September 25, 2015

Dalia II, Part II

 

I am not sure where to start- there is nowhere near the emotion of our last trip, and while that usually makes a better story, honestly I am thankful! So much is attached to strong feeling and emotion here, so it is nice to have things work out kind of how they were planned.

We left at 2 AM, picked up the pastor at 3 AM in Managua and started the trip up into the mountains. We arrived in “the last civilization”, Dalia I at 5:45 AM hoping to pick up a few last supplies before heading out. We waited a bit for the markets to open, purchased what was needed then began the real adventure!

The road was not any better due to more rain in the past few weeks, but we did go on the right road (the long way), and it was amazingly different in a 4 wheel drive. We did not bottom out, we climbed the hills, we forded the creeks, and we had a little bit more room than we did not the first trip. What a difference.

We arrived there early, and while waiting we had sweet coffee and tortillas.

Around 9:30 with the church full of people (maybe 80 people), we got started. The pastor prayed then Stephen started sharing the details of the bio-sand filter. He talked them through it, did a demonstration of how to put one together and then he had two men show him how to build one. Questions were asked and answered, and people seemed to be enjoying themselves as they learned.

The final part of our time together was for the people to put together their buckets. Stephen had brought the hardware and tools while the people provided their own buckets. There was a sort of an assembly line with drills, saws, hammers going. It was great to see them enjoying the borrowed tools. In total there were about 30 buckets that were ready to be used as filters, and a promise to help others as they get their own going.

Meanwhile, I handed out color sheets and crayons to the kids, and note cards and pens to the women. They have so few things, that simple colored notecards and envelopes seemed precious to them. Kids of all ages wanted to color, and I took home quite a few autographed pictures.

As things wrapped up, and the people were filling up their buckets with gravel and sand, we were ushered into the hot, dark house for a great meal of fried chicken, beans, rice , salad, tostones and cheese. We would once again be well fortified for our ride home.

We got back on the road at around 2 PM, and arrived back in Granada at 7:30 PM, just in time to return the rented truck- what an amazing difference that truck was for our trip! The cost of the trip exceeded what we had to spend, but it is hard to quantify helping people with basic needs. A huge thank you to those who helped with this trip! We are your hands and feet right now.

All in all, it was a “boring” trip- just as I had hoped it would be! Thank you for your prayers!