Wednesday, April 15
Steve is leaving us this afternoon. He has been a big help and has taught much about the work of the Diocese with water systems, orphanages, medical clinics, etc. The needs are so great. Lowell led us in a devotion about nail polish! Seriously, it the daily reading from “Daily Bread” and was about how one hand does all the work and the other gets all the glory. It reminded us of Steve and others at the Diocese who work so hard in humble service that most of never hear about.
One of the routines that we have enjoyed is sitting on the veranda of the hotel for our meals. Daily during breakfast the garbage truck comes down the street with the loudspeaker blaring a tune in Spanish. People come out of the doorways and deposit their trash on a nearby street corner. Garbage workers then put all the trash in the back of the truck. The tune is quite catchy and the words repeat something like “Bring your garbage” over and over again. It’s interesting to see how cultures do the ordinary things of life very differently.
We arrived at the site and we are learning that things rarely go just according to plan. Karen & Ellen expected to be going to a primary school this afternoon at 5:00 to train about 100 children. But there was a misunderstanding and the teacher was supposed to confirm the appointment – but it didn’t happen.
Much work still needs to be done on the system. The work started immediately and continued virtually non-stop all day except for a short break for lunch. More parts were needed so Eigner, Tony and Bill took off for town. A problem was discovered with the well that Matilde had recently had drilled to support our system so that it would not be subject to the disruptions that occur with the municipal water supply. The well water is full of sediment, which our system cannot accommodate. A “plan B” is needed and required much discussion and information gathering. A decision will have to wait until tomorrow when more information has been received. Meanwhile, work continues. It’s hotter today, there’s no breeze and the work is hard.
The Padre and Steve officiated at a church service in the chapel at Matilde’s. The chapel was full with people sitting outside – probably about 50 in total. At the conclusion of the service most of the people formed in two lines in front of the altar for a laying on of hands.
We’re all feeling good – no bouts of illness. So, we’re becoming more adventurous. We’re eating some lettuce and in controlled situations we’re drinking beverages with ice. Ellen has stopped putting her socks on the faucet handles in her room. But we’re still only eating what Eigner orders.
While the guys were working and sweating, Karen and Ellen went for a walk in the village. Women are washing clothes on washboards and hanging them on the clothesline (without clothespins. We still haven’t figured out how they do that!) We met a couple of children and after we greeted them with “hola”, they responded with “hello” and then many giggles and smiles. We think this is likely the only English word they knew. Eigner and one of the local workers met us along the way and we all walked to a local, family owned grocery store. The store was unusual in that they sold a few cleaning supplies in addition to a few cans of jalapeños, canned sausage, corn meal, oil, beverages and a few snacks. Although we are shocked at the poverty, Eigner explains that this is actually a step up from what is found in more rural areas in Mexico. Most of these “homes” have cement walls instead of wood or even cheaper materials, the roofs are tin instead of thatch, and have access to electricity and a municipal water supply. In rural villages, there’s no electricity and no piped water – people go to the rivers or other water sources and haul water to their homes in buckets or wheelbarrows. He explained that in some villages you could tell where family members were working in the US and sending money home. One wall of the house will become a cement wall with the rest of the walls following as more money is sent. We also learned that the dirt front “lawns’ are that way on purpose. The people kill any grass, bushes, etc. in their yard with cheap chemicals because they don’t have the means to care for them. Of course, these chemicals leech into the water supply.
Karen and Ellen were able to have a training session after all! Some members of the family who will be primarily responsible for operating the water system were available so an impromptu training was conducted with Eigner translating.
One funny story…Geoff thought that he was having an experience like Moses who heard God speaking to him through a burning bush. Geoff didn’t see a burning bush but….he was in a room with Jerry and suddenly Jerry disappeared. Geoff was alone. He called for Jerry and heard a voice but he couldn’t see Jerry. He called again, he heard the voice again but still Jerry wasn’t there. So Geoff was wondering if it was really God speaking to him…but then to Geoff’s surprise Jerry crawled out from underneath the table that was right next to Geoff! After that, the table became Jerry’s favorite hiding place whenever he wanted to get away from Geoff and Lowell!
Good news! Some water was run through the system and it will operate without any leaks! Thanks be to God! But, there’s still much work to be done before the system will be fully operational. Despite the good news, there were some setbacks (that the authors can’t properly describe) and construction has not gone as smoothly as expected. We estimate that we may be a day behind schedule.
It’s another late night. We left Matilde’s at 8:45. Acayucan is crowded because the Carnival started today. The park outside the hotel is packed with booths, people, carnival rides and cars everywhere. It ‘s hard to even find our way to the hotel with streets blocked. We arrived at the hotel around 10:00 and
after quick showers we gathered for dinner at 10:15. We finally dropped into bed around midnight. The fifth day. And, it was good (but long and hot and exhausting).
Thursday, April 15
At breakfast Lowell informed the team that we are about a day behind schedule. A couple of decisions need to be made – We were originally planning to have our celebration on Friday but should we move it to Saturday to give us more time? But this means we would not be able to visit other water systems in the Diocese and would not arrive in Veracruz to see some of the mission work being done there. Also, we need to decide what water source to use –the municipal water that is sometimes unreliable due to interruptions in service or water from the new well that has a lot of sediment and would require adjustments to our system. We all agreed to delay the celebration until Saturday at 11:00. The decision about the water supply will wait pending additional information.
We have a training session scheduled at one of the “kinders” – a school for 3, 4, and 5-year olds. In addition to the children, the parents were invited to attend our “training”. We arrived right on time at 10:30 for our 10:00 appointment J only to find that the parents had come early expecting the “Americano’s” to be prompt. When we didn’t arrive, they left. So, we agreed to do one training session for the children and to one for the parents at noon when they would return to take the children home for lunch. The children all grabbed their chairs and carrying them overhead marched out to the one shade tree in the middle of the dirt playground. We were greeted with loud and enthusiastic choruses of “Buenos Dias!” Padre translated this session. The children were as attentive as typical 3-5 year olds. J After the session we were invited to join the children for a “snack” of pineapple juice and 2 hand made tortillas, black bean spread, shredded chicken and LOTS of shredded lettuce. So, now the dilemma – we’ve eaten lettuce already on the trip with no bad effect but we don’t know under what conditions this was prepared. We all looked around and then decided to be gracious and chomped into our tortilla – lettuce and all. The Principal joined us and explained about the school. It is a government-subsidized school that has about 60 students. The Principal is the founder and has been at the school for about 15 years. The three classrooms are small and sparsely furnished by US standards but are clean and functional. The children appear happy as they play and laugh on the schoolyard.
About 25 parents returned at 12:00 for the training. The news of the new system was generally well received although some parents had some concerns about the Church’s involvement in the system. After a short conversation with Padre the concerns appeared to be addressed.
When we returned part of the outer wall to Matilde’s compound is being torn down to accommodate the new gate that will be installed so that vehicles can drive up to the water building for loading. The gate is being handmade by a local worker who has promised to deliver the gate every day. But today we were told the gate will arrive within 2 hours. Finally, around 7:00 the wall came tumbling down and at 7:30 the new gate arrived! Just in time!
The system is coming together. The decision was made to use the municipal water as our source water. The third Rotoplas that will collect rainwater arrived. The pumps are working and “clean” water is coming through the system! But, the water needs to be tested before we’ll know that the bacterium has been killed and the water is safe to drink.
The first training for the people who will operate the system begins with an overview of the operating system. More detailed training will begin in earnest tomorrow.
We left the site a bit earlier than in previous days and arrived in Acayucan but had trouble making our way to the hotel. The city is crowded and streets are blocked off. We finally get to the hotel after Tony jumped out of the van and took down one of the ropes barricading the street! So, it wasn’t such an early night after all. But our spirits are high and we are relieved that most of the construction is complete and operator training has begun.
The sixth day. And, it was good (and we are happy and relieved).
Friday, April 16
The weather is cooler today - one of the many miracles we’ve experienced. According to weather reports it may be about the same temperature here as in Midland!
There’s no rest on the seventh day. Final touches are being put on the building – general housecleaning, sterilizing the floor, mounting a bulletin board, etc. The gate has been installed. And, training the operators, which is the main task for the day, was conducted in earnest. Preparations for tomorrow’s dedication ceremony are being made. Some of the team (now dubbed “the Marketing Department” while the rest of the team is called the “Engineering Department) is practicing singing Amazing Grace in Spanish and English. We discovered that Tony plays the guitar and we even found one, which is a significant improvement over our attempts at singing acapella.
A couple members of the team aren’t feeling well but we can’t pinpoint the food or drink that was the source of the problems. Thank God we brought half a drugstore with us and have the medications to deal with the issues.
A few other miscellaneous observations made during our trip….
Our hotel rooms are sparse but clean. The hotel staff is very friendly and accommodating and do not speak English – so we do the best we can with sign language. The rooms are a nice size and contain a double bed, a chair, a wall-mounted TV and room air conditioner. Each room has some accommodation for hanging a few clothes –it may be rod hanging in the corner or it may be a hollowed-out corner TV cabinet with a hanging rod inside. There are two small wall mounted shelves – one to use as a nightstand and one as a desk. The floors are tile and VERY slippery and require much caution.
Many public restrooms are something to avoid if possible. The seats have been removed from the toilets. In many cases, after people use the restroom they go outside dip a plastic bucket in a big barrel and use that to flush the toilet. In some cases, there’s a common sink outside the restroom in which to wash your hands. In other cases, people dip their hands in the barrel and use that to wash up. In our case, we are blessed to be able to use Matilde’s private restroom, which is very clean, flushes, etc.
Along our drive we have seen several fields with cattle – all of which are very bony. There are also a lot of dogs running in the streets – they are also very thin, dirty and full of fleas and ticks.
We found out how the clothes are hung on the clothesline without using clothespins. The line/rope is braided and so the braid is separated in one area and a small part of the clothing is inserted between the braids.
The fields are surrounded with what looks like trees. Upon closer examination though, the fence posts are “living”. They are made from sticks cut from the trees and over time they root and start growing leaves. It looks very nice.
Eigner has had to make many trips to Manatitlan, a large city about 15 minutes away, to get various plumbing supplies. Although there are many plumbing stores, many are small family owned businesses with a limited inventory. So, many stores may be visited before the right part is found. Also, most of the stores are NOT self-serve. You describe the part you want and the staff find it (or not) and bring it to the counter for your inspection.
We are done! The system is complete and operational! Training has been conducted! We are ready for the celebration! The seventh day. And it was very good!
