Day 4 is complete -- Storms and all

Well, we have officially closed day four of our adventure. Today we worked VBS in one of the batay's. We had to move VBS into the bus because of a thunderstorm that hit today. During VBS we told them the story of Jesus calming the storm, which after a while the storm was calmed. We then did arts and crafts with the kids after that. All of the kids were smiling when we handed them crayons to color their pictures. After VBS we began to bring out the jump ropes in the rain, and the kids were smiling from ear to ear. As we pulled out we almost got stuck in the mud because the ground was so wet from the thunderstorm, but we eventually got out.

-- Ryan Adams

After today, I have officially realized that I underestimated the amount of mud that can be produced in the span of a few days. Thunder storms and rain showers have been coming and going over the week, and today was no exception. We pulled up to batay and not long after the flood gates opened; this caused quite drastic change of plans as we decided to make the VBS a BBS (Bus Bible School). Though we had a slow start, we eventually got the ball rolling and everything went pretty smoothly. The children listened to the story of Jesus calming the storm, and they did a coloring activity along with it. When we felt that it was safe to leave the bus, we fed the children juice and crackers. Altogether, I would say that it was a pretty smooth day.

-- David Killian

Our water filter distribution this year is focused in Batey Santa Lucia.  This batey is close to an hour's drive due north of Casa Pastoral.  The best description of the area is "hill country" and it is truly beautiful. As of today we have installed 55 filters which is a slower pace than we have historically  been able to achieve. Pace picked up today and I expect it will be able increase our rate tomorrow.
Monday we started in the section of the batey that houses mostly newcomers and transients.  The poverty there was extreme.  Today, we moved to the larger, "permanent" resident section of the batey. Compared to other bateys I have visited, Santa Lucia is in the lower end of the poverty scale.  Furthermore, there is no established church on site and and I did not see evidence of a school.  Of more concern is the lack of a Good Samaritan Hospital Health Promotion Officer.  On previous visits, I have learned that this individual is very important to the success of clean water.   I have enjoyed having two grandsons with me on this trip.  Both have been able to work on the water teams.

-- Mike Killian