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Heard tonight as we were in the van:

“Hey Mom and Dad, I just figured something out. . . If you have 4 hours and put it into 3 groups, you’d have one hour and twenty minutes in each group!”

You know, I had been feeling a wee bit guilty that Kat never finished her 1st grade math workbook this year. I guess she’s doing all right.

Filed under: Family, Homeschool, Quote of the Day on June 19th, 2008 | 3 Comments »

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

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.

Next we lowered some 4 inch PVC pipe down. The first piece in had lots of small cuts in it to allow water from the aquifer to flow in. We glued each new piece on and waited 5 minutes before lowering it down and glueing the next section. Then we filled the space outside the PVC pipe with gravel, then sand. The next morning, we lowered the drill pipe back down inside the PVC pipe. Once we were near the bottom of the well, a very large air compressor was attached and air was blown down the well to force out all the mud and sand. This caused muddy water to shoot way up in the air. Here you can see how muddy the water was at first.

But it eventually cleared up after several hours of being blown out.

We took the opportunity to pose for a picture in front of the water. You can see Estuardo in the back to the left. Just as we headed for the picture, he turned the air flow down. I figured he was making it blow less water out so we could get close, but then he blasted the compressor on high and soaked us with this nice sandy water.

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.

When We got to the end of a pipe, we clamped it down with the vice and screwed on the next section of pipe. Of course it got heavier with each new section of pipe.

Once the pump was lowered all the way down, we assembled the top of the pump.

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.

Many of the children and their parents came to the ceremony. Above you can see Abel talking to the crowd. He also translated as Stephen spoke to them. Then we all gathered around the well while the principal of the school pumped the well first.

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.

Filed under: El Salvador, Faith on May 31st, 2008 | No Comments »

. . . This was also a good time to change shifts so half the team could rest while the other half worked in the sun.

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.

Filed under: El Salvador, Faith on May 28th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

. . . I choose to go because these children are loved by God just as much as my own children, and they have just as much of a right to clean water as my children do.

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.

Filed under: El Salvador, Faith on May 27th, 2008 | 3 Comments »

. . .So we decided that I should go on my own; this would be a fact-finding mission for me as well as a well drilling mission.

I was really excited to learn that we would be drilling a well for a school. Living Water (the organization we went with), drills wells all over the world for communities, churches, schools, and all those in desperate need of clean water. But there just seems to be something special about providing water for a school. Several things happen when a school has good water. It’s customary for the women and children to be the ones to fetch the water every day. Many children have to miss school because they have to be the ones to get the water (especially young girls). When there is good clean water at the school, attendance goes up as children come with their pots to take water back home.

More children getting an education will have a huge impact on the community for generations.

Being at a school also gave our hygiene team a unique, and challenging, opportunity to teach many children some of the fundamentals of good health. The children learned how germs are spread, why it’s important to wash your hands after using the toilet and before eating, and how to protect your food and water from contamination.

Chronic illness is rampant because people simply do not have access to clean water. Around 85% of the worlds illnesses are related to unsafe drinking water. So many of the children we saw seemed so happy and healthy, but looks can be deceiving. One of the days we were there, a couple of the team members went across the street to talk to some of the people in the community. When asked if their children were sick, many parents would say no. But if asked if they had problems with diarrhea, they would say oh yes, the children have diarrhea every day. If every time you have a bowel movement, it’s diarrhea, that becomes normal to you, and many don’t even realize that this is a chronic illness. In some areas of Africa, they will not even name their children until they are 2 years old because the infant mortality rates are so high. The vast majority of the sicknesses killing their children are in their water. In El Salvador, we saw several hand-dug wells. These wells are probably only 20 feet deep, but they are also in close proximity to the hand-dug toilets. The contamination from their own waste flows right into the water they are drinking. Those who live near a river or stream suffer from the contamination of their neighbors up stream. Those who drink from water holes like this one next to the highway suffer from contamination from the road.

My family may not be able to solve the world’s water crisis, but we can absolutely have a profound impact. I choose to go because these children are loved by God just as much as my own children, and they have just as much of a right to clean water as my children do.

Filed under: El Salvador, Faith on May 25th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Two weeks ago today, I set out on a trip to El Salvador. Myself and four other members from our church were on a mission to help the poor by drilling a clean water well for a school. I will tell you more about it, but first let me go back.

We try to help our children see that there are many people in this world who have much less that we do. Many who do not have even some of the basic necessities of life. One thing we like to do around Christmas time is to go through the catalogue we get from World Vision. If you haven’t seen their holiday catalogue, you should check it out. It’s especially great for children. It’s not a catalogue of stuff you can buy for yourself, but rather items you can buy for others. You can buy animals (chickens, goats, cows, camels). You can buy fishing nets and equipment. You can buy school supplies, medical supplies, or clothing. Each item has pictures of children or families which are representative of the people that will receive your gifts. There are some pages with many items for smaller dollar amounts which makes it affordable for the kids. It’s really helped our children to feel closer to the people they are giving their money to. They know that the vegetable seeds or blankets they’re buying are not going to the girl in the picture, but it still is much more personal than just giving money to a large organization. And of course you can buy a water well or part of one. It’s also been a great reminder to us as we desire to buy things for ourselves which we often don’t really need. My wife will sometimes lovingly remind me where our priorities should be by asking, “How many camels can you buy for the cost of this ____?”.

We started to dream about being able to pay for a well, which in some areas can be over $20,000. In El Salvador it only cost about $5,000. An even bigger dream was to be able to go as a family and let our children see first hand that unless we give and go to help, there are many people who will not even have clean water to drink. So we were excited when our community of faith decided to participate in the Advent Conspiracy. The basic idea is that we would spend less money on ourselves, our friends, and family for Christmas so that we could spend more money helping to provide clean water to people around the world. At the beginning of this year, our elders thought it would be a good idea to also send a team to help with a well in addition to sending the money we had raised. As soon as Shannon and I heard of the opportunity, we were very excited. We both wanted to go. However, we felt it may be a little too soon to leave our youngest away from her Momma for a week. So we decided that I should go on my own; this would be a fact-finding mission for me as well as a well drilling mission.

Filed under: El Salvador, Faith on May 24th, 2008 | No Comments »

These are technically from Thursday’s trip to the museum. Our Friday wasn’t all that eventful. We had a good week while George was away. I’m so thankful my parents, especially my mom, were able to spend extra time with the kids and help me out. It would have been far more challenging if they hadn’t. Thanks Mom and Dad!!

Filed under: Adventures, Family on May 23rd, 2008 | 3 Comments »

The kids and I took mom to the local museum. Tiger LOVED this wall. He probably spent an hour there. Yes, the ball did go all the way from one side to the other with this arrangement. That is, as long as you used the ping-pong balls, not the golf balls.

On the way home from the museum, we stopped at the botanic gardens and ate our sandwiches. (This is another photo taken with my phone. It turned out blurry. I tried to modify it so it looked like it was supposed to be blurry, but it’s not perfect.)

Mom took the kids and let me lay down on the blanket and rest a bit. I fell asleep. Thanks for the nap, Mom!!

I’m starting to run out of interesting things to write. So…. pictures today, videos tomorrow, then start reading George’s adventures on Saturday.

Filed under: Adventures, Family on May 22nd, 2008 | 1 Comment »

Today was a hard day for me. I know George is only going to be gone a week, but it had been several days since he left, yet his return on Saturday still seemed so far away.

The kids and I took my mom on her very first trip to IKEA. I bought a new bed for Kat and will be selling the loft bed that wasn’t working out for us anymore. The new bed is smaller than a twin-size, yet still larger than a crib mattress. It fits nicely in the not-so-large room that Kat and Bear share. Usually George does all the tying of IKEA boxes onto our van’s roof, but it was obviously up to mom and I this time. Luckily, I married a guy who thought it would be important to teach his wife a few good knots. You never know when you might need to tie a tautline hitch!

I wanted to help each of the kids send a text message to George tonight. They would dictate and I’d type it in. Or so I thought. Four words into Kat’s message she gently pulled the phone out of my hands and started pushing the buttons herself.

And away she went. She needed help spelling some words but that was about it. I didn’t have to explain anything about having to push a button multiple times to get the letter you want. She just knew it. Somehow.

Filed under: Adventures, Family on May 21st, 2008 | 4 Comments »

Today was a tough day that was ending with all 3 kiddos crying (uh, screaming) in unison at bedtime. My evening took a turn for the better, however, when my cell phone notified me that I had a voice message from George. The team was tired from the work today but it looked like they had indeed hit water! He also said he didn’t think I had received all 3 of his text messages.

Three? Nope, I’d only received one. A text message from me and one back from him and we cleared up what I had and had not received. The messages I missed had instructed me to “Go talk to The Cat in the Hat. He had something for me.” I went into Tiger’s bedroom (who was still awake…at 10:30PM!) and searched the bookshelves until I found this:

And behind the book was this:

A sweet Mother’s Day card and a bag of Dark Chocolate Toffee Almonds. Mmmm! Poor guy. He’d been trying to tell me about his little surprise for over 48 hours and he was not getting any response back from me. That had to have been frustrating for him.

(This was the last text message I received while he was away. He sent more but they were never received by me.)

Filed under: Adventures, Family on May 20th, 2008 | 2 Comments »