready to see just what God has in store for us on this trip as well.

We should be able to keep updates coming while we are away, and I look forward to writing it all down and sharing about our adventure! Please keep us in your prayers while we are gone. To Him be all the glory!

Our BIG News...

I know that most of you will see the title of this blog and the one thing that you will think is "A BABY!!"...Well...there is no baby news as of now. Sorry. But we do have other fun news about our lives.
Over the last six or so months, Colin and I have been preparing ourselves to move to Africa and drill water wells. We feel like this is how we are suppose to spend our lives - helping those less fortunate than us. And this is exactly what we will be doing in a few short months!
We are getting ready to head to Bolivia for six weeks to get even more training with Terry Waller of Water for All International. We leave for that trip on the 11th of July!! When we started praying and thinking about doing this it seemed like we had all the time in the world, but before we knew it, almost half the year was already over.
God has really guided us through all of this. For months we've known that we are supposed to move to Africa and serve. Along the way God has done so many things that confirm our choice to follow Him to wherever He calls us to go. For one, within a couple of months of knowing we were supposed to go, Colin's job was cut to half time. This was by no means the reason for our leaving, but was further confirmation that we were doing what we were supposed to be. All of the pieces from the what to do, to the where to do it, to the how, and the where, have all divinely fallen in place.
Once we get back from Bolivia we are going to be leaving the experiment station, a bittersweet reality, and moving to Paint Rock to further our well drilling training.
We will start raising support as soon as we can because we would like to be in Africa as early as January of 2012. We are sure that we will be in east Africa, but as to which country we are not yet sure. We are trying to be as open as we can to all of the possibilities and go wherever we are most needed.
I know that this may seem very vague, but some of the details are still unclear even now. Once we are closer to leaving we will update ya.
The last thing that I would like to say is more of a request. If you would like, please keep us in your prayers. God is really doing great things in our lives and we want to remain open to Him and His purpose. Also pray for our family and friends that we will be leaving. Watching us go may be one of the hardest things for some of them to do.
Again we are super excited about this new direction we are heading, and what better adventure to go on than one for the Most High!
~Ronnie~