The day started out with thunder and lighting, followed by a torrential rain storm. I rose to shower, to find out there was no hot water! Later in the morning I also learned our "hot water" is run by solar power... Hmmm... does the water get warm when there is no sun? I don't think so!
We headed out to the Hope Children's Home today. When the Land Cruiser finally made the potholed, rain rutted trip, we were greeted by dozens of small children. Each of them grasping for my hand and telling me their name.
The land is lush with vegetation, water was abounding more than usual because of the rains, and the property was a red clay lake. However, this didn't distract the kids. They wanted to hold hands and play.
I was a little overwhelmed by the attention of so many little ones that I decided to quickly go to work. I surveyed the building, the elevations, the flows, and most of all, took careful inventory of all the eyes watching me.
As I spoke to one of the older boys, he informed me that the well was not operational. So, he and I and a dozen other children dashed to the well. I inspected the problem and determined that it was an easy fix... the only caveat is "we are in Africa", which means a simple 10 minute job will take you all day. One of the missionary boys (Ben) made a phone call to his dad and located tools, but the project will have to wait until Thursday. Then I set out on the task of measuring the home for rain gutters and pipe for a water storage tank. This took a little creativity in a sense, because I had several of the young men and boys congregating around me and the tape measure. They all helped in this "measuring and materials estimating" process! We measured the building, I wrote down the measurements in the dirt with a stick, and I had the boys adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. They were terriffic! One young man (Frank) was an ace at mental math, calculating the answer as I was writing it down! And another young man Fahad, did the measuring and calculations with me, showing a real aptitude for construction. Of course in the middle of all this estimating and measuring, we did have to stop for lunch. We ate a delicious lunch of rice and beans, followed by a cup of hot tea. Then we went back to work. We evaluated the rest of the property for drainage, assessed the possibilities for a water storage tank, located an appropriate place to install a hand-washing station for the latrines, and surveyed an area for a french drain. On Thursday... let the work begin!
"I have found hope in the eyes of small children, while wiping away my own tears."
Jerry
And from Cathi: I was blessed to do some of my favorite things today. We got out some crayons and paper and had a whole slew of artists madly drawing away, each one carrying his or her finished masterpiece for my approval. Then out came the books and I got to read to a very loving and appreciative crowd with promises of more books and art on Thursday. I can't wait!
Jess and Micah were off the minute we climbed out of the car. Jess was greeted by all his friends who had met him in June. They were so happy to see him and so amazed that he remembered their names! Of course they all wanted to meet his little brother.
No comments:
Post a Comment