|
|
|
Canyon Trip to Guacaivo, October '08 Hello Everyone,October is almost gone! I can't believe there are only two more months left in this year. It seems like there are not enough time to get everything done. On Wednesday October 8th, Tim and I along with the group from Montana made the trip to the canyon village of Guacaivo once more. This was Tim's first trip into the canyon, one he won't soon forget. We went down to finish up some small projects left to do, such as pouring concrete for the dinning area, finish building bunk beds and final modifications and improvements to the water system. While Tim and I were heading into the canyon our families back in town were doing the village outreaches without us. I left my truck for shelly to take everyone out to the villages. She had no trouble at all using the four-wheel-drive to get in and out of those hard to reach places. We took Tim's land cruiser as far as we could, parked at the rim and began the hike down. When we all arrived late on Wednesday, we were delighted to see children for the first time there at the albergue. They were just finishing up their dinner and were beginning to wash their plates. The photos below show the children eating then washing their plates outside in a 5-gallon bucket. That was before we installed the sinks in the kitchen.
What makes the water system here so awesome is that this village is in one of the most remote places you can get to in the canyons with no electricity or running water for miles around. This facility now has high pressure running water for showers, washing clothes, toilets and for the kitchen! The children that live in the alberge during the week had never seen sinks or flushing toilets before. When they saw the commodes for the first time they were trying to wash their faces in them.
The children now can wash their dishes in a sink with running water.
If a person has never seen a toilet before, these seemingly crazy warnings are necessary (see above picture). The teachers and helpers in the dorm/kitchen have had a hard time getting the children, especially the boys to use the bathrooms and not "go" behind the building instead. The women (below) that came down were in charge of getting the bunk beds built and supplying the guys with gravel and sand for the concrete work. If the truth be known they worked harder than all of us men!
The bunk beds are now all complete.
As usual I brought down, or I should say, the mules brought down the equipment to show movies to the kids each night. They all were so happy and excited to see the moving pictures on the wall. The night I showed the Jesus Film for Children almost everyone of the kids prayed to accept Jesus for the first time! The adults who came in out of curiosity were just as thrilled as the kids to watch the movies as well. This film ministry is a powerful tool, we are in constant need of new Christian movies for the kids and adults.
Each trip to the canyon is very special because you get to meet new people with a heart for missions and also you get to see the fruits of your labors. I have been very blessed to be a part of this work in Guacaivo.
To the left Steve and Josh are burying water lines. The children to the right are enjoying their first shower.
Ed Albrite and Rosenda exploring an old mine in the ruins of Barranca del Cobre, one of the oldest settlements in the canyon located along the old "El Camino Real".
The rains have pretty much stopped in Creel so now we can begin working on the two ongoing water projects again. The longer than usual rainy season set the work back at least two months. I know that God has a reason for everything, I just have to keep reminding myself that. Pray for our continued safety in this area. The violence and kidnappings continue. The day we went to the canyon we found out that there was another mass killing in the next big town south of Creel. There were 17 killed in the town of Guachochi. In the past two weeks there have been 400 murders connected with drugs. Onor u'ami micuirsa (God Bless You, in Tarahumara) Ryan, Shelly, Monica and Melena Maness
|
|
|
