The Tour Dallas ride was a resounding success. We all had a great time. In the 20 miler group we finished 3rd place (from the end).

From 2009 Tour Dallas Ride

Kat rode the full 20 miles on her own bike. Tiger started out behind dad and the Bear in the trailer behind Mom. After a few difficult hills we decided to switch the trailer and afterburner.

From 2009 Tour Dallas Ride

Once I started pulling the trailer I realized that it seems to be having some kind of alignment problem. There was far more drag than it should have. I had just recently put new tires on, but I must have gotten something out of whack. This didn’t slow me down too much at first, but as the ride went on it started to hold me back quite a bit.

We all had a great time, and the kids even got some cool medals for completing the ride.

From 2009 Tour Dallas Ride

“Mom, if you’re ever standing on a dragon’s head and he’s flying … well, that’s a bad idea.”
- Tiger (Age 5)

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

Kat: “It’s okay…. I know some karate moves!”

Said in response to George telling Bear to stop hitting Kat over the head with a toy.

(Kat’s homeschool PE class recently finished their third, and last, class in karate. Apparently they learned defensive moves that can be used when you are being attacked by a two year old.)

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.