May 2007 Adventures

We’ve had great drilling in May.  It was a pleasure to spend the month at our Methodist church camp.  The camp is located in Matachi, which is about 60 miles south of Asuncion.  While drilling, we were able to show the movies “Prince of Egypt” in Spanish, and the “Jesus” movie in Guaraní.  It’s always fun to watch the people while they watch the movie.  Since most Paraguayans live in an agricultural environment, they can really relate to the “Jesus” movie, and appreciate Jesus talking in their native language!

The actual well drilling was as expected, we hit rock!  However, the Lord was with us and we were able to drill to a depth of 115’ before hitting quartz.  Our last drill rod (which is 5’ long) took nearly an hour to penetrate!  This told us it was time to move on to pump installation.  The well is shallower than we would like, but it still produces about 1,000 liters per hour (about 6 gpm).  The well will not be the only source of water for the camp, which will eventually have the capacity for groups of up to 100 people.  The area also has water from the government owned water system. However, the public system is unreliable and having their own water supply will be essential to running the camp.

Given that this is our fall/winter time, we’ve had lots of rain!  When it rains here in Paraguay, we are just about stuck in the house!  We think the road to our house is the worst part of any trip we take.  The roads in Yrybucua are better – and that’s not saying much!  The winter climate here is much like that of Atlanta – rain, then cold.  However, it rarely gets below 40°, so our plants do great!  Check out our lantana. 

The end of the month, we had an inauguration of our renovated church in Tacuapi.  This is the church that is very close to Santani; and Linda and Ed attend regularly.  The church joined with the Methodist church in November, 2003.  It was constructed in 1990, and the roof was in much need of repairs.  So, we raised the roof, and added 2 Sunday school rooms.  The interior was also revamped, with a new ceramic tile floor.  Our ministry provided the bulk of the construction materials and labor charges, but the church paid for many of the “extras” they felt added that special touch to their church – with labor done by volunteers.  The celebration was a big success with over 300 attending!

We ended the month heading back to Asuncion to receive a group from Snellville United Methodist in Snellville, Georgia.  We’ll let you know in June what this group accomplished!