Team Brelsford and Schall
Posted by Blake | Filed in Agua Viva, Mission Trips, Missions & Outreach, Syndicated
On February 11th Richard Brelsford and Steve Schall arrived here as the first official Agua Viva mission team. It was obvious I was excited to see Richard and meet Steve. Their arrival here was a welcomed break as I got to shift a lot of the drilling duties over to these guys and take care of some much needed errands. To give some perspective, we had been running the drill for almost 3 weeks straight before their arrival in country. Although we are still talking about a Agua Viva trip so anything and everything can and will happen. It was getting to the point that I didn’t want to come back to the well because every time I did it seemed that something bad happened. A couple of examples:
- Shortly after arriving at the site the first time, a wrench was dropped down a 20 foot hole. (Click Here) a link to a video of Richard explaining how he is going to “fish” the wrench out. After a couple of hours of attempts it was decided that having a wrench in your well permanently probably isn’t a good thing, therefore we abandoned that hole and moved over two feet.
- Second, upon my return after errands – and this happened literally as I pulled up – Richard got his hand caught between a big moving part and another big non-moving part. While the result wasn’t serious, it sure looked pretty serious and would demand a trip to the hospital. I think Richard got the best part of the deal as he found a pretty doctor to take care of him and had the girls from another team swooning over him whenever he came for a bandage change.
- After a return from a water run, Steve had a rather personal accident. Nothing permanent but his voice went up an octave or two for a little while.
At this point I was consciously trying to find things to do so I wouldn’t need to return to the site. This task didn’t prove difficult as about this time the Land Rover decided it needed a break for a day. Luckily I was already in the mechanic shop for an unrelated matter when it voiced its concerns. I mean, if there is anywhere for your car to break down, outside your mechanic’s shop is probably one of the best places.
My feelings were confirmed as I was stuck in the mechanic’s shop all day. Richard and Steve had the best drill day to date. They drilled 50 feet and were ready to case by the time I returned that day. It was awesome. Under their direction Agua Viva drilled a well in 4 days! This is a new record and a testament to the drive of these two incredible workers. This was some awesome work. I hope it was as satisfying and sweet to them to see the water burst out during the cleaning as it was for me. Our well cleaner said that this well will easily produce 150 GPM (gallons per minute). “Mucho, Mucho Agua, very good well.”
This well represents a big step in the life cycle of Agua Viva as we attempt to install our first running water system. With the addition of an electric pump, tank, and a couple 100 meters of PVC we will be able to build a mini-water system to hopefully supply 5 houses.
Are you getting excited? Has the mission bug bitten you yet? If so, we have two trips leaving in April. For more information, please contact Jensie Gobel at JensieG@fumcwp.org. We also continue to accept donations through the website at www.AguaVivaCr.com and have a list of needs posted there (click here).
Casa De Melba!
Posted by Blake | Filed in Agua Viva, Mission Trips, Missions & Outreach, Syndicated
Lots of changes but the same simple goal – clean water. These thoughts swirled through my mind as we pulled up to the Casa de Melba. New equipment, new personnel, new attitudes and a new plan. A little nervous for our first well as part of my year-long commitment to Agua Viva. Gone was the comfort of the familiar white faces and ease of communication. We were in it now. Through a series of God moments I was introduced to my new crew. Julio is in his mid 40′s and stands no more than 5 foot 1 or 2. He was born and spent the majority of his life in Nicaragua, ironically in the city of Los Chiles. He lives with his wife and two children in the Precario. He does odd jobs but mostly works as a lawn mower man, so to speak – he has a weed whacker that he uses to cut grass. A devout Christian, he likes to serenade us as we drive from place to place in the Land Rover. No doubt these are songs learned while playing guitar in the praise band.
Her husband died 5 years ago, leaving her to raise their 10 year old child and to be the head of the household. Her household consists of her mother, daughter, daughter-in-law, son and grandson. This small two room house is shared by all 6 people, including one small bathroom. Before she was blessed with this small house, she lived in a much smaller shack on the same property and she continues to send her thanks to God for giving her family a safe place to live. Water still remains a problem in this part of Costa Rica. She had a well but it is contaminated and also tends to run dry during certain parts of the year. The new Deep Water well should alleviate this problem and also give Melba a chance to pay it forward. She has plans to share her water with her neighbors in an effort to continue to share the gospel.
New Years Eve – Tico Style
Posted by Blake | Filed in Agua Viva, Mission Trips, Missions & Outreach, Syndicated
I know its been a long time since my last mass email to everyone. The more I think about it the more I think maybe a once a month type update would be better as I don’t want people to get bored with me. So its week 3 and here is what has happened so far.
I arrived in San Jose with no one to pick me up…..ooops. I guess somebody didn’t get the message. If anybody has ever been to a Central American Airport you know that there is no shortage of taxis. I picked up my ride and headed to Quesada. A short 2 hrs later I was pulling into the camp, with the driver telling me that I owed him more money. I knew he was already over charging me to the tune of 40 bucks so I didn’t argue with him and gave him the original agreed upon rate.
Shortly after settling in, a van of gringos swung into the camp calling my name. It was so dark when I got in their van that I couldn’t see any of there faces. I could tell they were from somewhere in the south by the twang in my new seat mate’s greeting. Turns out they were from Tennessee and I got to spend the next couple of days eating meals with them. A great group of people and wonderful welcome into Costa Rica. We drove around in the van for only 15 minutes until we arrived at our destination. What I thought was a quick dinner with the local church turned into a 5 hour church service lasting into the new year (I arrived in Costa Rica on New Years Eve). Although I was exhausted from my travels it was cool to be a part of their celebration. The pastor started praying at 11:30pm and continued until well after midnight. I admire his abilities to keep up such cadence and energy. He kept an intense focus as all sorts of people and animals filtered in and out of the church. As midnight passed the fireworks began to erupt all over the valley, including a couple of large mortars that malfunctioned and exploded close to the ground. I’m guessing this is as close to military combat as I will get in Costa Rica. I was truly welcomed into Costa Rica with a bang.
Hope all is well at home and pray for me and my continued search for permanent housing in Los Chiles.
Sager Brown Depot Photos
Posted by Chris | Filed in Mission Trips, Missions & Outreach, Sager Brown
Have a look at these happy missionaries working at the Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, Louisiana!
Days 6 and 7
Posted by LeeC | Filed in Haiti, Missions & Outreach
Thursday was our final working day. The children’s team completed the mural in the pediatric inpatient unit. The tree leaves were made by the children using their handprints dipped in paint. It is beautiful, colorful and brightens up the unit! The kids really engaged in the activities.
This was only one of several activities that Kent, Gail, and Lee constructed for the children with the assistance of Susan Tayloe and David Matthews who were not able to make the trip. Their preparatory work and contributions really assisted the children’s team. Each child helped make a book about themselves, made bead bracelets and necklaces, and paper plate hats that the children decorated themselves.
One thing the children’s team noticed was the dedication of the nurses and the appreciation the nurses expressed when the team assisted them by holding and rocking babies and engaging the children in fun activities such as drawing and playing dominoes.
The Promise Land Sunday School Group donated balls to the mission and they were given to children in the tent camps. The balls were a big hit! Thanks to the FUMCWP kids for making a connection with the kids in Haiti through backpack donations and toys!! Good work!
Day 4 and Day 5
Posted by LeeC | Filed in Haiti, Mission Trips, Missions & Outreach
Mornings have been spent at the camps. These are tent camps where Grace Children’s Hospital goes to do a variety of clinical tasks, including weighing babies, providing hygiene kits filled with soap, washcloths, toothbrushes, tooth paste, and other toiletries, including water purification tablets. The nurses and doctors are amazing and we assist wherever they need our help. The work of Grace Children’s hospital is quite amazing and very inspiring. These professionals are skilled and dedicated.
Weighing babies was quite the challenge because babies had to be put into a sling, almost like a cloth swing, and the strap was attached to hook that hung from a scale, not unlike the produce scales at the grocery store! Most babies didn’t like the process at all!
Days 2-3
Posted by LeeC | Filed in Haiti, Mission Trips, Missions & Outreach
Day 2
The second part of the team (Art, Lee, Kent & Alicia) returned to the airport on their rebooked flights and arrived in Haiti in the morning after the Saturday flight was cancelled due to weather. They joined Gail, Lynne & Ray Aller (Lynne’s husband who is a physician contributing his own project in Haiti with the hospital clinics), who had arrived on time.
View of Port au Prince Hillside
We enjoyed a nice Sunday buffet lunch and then our van driver took us on a tour of the city and shared perspectives about Haiti, historically and culturally. He is a young man from Canada who recently graduated from college. His father is a physician who spent many years working in Haiti, so Jason spent many of his growing up years here. His dad is now very involved in International Child Care, which is the parent organization of Grace Children’s Hospital where we will start our work tomorrow.
Packing for Haiti
Posted by LeeC | Filed in Haiti, Mission Trips, Missions & Outreach
We spent half a day packing our two pieces of checked luggage for Haiti. We had a lot of stuff. Alicia bought some scales so we packed each bag and jumped on the scale to make sure that each bag was under 50 lbs. The picture below is Kent and Alicia trying to figure out what might fit into each bag.
Preparing for Haiti
Posted by LeeC | Filed in Haiti, Mission Trips, Missions & Outreach
The Holy Spirit has been moving among our Haitian team from FUMCWP as we prepare to leave October 8th and return on the 15th. We are a very small group led by Lynn Austin a Methodist minister in California who grew in her faith at FUMCWP. Lynn is the daughter of Martha Austin a long time member of our church. Members of the team include Kent Akins, Alicia Homrich, Gail Dukes (who is from Palm Coast) and attends Palm Coast United Methodist Church, Art and Lee Cross. Our team has been meeting for over a year as we were scheduled to go to Haiti last fall but postponed our trip due to the outbreak of cholera. The cholera is still a problem however smaller in magnitude than a year ago. Our team will be spending the majority of our time at Grace Children’s Hospital which is supported by the United Methodist Church in partnership with International Child Care The hospital is located in Port- au-Prince.
A day of ups and downs
Posted by Blake | Filed in Agua Viva, Mission Trips, Missions & Outreach, Syndicated
It was hard to sleep last night. I’m not really sure why and its never been a problem I’ve had down here before. I think I was just excited and nervous about today and my tour of 4 of the 12 future well sites planned this year. Would I take enough pictures, would I get enough information? I just wasn’t sure that I could express the shear poverty these people live in.
The details I think I will save for later as it was so sad to see people having to walk miles to get clean water and others living in deplorable conditions. I walked into a room and to my surprise there was the smallest little baby sleeping alone on the bed. It couldn’t have been long from its mother (I’m not a baby guy so determining age can be a problem).
It was pretty surreal these people letting me basically tour around in there lives and do it with a smile on their faces. They proudly showed me where they wash their clothes and where they cook their meals. We toured one site that will provide water for up to 5 families and to be perfectly honest I have no idea where they are getting their water now. The families are mostly elderly women of the church and their families. Its very common to have up to three generations sharing these small dwellings.
Wow……what a day!
