The Oklahoma State University team was here for a week and left last Saturday. They had a very successful trip. Eric Lam, graduate engineering student, stayed on several more days to work on the water filter project. If he is successful in getting another EPA grant for the next phase of this project, equipment will be provided to automate the entire filter construction process. This would create jobs and make it possible to put a filter in every home. This morning we had a dental clinic. We also had a meeting with the lawyer that is working on our pastor’s visa. We submitted what documents we had and he gave us the next step. One of our students drowned last week. Reinaldo was a member of our church so we had a special service for him; his entire family came. Selvin put together a power point of his life since he’s been in the church.
Our team from Oklahoma State University had their first full day of work yesterday, and it was a full day indeed. The education team was in the public school and addressed eight different classes. The monitoring team visited 26 houses in Seis de Mayo that have filters. They interviewed the users, took water samples and in 24 hours will have a read on the success of the project. The construction team spent their day getting ready to teach interested persons how to build a filter. Today the three groups are continuing on in their individual areas; all be going well.
Gary and I met invited Mauricio Mayor and his wife for lunch yesterday to discuss the progress of the production center. Mauricio agreed that possibly Mr. Tom Smith, from our ICF church, could help technically to convert those machines. Possibly we would not need to bring in three phase electrical connection. Since there are several machines missing motors, he could help us with that also.
This morning we met with the water filter organizers, Briny and her husband Nicolas, and Lidia. We need to raise the price per filter. They, as a family, are willing to help construct them if we could have materials delivered to their near-by lot. Tomorrow morning at 9:30, Oscar will have his surgery to hopefully close the hole in his throat left from a machete attack. Yesterday Lourdes took us to see that the lot she was interested in. Much like the last one, it was in a very low area and would have required a great deal of fill dirt. Nevertheless, we looked it over carefully and tried to imagine how it might work out for her and for us as we try to help her build a house. She had understood that the lot was going to cost $2000. However, when we talked to the owner, we learned it was $6000. That was out of the question for all of us and put us back to square one
We also had a meeting yesterday with the directors of Happy Days private school to discuss scholarships that are being funded by a group from Tulsa. The directors, Rosa and José began by saying they are going to match those 10 scholarships with another 10. Thus, 20 very needy students will have an opportunity to begin receiving a very good education. (We will need to help them to purchase more desks). They also reported that Laurdes’s his three children, Carlos, Perla, and Esmeralda are doing very well. They invited one of the teachers into the meeting who said that in his class, which includes older students, Perla is at the top of the class. This morning we had a meeting with those in charge of the biosand filter project in Seis de Mayo. The OSU engineering students handed the project over to this group and they have done a good job. They have built and sold 19 filter units and have a list of 30 more people who want to buy one. They are using the money from the sale of the units to invest back into materials and labor; and they have a little left over as profit. Oscar stopped by this morning and I was able to tell him that we have the money for his surgery and that we have an appointment with the surgeon on Monday. This afternoon we had a meeting with a man who is connected to an organization that supplies pastors. We had a good visit about our situation here and how it might relate to his organization. He seems to feel confident that they could supply the pastor that we are looking for to fulfill our various roles. It was our first meeting and we will stay in touch. Last Wednesday, the 13th, we made a trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma and experienced a double blessing.6/18/2012
First of all we had a meeting with Julie Ward, our Gathering Hearts accountant. There were several documents as well as policies and procedures that had to be discussed, and then we had a delightful lunch together at Julie's favorite restaurant. Julie is, of course, very busy with her regular job and we appreciate so very much what she does for this ministry.
The second blessing of the day was a meeting with the Dr. Paul Weckler, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering Dept at OSU. What an extra blessing that Paul could meet us despite his recent foot surgery. Paul was the faculty advisor for the Seis de Mayo water filter project. You may recall that at the very time Dr. Weckler was to bring in a group of students from OSU we had to leave the country; he and his group were there without us. As it turns out, they did very well and had a most productive time. We talked Wednesday about the positive impact which the biosand filter project his had; as well as future projects that might enable the OSU students to continue making visits to the mission center. Paul told us about OU inviting him and Eric Lam to share with them about the project in Seis De Mayo. This water filter project has been a great success and OU wanted to know how they did it! Paul and the School of Engineering are planning their next trip down. You may also recall that Paul’s wife, Stephanie, and their daughters, Karen and Susan, went into the schools and developed relationships with the students there. Another reason for our visit on Wednesday was to take them letters that the Honduran students had sent to their new U.S. pen pals. The OSU students arrived at noon on Tuesday. This time there are only three students and Dr. Wilbur, the faculty adviser. However, 14 are registered for their March trip. It was raining hard when they got back to the mission center but we went over to Seis anyway and they visited and took samples at the 10 homes that already have a water filter. Yesterday morning we had a meeting with the village council and "the water commission" where the students explained the program. I think we were all pleased with the level of interest in the program…. Nicholas told me that while he was in his village in the south of Honduras over Christmas he preached a series of three sermons. He said it was well received and he is very excited about it... This afternoon we met with the mayor of Rondon who is also very interested in the water filtration project. He will have a team ready to go to work when the engineering students return in March. THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Because of God’s promises, His omnipotence and unending love toward us, every day can be a celebration. It’s our inheritance. But we must claim it or we will likely continue living in the shadow of our worries. We claim our inheritance as we study…. and apply His Word each day. Cheryl had a really special birthday yesterday; she received about 70 Facebook cards. The surgeon examined Oscar and felt optimistic. Surgery will be performed tomorrow morning 7 at CEMESA, private hospital. Not sure of the cost; scheduled it on faith. Joel performed first test of the OSU water filters; two thirds failed. Back to the drawing board. ------ One of my favorite responsibilities at St. Francis Health System was workforce development – working with managers to match employees strengths and interests with departmental job tasks, and then delegating-- really delegating. The result was better departmental performance; greater job satisfaction; and fewer people needed to get the job done. As we continue to add more and more projects here, I think we need to do some workforce development. We have employees with the capacity do much more and many of them have free time on their hands. Furthermore, there are people in the village in need of a job who likewise have great capabilities. ---- I met the man today whose company has built big buildings in Puerto Cortes, including the big FICOHSA bank building. Were thinking maybe he can help us divide the dorm project into more manageable segments.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: The wisdom of this world says don't spend your money, invest it. To the believer, what is more valuable than money? Time. Time is more valuable than money. Therefore don't spend it, invest it -- in prayer, Bible study, service to others. Linda left today due to a family emergency; plans to return later on. Cheryl and Margaret went to a ladies luncheon in San Pedro; Nicholas and I visited a mission school project run by a group from CA. Very encouraging. I went to see an ENT doctor to seek help for Oscar Chavarra. No answer yet. We had a good meeting with Linda and Margaret on Thursday regarding the manufacturing project; discussed the need to take the next step forward. We bought shelving for the fabric and ordered more. Joel from Seis and his dad will continue construction. I have to meet with the villagers soon regarding the water purification project.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: They're telling those doing the surveys that when they look at the church they're not seeing the attributes of Christ; the fruits of the Spirit. Instead, they are seeing hypocrisy, legalism, materialism, compromise, unforgiveness. So then, it looks like the culprit in this case is not some college professor who is teaching about evolution. The problem seems to be us. With regard to young people leaving the church, we may be our own worst enemy. They’re a great group; hated to see them go. Several have a year or two left before graduation; I hope we will see them next year. The project they have started is of huge importance. They worked until after dark Friday night placing the last of 9 filtration units. PRAY: That the local leaders will take ownership with the goal of a unit in every house in Seis de Mayo.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: You probably figured it out; the man I described who wants to help your friend is Jesus Christ. Since His death on Calvary He no longer has a physical presence here on earth. Therefore He must depend upon His body, the church, to represent Him. However many people, especially the young, are saying that when they look at the church they aren’t seeing love, compassion, faithfulness, forgiveness, mercy, sacrifice. Here is a rough outlining of our objectives for the Implementation trip, we will have a more detailed one as soon as school starts back up:
Main Goal: to provide the means for at least 20% of the community to have access to clean potable water. This would mean developing water filtration systems that will be easily built, maintained, and used by the people in the community. Main Design: currently we are actively developing our version of a biosand filter. This would be a water filter unit made of a concrete shell and filled with native sand. The unit operates by creating a mini-ecosystem within the filter to naturally remove bacteria, protozoan, and various undesirables. The large volume of sand will also work to mechanically remove particles from the water just like the ceramic filters in the bucket units, which disallows anything larger than 5 microns from passing through. Each unit is designed to provide enough water for 6 people per day. |