From Colleen:
I had felt an urging previously that I didn´t want to do many community visits. That I would stay in the community where I live, teach some English, homeschool, take care of my family…my heart was won over by a community called Platanares, why go anywhere else?
The original plan pertaining to my work was to help facilitate community health awareness to go alongside Alan´s work with the water and sanitation. That plan has seemed so far off in the distance, as each community has its different set of needs, and it takes time to build relationships in each one.
Then I went to Villa Caleta . Heart changed! I fell in love with the kids just as I did in Platanares. I led activities and games each day with the children, and although for some the living conditions would be less than ideal (living without a faucet or bathroom in your house)…I couldn´t have been happier! The children were an absolute joy. All of the pain I had physically been feeling before disappeared! What an awesome time! And thank you God for sending us!
From Alan:
As one comedian put it, “Happy wife, happy life.” So I had a great time, too! Moreover, with the help of some new teammates that God has sent our way, the Gonzalez family (Alcibiades is a magician with anything mechanical or electronic, Damaris is great with kids, and their precious daughter, Liseth is about a year older than Kalea. They are all great with people and have an appreciation for the indigenous peoples), the installation of the water well and structure to house electronics for Villa Caleta´s pump went even better than planned… not to mention God´s timing. In the span of 3 days, were able to build the infiltration well and test it on the driest day of the year, perhaps of the decade; then the sky opened up and we got to check its performance in semi-flood conditions. All this was done with materials left in the community from failed projects of the past. The village came to life as everyone soaked up the first downpour of the year.The community put in over 100 man-days without counting the children, which may have done more work than the men! Great idea, teacher man, to cancel class and lend many hands. We´d never have finished otherwise. Everyone seemed pleased with the results. Check out the video below!!
On the downside, I´m writing from the emergency room where Kalea lies asleep with an I.V. in her arm. It appears that she picked up something out there or perhaps on the way back in. She was holding her own for a couple days, but got worse this morning so we decided to bring her in for fluids and tests. We are very grateful for your support that allows us to use the best medical care available here. And we thank you for your continued prayers for her health and ours.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvC_C5ZlPuU&rel=0]
