Water has Arrived

We spent last week in a community called Cangaime.  It was about a 35 minute flight from Shell and then a 15 minute walk into the center of the community where we would be staying.  I got to fly in the front seat with the pilot for the flight in so that was very exciting!  The community already has an existing elevated water tank and distribution system.  The system was installed about 6 years ago by others with two different types of pumps which were either too costly to maintain or unable to pump up to the elevated tank.  Our goal for this trip was to install a solar pumping system with enough pressure to reach the elevated water tank.  Praise the Lord we did it!

We worked hard from Monday to Thursday preparing the site and installing the pump.  This included cleaning the existing tanks, installing the solar panels, assembling the pump and piping, and clearing a lot of trees.  It was amazing to see how the Shuar men went through and cleared massive amounts of trees with only machetes.  It got a little scary at times with trees falling towards the pump station site, but God's protected us all.  Every afternoon Steph, Lizzie and I would go and survey the existing distribution line.  We used a GPS, a tape measure and a notebook.  We had guys going ahead of us with machetes to clear the path.  It was quite challenging to hike through those areas with the heat and all the bugs.  We were able to get survey of the entire system and now can determine if we will be able to serve all the homes in the community with the existing system.  We have left the community with the responsibility of checking the existing systems for leaks and problem areas and digging up the entire system to make a deeper trench so that the pipe can have a sufficient amount of cover.  We will return in December or January to re-evaluate the existing system and to make any necessary repairs.  We praise the Lord for the opprotunity to serve this community and to show them the love of Christ.  We were able to start establishing friendships as we worked beside them for the week and are excited to return and be the hands and feet of Jesus. 

New Experiences in Cangaime:

*Eating fish every day, sometimes for all 3 meals, with boiled yuca and bananas
*Chicha, a traditional Shuar drink:  consists of pieces of washed, peeled yuca root that are thoroughly chewed in the mouth, and the resulting juice is spat into a bowl. The fibrous mass that remains in the mouth is used elsewhere. The bowl is set aside for a few hours to allow the juice to ferment.  (You can guess I didn't actually drink any due to my past stomach issues... it was offered many times though)
*More tarantulas hiding in the leaves
*Fun times with pit latrines:

• Very unstable boards around the pit -> Question: will I fall in the latrine?

• LARGE spiders outside and inside of the latrine pit -> WOW really big!

• Bats inside the latrines  ->  Question: Are they going to fly up and bite my bum?

*Ants, flies, ants, wasps, more ants, spiders, what just stung me?, so many ANTS
*Shuar women running and screaming because a very poisonous snake came by... a man of the community killed it after about 10 hits with a log
*Eating rice and sardine soup on a "picnic table" on site that was just made moments before lunch
*Not showering for a week
*Learning how to install a solar pump
*Being in God's beautiful creation
*Watching a people group interact whose lives and customs are so different then my own
*Eating dinner and watching a incredible display of lighting from afar
*Listening to my iPOD with Lizzie in the tent and not being able to hear it at full blast from the sound of the rain on the tin roof
*Enjoying lemongrass tea and a breakfast of rice and a fried egg
*Eating the most organic I have ever eaten in my life!

So many new experiences and adventures!  Who said living for the Jesus was boring... He rocks my world!  I leave for the jungle again on Saturday.  We are going to Cuisime... it will be a 10 hour car ride and then a 3 hour canoe trip.  More updates to come!  Thank you for your continued prayer.  Our God is so amazing!!