Hermanos en Cristo

I've done a lot of walking in this community

My last visit to Carabuela happened this past week.  There were things to take care of, and I was the only one around from the office that was available to go.  This time though, it was different.  Before I was basically hoping to survive while finishing the tasks at hand.  This time I felt God asking more of me than just serving through my physical and mental labor.  He wanted me to speak, to encourage and share about His faithfulness.

Now as you probably are well aware, I am not exactly gifted when it comes to words coming out of my mouth.  Producing a perfectly logical argument, I explained to God why this was not a good idea: I'm no preacher, not to mention my Spanish is still pretty rough.  As far as I was concerned, I was better off keeping my mouth shut and sticking to working hard and being a servant.  The irony is that during this dialogue with God I had started reading through Exodus and the beginning of Moses' story, where he chickened out when God asked him to speak.  Interesting timing...  Anyway it didn't take long to figure that God thought it was a good idea after all.  Even so I had no idea what He wanted me to say, or who to say it to.

As I sat on the bus traveling by the winding mountain roads toward Carabuela, I asked God to give me some ideas for what to say.  Nothing came to me.  I flipped through my Spanish dictionary until I decided that He would work something out, probably at the last minute of course.

The chanchitos kept me company

When I arrived in the community I went about my work, doing the usual walk around with Luis and Alberto to check on things.  I needed to get an estimate for daily water usage, which meant I had to take measurements in a reservoir for 24 hours.  Basically I had to sit outside at this reservoir as long as people were awake and using water.  Staying up late with a dying flashlight at my side, getting a little sleep, and then waking up at four in the morning to start again made for some tedious work.  At least it gave me plenty of time to read some books.

When it came time for me to leave, to my dismay it seemed that I had missed any opportunities to say whatever I was supposed to say to whoever I was supposed to say it to.  As I headed for the bus station I felt like a failure.  Then Luis asked if I would eat lunch with him before I left.  Here was another chance.  He took me to the nearby city and we sat down in a little restaurant.  Still no inspirational words came to mind.  So I just started talking.  I let him know that I enjoyed working with him, and I appreciated his strong work ethic.  The most important thing though was that we shared our faith in Jesus.  He patiently listened to my broken Spanish as I talked about our differences in culture, background, language, skin color, and lifestyle.  But with all the differences we are still of equal value to God, and part of the same family.  We are ''hermanos en Cristo'' (brothers in Christ).  Luis' eyes lit up as he smiled and nodded.  He told me the next time I come to Ecuador I am welcome to come visit and stay in his house again.  I said if God takes me back again I would gladly do that.

After we finished our lunch Luis shook my hand, and then gave me a hug.  Even though it was just a short conversation, I felt that it was just as important as all the work we did on the water system.  God continues to teach me through experiences that are uncomfortable, exciting, boring, painful, rewarding, and sometimes awkward.  Through all of it I am reassured of His faithfulness to guide my steps and my words, even if it's at the last minute.

Another World

The community of Wayuzentza

Last week I survived my first trip to the Amazon Jungle.  After traveling to the town of Shell, about a six hour bus ride from Quito, I met up with the team on Monday.  Alfredo, Wim, Eric, and I represented HCJB and Jonas, who has been working in the community already with Compassion International, came with us.  A one hour flight with an MAF pilot brought us to the community of Wayuzentza, near the border of Peru.  At that point we had entered a whole different world.

Wayuzentza is a small community of about 20 families located next to a winding river.  The village has a large airstrip, thatched roof houses, a dirt soccer field, and lots of chickens.  They are part of the Achuar people, who have their own language and culture apart from other indigenous groups.  The majority speak Spanish as a second language.  With no electricity, running water, or proper bathrooms there are many needs for improved water and sanitation.  Two springs provide water to the people for drinking, washing, and bathing.  The problem is they are unprotected from contamination and the people have to haul the water by buckets to their homes.  They requested help in developing a water system to provide clean water to the community.

The community leader talking with Jonas

Landing on the gravel airstrip

Obviously this village is somewhat isolated, so we had a curious crowd of people gathering to see the big gringos coming out of the plane.  To start out we needed to have a meeting with the community members.  Meetings in the jungle tend to be a bit unorganized and inefficient by Western standards.  But that's just how things work.  Alfredo first explained a little about the team and what our objective was.  He informed them that HCJB would complete the designs, but the community would be responsible for the manual labor for their water system.  In response there were some complaints about having to dig trenches, the people had to talk some more and decide among themselves, and it went on and on like this.  Eventually they decided to continue the meeting the next day.  After they came to the conclusion that they did indeed want to work on the project, we began doing our work.

Wim and I working on the survey

With the equipment we brought on the plane, we completed a survey of the land and mapped out the locations of houses and community areas.  A few of the leaders in the community helped clear out sight lines by hacking through the jungle with machetes.  Kids watched curiously to see what we were doing.  The whole process only took about a two days, but the extra time spent with the community was just as important to build trust and familiarity with the people.  A social survey was also completed to get some information on habits related to water usage.

Like I said, being in this community was like experiencing a different world.  Life is much simpler and slower.  It definitely made me appreciate having a faucet and a bathroom whenever I need them.  Carrying buckets of water up muddy slopes over long distances is hard work.  After four days of eating nothing but boiled chicken, yuca, and plantains three meals a day I was starting to lose my appetite.  One time I saw a little boy reach inside a hollowed out log, pull out a yellow grub as big as the palm of his hand, and chomp down as it wriggled around.  I sort of wanted one, just for the variety.

Some of the kids after a community futbol game

It wouldn't have been a proper trip to the jungle without a little bit of adventure.  On a particularly hot afternoon a few of us decided to cool off in the river.  We came across a hand carved canoe tied along the bank.  Wim wanted to take it for a spin, so I agreed to go with him.  How hard could it be?  Well the current ended up being a bit stronger than it looked, and our casual paddle along the river turned into a desperate attempt to get back to land.  That attempt resulted in swamping the canoe, being carried downstream, eventually getting caught in some tree branches, and pulling the canoe out of the water.  After that we decided canoeing was not our thing.

Those canoes are not meant for large, unbalanced people

The pilot put on a little show for the village after he dropped us off...




More pictures here!

Unexpected Jungle Trip

Working with a mission organization requires some flexibility.  You never know for sure what's going to happen next.  For example, yesterday I was asked to help on a water project in the jungle,  and leave on Sunday.  Even with the short notice, it didn't take too much convincing for me to decide to go.  While it's not the best timing for me, at least things in Carabuela are stable right now.  I will need to go back there when I return to Quito though.

This may or may not be what I look like by the end of the week

This is pretty exciting for me because I haven't been in the real jungle here in Ecuador yet.  We are working with Compassion International to do a study on a community.  This includes a survey and taking a look at their current water source.  Alfredo, Wim, a Compassion worker, and I will be working out there for a week.  So once I'm packed tomorrow I will hop on a bus and head to Shell, about a five hour ride.  From there we will fly out Monday morning on a small plane deep into the jungle to work and live with the community for five days.  It will definitely be a unique experience, as it's a different world out there.

Getting out of the city can be nice, since I don't have to breathe all the exhaust fumes and listen to car alarms.  Also being without electricity for a week might be somewhat freeing.  I'm looking forward to this next adventure, while trying to stay flexible.

HCJB Water Projects Video

This video summarizes what HCJB Water Projects does in communities in the different regions of Ecuador.  It gives a good idea of the vision and biblical motivations for this work.  Besides that I just like the narrator's accent.

Answered Prayer in Carabuela

Last night I returned to Quito after spending three days in the community of Carabuela.  This was the first time that I had been in the community by myself so it was a little bit intimidating.  The language barrier is always a huge challenge, but combining that with a culture that is even more different than Ecuadorians here was a pretty big step for me.  To be honest, I knew taking the responsibility would be good for me, but man I was dreading it.  While I was feeling a lack of confidence God definitely came through for me, and that ended up being an awesome experience.

Where I spent my nights in Luis' house

Carabuela is a community of Quichuas, indigenous people who live in the Andes of South America.  Their culture, language, and appearance, is different than other Ecuadorians.  The majority speak Spanish as a second language.  So when I say there's a language barrier, I mean when I'm trying to communicate, neither of us are speaking our native language.  They have been very hospitable and generous, which is great.  I stayed in a house with Luis and his family, where they gave up one of their two bedrooms for me.  That meant Luis and his wife had to sleep in one room with both their baby boy and little girl.  They also kept me well fed with plenty of chicken, potatoes, and bread.

The ceilings in Luis' house were not
built for anyone over 6 feet tall

Basically I needed to work with a couple guys from the Junta de Agua Potable, Luis and Alberto, to get the chlorine disinfection system up and running.  I realize that the work I have been doing is probably not the most interesting reading for some, especially those who are less technical minded.  But to summarize, there was testing done that showed harmful bacteria in the water source, which means treatment is needed to provide a healthy supply.  We were having some frustrating problems with the chlorine injection pumps, and I needed help to fix them.

Luis and Alberto transporting some chlorine

After the first day we were still having problems, and I was getting very discouraged.  It was pretty difficult to explain the process to Luis and Alberto, since my technical Spanish vocabulary is lacking.  The morning of the second day, I had little desire or motivation to continue the work.  Fortunately Luis had some thing to do first, so as often happens I had to wait for a while.  It turned out to be a perfect time to spend reading my Bible and asking God for some help.  In that hour and a half I prayed that God would give me wisdom and strength to keep going.  I was pretty desperate.  After I finished praying, nothing changed.  I still felt the same.  But I went out and got to work anyway.

What surprised me is that after I made that first move, God started answering all those prayers.  Suddenly it seemed I was able to communicate more easily, and my mind was operating more clearly.  We finally got the pumps working smoothly, after a few hours of work.  We were pumped!  Ok, bad joke I know.  I knew God had been working, it was an amazing feeling.  But while that was pretty exciting, it was even better to see Luis and Alberto start to be more enthusiastic about things.  My relationship with them was also starting to be more personal as we talked about our families and backgrounds.  When you work with someone for long periods of time, it opens the door to get to know them.  I was able to share some of my motivation for coming to Ecuador, and how God was working in all of that.

Alberto tests chlorine on the water 

The next day we spent monitoring the system and testing for chlorine in the water.  I taught them how to use the testing equipment so that they can continue to record data while I am gone.  It's encouraging to see the willingness of the community to work and put in the effort needed to maintain things.  There is a lot of potential for Carabuela, and I feel blessed that God could use me to be even just a small part of their growth as a community.

Luis' two kids, who were very entertained by the sight of me

Going Up

My weekends here in Ecuador have been exhausting in a different way than the weekdays.  When I'm working in the office or in the community it's mostly mentally tiring, from trying to do engineering in Spanish.  But on my days off I like to get out and explore the country, which can take it out of me physically.  It's always a good kind of tired though, I never have trouble sleeping at night.

This past weekend was a good example, as I destroyed my legs climbing two mountains.  After trekking up to over 15,000 ft above sea level I have a new appreciation for how awesome the terrain is in this country, and also for the people that have to build roads around here.  The views were amazing, right up until we reached the clouds, and then everything went white.  There's something about reaching the summit of a mountain that makes all the pain, headaches, and gasping for air worthwhile.  At least I think so.  I wish I had more time here to explore.  There is so much to see with such a huge variety of landscapes in Ecuador.

I took a few pictures along the way.

The winding trail up Pichincha

We made it to the top!

Tomorrow I head to Carabuela for another visit.  This time we hope to fix our pump problems and get the system running, assuming everything goes as planned.  After Roberto, an HCJB engineer from a Quichua community, helps me with the installation, I'll be on my own for a few days.  During that time I'm going to be monitoring the disinfection system and testing the water quality.  On top of that I'll be developing procedures for the community water administrators to maintain the system on their own.  This will be a challenge, honestly I don't feel very well equipped for this.  Teaching technical ideas is hard enough, let alone doing it in Spanish.  But God has a way of putting me in situations where He can more easily show His presence, reminding me that I can't do things on my own.

Nothing is Impossible

When life gets busy, it's easy for me to think that there isn't time to be still.  Thanks to a timely reminder from my friend Janine, I started reading My Utmost for His Highest since coming to Ecuador.  The other day I read about falling into the trap of thinking that some things just cannot be done, because of what we lack.  It was a reminder that God's plan is achieved by the supernatural, not by what our own strength can manage.  Since I have trouble remembering things that I read, I decided to start writing something about the devotional each morning on my hand to serve as a reminder throughout the day.  Ironically, the day that I read that one I was walking down the street thinking, ''I haven't been keeping up with my Bible reading the past couple days...''  And then I thought, ''Well when you're traveling and things are busy, you know, it's pretty  much impossible to take time to do that.''  Right at that moment I looked down at my wrist and saw in black ink, ''NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE''.  I had to laugh, it was just a little slap in the face from above.

That's also a good reminder for the situation with our current project in Carabuela.  After working on installing some chlorination equipment for their water system on Monday and Tuesday, we ran into a problem with the pumps.  As a result we had to leave without finishing, which was disappointing.  After searching all over the city for some new parts (you have to be creative with what's available sometimes), we came up with a solution.  Bruce and I are planning on going back on Monday to hopefully fix the problem.  After that it's up to me to monitor the system for a few days.  I'm still not real confident in my Spanish ability to feel comfortable in the community on my own, but as Bruce said, "Necessity is a great motivator to learn the language."  Well I'm sure there will be plenty of motivation.

Wim measuring our injection pump flow rate