From El Salvador – November 2008

We really had an amazing trip. It’s hard for me to say whether it was better or worse than the last trip because so many things were different. My last trip had more shock factor I guess. Everything was so new and exciting to me. I wanted to capture it all. I wrote as much as I could, took lots of pictures, and tried to soak it all in. We were surrounded by children nearly the entire time. This time was better in some ways though. For starters, Shannon was with me. It was so great to be able to share these experiences with her. I also knew a lot more of what to expect with the work and what we would be facing. Of course I would not have predicted everything that did happen. 

From El Salvador – November 2008

As many of you know by now, we failed on our first attempt at a water well on Monday. It was so disappointing and sad. We had such hopes to bring clean water to these people. It’s hard to even describe the scene as we were packing up the equipment to go to a different site. We wanted to stay positive, to have an encouraging attitude for the people there. We had already started to bond with the families and play with the children. There were hygiene classes scheduled and many people had promised to attend. But we had to call it all off.

We were blessed in that the drilling had gone so quickly that we had time to go to a second site, but this new site had a problem. The spot where we were to drill was not level. Not even close. And since we were not planning to drill there, no preparations had been made to get the site ready. Typically some of the local men will dig the mud pits for the drill teams because this can take up almost a whole day. Our lead driller told me we would have to spend the rest of the day digging to level the site. For a scrawny computer geek like me with carpel tunnel and back troubles, this was not good news. BUT, but after we arrived, Abel spots one of his friends driving down the road in a large back hoe / front-end loader. He waves him down and asks if he could spare 20 minutes to help us out. He agrees and just a little while later, we have a nice level spot to start drilling and I didn’t even have to pick up a shovel. Whew.

From El Salvador – November 2008

So half our team, including Shannon, headed back to site 1 to gather the rest of the supplies while the other half, including me, started drilling at site 2. We started out with the air-hammer drill again which makes things go so much faster. Perhaps even too quickly. We hit clean water before the rest of our team got back from their equipment errand. When they arrived, they were both excited and disappointed. Excited that we had hit fresh water, but a little disappointed that they missed it. We finished drilling down and had to pack it up for the night. What a day!

From El Salvador – November 2008

Monday night, the LWI team lead asked if we would be willing to try for a third well. Since things had gone so quickly at site 2, we could likely try for another well before the week was out. Of course we were all for that. The next 3 days were a bit of a blur, and I get it all mixed up in my mind as to when we did what at which site with who. Even on the way home we were discussing the trip and I kept getting the facts mixed up, but I suppose some of those details really are not the most import part of the story. 

From El Salvador – November 2008

The differences between site 2 and site 3 were huge. Site 2 was right on a highway, next to a bus stop, and across from a small store. It’s right at the cross-roads for 3 communities. Our LWI leaders guessed that over 3,000 people would be able to drink from this well! But we didn’t get to meet very many of them. Because of the busy road, there were no children playing close by. And I discovered later that several of the men we did meet were actually from our third site. They were there helping us because they were told that if we finished this well quickly, we would come and dig a well for them.

From El Salvador – November 2008

Site 3 was off the main road in a community just off the corner of a soccer field. This well will likely serve over 300 people as the families all around walk over to fill their water pots every day. We really bonded with these people. The LWI hygiene teacher, Katie, was able to have multiple classes with the women and children of the village. We played with the children on the soccer field. I threw more frisbees than I have in a long time. It was very relational. The people were so gracious and hospitable too. They cook food for us, chopped down fresh coconuts, brought bananas and limes, and just spent time visiting with us. A couple of the men had spent some time in the US and spoke some English which was great. Although my Spanish skills have improved some, I’ve still got a long way to go before I’m fluent. 

From El Salvador – November 2008

Thursday evening, we had a dedication ceremony at Site 3. It seemed like the whole village came out to join in the ceremony. It was a really neat time. The village leader spoke to everyone and shared how grateful they were for the well. We also had an opportunity to talk to the people and I was able to tell them a little bit about why we had come so far leaving our children behind to be with them. Near the end of the ceremony, one of the elderly women from the village came forward to pray. I could not understand all of what she said, but her prayer moved me to tears. Her passion and gratefulness to God for His provision was amazing. I kept wondering how many people this woman has seen become sick or even die because of water problems in her life time. And now, she is finally able to see an end to some much of that pain. It’s hard to put to words the excitement we all felt. It was a beautiful moment at the end of a wonderful trip. I wish my 3 kids could have been there to see everything we saw. One day they will be. 

From El Salvador – November 2008

Several of our friends and family helped us in so many ways to be able to go on this trip. Some helped with the funding of the trip, our parents graciously kept our children for us so we could go, and many prayed for us while we were away. We deeply appreciate all of the support we received for this effort. You have all helped to bring safe drinking water to well over 3,000 people and helped us to bring a message of hope and love to a people who often feel like outsiders. Thank you.

From El Salvador – November 2008

Here Kent and I are taking the pump apart to make sure all the pieces are tightened properly. Then we will test it to make sure it works and does not leak.

From El Salvador – November 2008

Here’s Denise helping to hoist the galvanized pipe.

From El Salvador – November 2008

Carefully attaching the next piece of galvanized pipe and lowering it into the well.

From El Salvador – November 2008

Everything is put together and Brandy is testing it out.

From El Salvador – November 2008

Here’s Kent with one of our new friends testing out the pump.

From El Salvador – November 2008

Just before our dedication ceremony at the village, everyone turned out. It was like a big party. If you look to the left of the soccer field, you will see the cows being driven home for the night.

From El Salvador – November 2008

Here’s our whole group behind the completed well.

From El Salvador – November 2008

Then many of the kids came out to join us.

From El Salvador – November 2008

Tomorrow we’ll dedicate the well by the highway. I’ll write more about tonights dedication ceremony later. It was a very special time for all of us.

From El Salvador – November 2008

Then we started drilling at the second well. We all got to sample some fresh coconut, and the people who live around the well made us a really nice lunch.

From El Salvador – November 2008

We found water not long after noon. We ran into some rock that slowed us down, so we were not able to pour the cement base before the day was finished. But we did finish blowing out the well (developing it). This is the process where we blow air down the well after we’ve added the PVC pipe to clean it out. It usually takes a couple of hours, but it can take much longer. It’s also a great time to let everyone play in the nice clean water!

From El Salvador – November 2008

Tomorrow morning, we’ll pour the cement for the second well, then lower the pump into the first well and finish it up before heading back to well 2 to finish up. If all goes as we hope, we will be having the well dedication ceremony at 4pm tomorrow afternoon.

From El Salvador – November 2008

(Blowing the water out.)

From El Salvador – November 2008

(Quick dip in the river to cool off.)

From El Salvador – November 2008

(Finishing the concrete pad.)

From El Salvador – November 2008

We will start drilling another well tomorrow morning. Hopefully we will have two well dedications to attend on Thursday.

From El Salvador – November 2008

We were making quick progress dropping 5 feet every 10 to 15 minutes. We saw some mud and a little water at around 20 feet but this is about the level of the hand dug wells and the water is still contaminated. However, we were not seeing any clean water and all the signs were pointing to another dry well. They had previously drilled 3 dry wells in the same area. So, just before noon the LWI team leader decided to abandon the site. It was a very tough decision. We loaded up all the equipment, ate lunch and headed to another site. It was really hard to leave. The people were sad and some of the children were even crying. They told us that LWI will still take care of those people. They may come in with a larger drilling rig that can go much deeper, or they may provide sand filters for each home to use.

From El Salvador – November 2008

The new site was on a main highway where two communities will be able to benefit from the well. But we are more limited on space and we do not have as much room to play with the kids.

From El Salvador – November 2008

Part of the team went to get the rest of the equipment from the first site, and by the time they got back we were getting into some water at around 40 feet. We had a problem with the top of the hole caving in and needed another piece of equipment that we didn’t have to prevent it from getting worse. It was nearly sun down, so we packed up and left for the day. Tomorrow we should be able to drill down another 15 feet or so and then start assembling the pipes for the well.

Here’s short video about that trip:

This weekend we’re going back. But this time Shannon and I are both on the team. I’m really excited that we will be together on this trip. We have a lot of work to do this week to finish getting ready. I will be taking my laptop, and there is a chance we will have some limited internet access while we’re there. You can check back here for updates throughout the week or at the following blog set up by one of our other team members. http://teamlivingwater08.blogspot.com/

Finally, once the hole was completed down to about 100 feet, we had to start putting everything else in place. First though, we had to remove the drill stem and the drill bit. We just did everything in reverse order and got it all back out.

The next task was the hardest of all. We had to lower the pump and all the galvanized pipe down inside the PVC pipe by hand. We used these large C-shaped wrenches to grip the pipe and slowly lower it; then a vice was used to hold it in place while we raised our wrenches back up to grab hold again.

The final step was to test everything out.

Once we had everything working, we went back to the resort where we were staying to get cleaned up and came back to the school for a well dedication ceremony.

After the ceremony, we stayed for a little while and visited with all the children and their families. There were lots of hugs and several of the mothers and grandmothers thanked me for coming to help them. There was a strange mix of emotions: joy, sadness, hope, and love. It was bitter-sweet to be finished with this project; it was pretty hard to leave.

Our team was divided into two groups. Each group had 4 drillers. There are 4 positions on the drilling rig. First up is the one operating the drill. You control the rotation, up and down movement, and keep an eye on the flow of mud up the shaft.

Second was the assistant driller. This person is responsible for keeping the trench clean and the mud flowing. You also have to take the soil samples as well as switch the mud pump to recirculate back into the pit instead of down the drill stem when it’s time to add a new section of drill pipe.

Next up is the tool pusher who is responsible for all the tools. You keep the tools in their proper place, retrieve tools as needed, and general oversight of the team. You also prepare the drill pipes when their needed by cleaning the threads and adding some grease.

Finally was our favorite position in the mud pit. Here you have to ensure that the mud pump keeps flowing. This involves reaching down into the mud and pulling any debris away from the intake of the pump’s hose. You have to be careful to keep the intake hose under the surface, because if it draws in air, then the pump will lose suction and will have to be primed again.

If we were not drilling we were drinking as much water as possible, resting in the shade, or playing with the kids.

Many people have been curious about the specifics of the drilling work we were doing in El Salvador.

First of all, in order to drill for water, you need a lot of water. That sounds funny, but we had to pump water down the drill pipe and out the end of the drill bit. This serves several purposes. It keeps the drill bit cool, helps to soften the dirt, and pushes up all the cuttings back to the surface. So, we drove to the river and filled several barrels with not-so-clean water. There were many women and children at the river doing laundry and fetching water as well.

We also have to dig a couple of pits. Fortunately, one of the local men had already dug the pits for us when we arrived. Next we had to seal the pits with mud and bentonite. The bentonite mixed with water made a slushy mixture that reminded me of runny pudding. These pits were going to hold water for our drilling operation, so they needed be sealed up. We had some trouble with this because the ground was pretty cracked. Water kept flowing out of the pits and flowing from one pit to the other, but after some effort and a lot of mud and bentonite we got them plugged up.

As the drill cuts down, the cuttings flow up the hole, and down a trench into the first pit. This is the settling pit where the larger bits of rock and dirt will settle. Then the muddy water flows to the second pit where the mud pump sucks it back up and down the drill pipe for another run.

Every 5 feet of drilling we would have to add a new length of drill pipe to the rig. At this point, we would also take a soil sample of the sediment coming up so we could gage what type of material were were drilling through. This was also a good time to change shifts so half the team could rest while the other half worked in the sun. Sometimes a 5 foot section would go rather quickly (20 minutes), and other times it make take 3 hours. We must have hit some dense rock or iron ore on Monday, because it took us many hours just to go about 15 feet, but on Tuesday things really sped up and we drilled all the way down to 100 feet.