Sitanachi Trip - Oct. 07'

Tuesday October 2nd we left for the village of Sitanachi again. This is the village we went to in July this past summer with a group

from Morelia, Mx. for the first time. We returned to visit the only Christian family that lives in the village to encourage them, to test

the spring there for a possible water project in the future and to take and distribute some water filters. This family has received a lot

of persecution from the others of the village even to the point of the leader of the family being taken to the main town of this

municipality and threatened by catholic priests there. All this has not shaken their faith, it has only strengthened it.

Since this village is located far into the mountains, it took us about seven hours to get there from Creel. It had been raining in that

area for a couple of days making the mountain roads almost impassable. We had to ford several rivers, go through long stretches of

nothing but mud and washed-out steep sections of "road". I will definitely have to work on my truck's suspension when we get back

to the states. The sway bar end-links are destroyed as well as the center bushings and I need a 4" to six" lift kit with heavier front

springs. We had planned to show a film and set up our tents like we did on the first trip, but the rain changed our plans. We wound

up sleeping one of their barns with the chickens at one end and us at the other. We will go back in the spring when it will be the dry

season to check the spring again.

Ernesto and I putting together the water filters. These filters are easy and very cheap to build. They consist of a $10 ceramic filter

 cartridge, two 5 gallon buckets and a water spout. The filters are cleanable and will last a long time.

That evening they prepared us a meal consisting of beans they had grown and corn tortillas from corn they had also grown and

ground into meal.

This is Norma, the newest member of the family, she is 3 months old.