The Power of Water

A few weeks ago, Jon came home from a long weary trip, and I said to him, “Too bad there’s no plug for the bathroom tub, you could have a long hot bath.”  He replied, “Too bad there’s no water either!”

At that time, we thought our water problems were the normal kind we’ve always had: broken bearings on the pump driveshaft, broken drive belts, loose connections, etc. and it would just take some tweaking to get it all back up and going again.  We had no idea this was the beginning of a long and arduous adventure of getting water back to Olderkesi community.

The diesel engine powered pump we had been using for two and a half years had finally burped its last load of water into the tank, and then stopped.  With optimism as our guide, the pump was taken into Nairobi to be repaired.  A few days later the verdict came back: death is final, buy a new pump.  However, that could not come to pass until AFTER our ministry team from N. Ireland came.  The irony of it was that last time these team leaders were here, they built the brand new shower and toilet block for the guesthouse.  How funny that they would not even get to use it on their return trip!  The team all hauled water and took bucket baths while they were here.  To their credit, not a single one complained - not even a whimper. You should have heard ME though.

So, after much deliberation and pump shopping, a new, submersible, solar and generator powered pump was bought and the technicians were on their way… Monday, no Tuesday… “Oh sorry, we will be there Thursday.”  They did finally come - two lively, well-educated men who decided they were gonna make water happen for us.

Instead, other things happened.  The brand new generator they brought would not start up.  The solar panel mounting frame was three meters too short.  They did get the pump installed though, and left with the promise of bringing a new generator.

So we ran the pump for three days – but no water reached the tanks (which are over 1 mile of pipe away from the well).  On Sunday, Jon walked into the kitchen and said, “I don’t think we put in a non-return valve.”  So, on Monday a non-return valve was put in and the pump started again.  By this time the techie had come back, and had a generator that worked.   Then everyone realized the non-return valve needed to be horizontal on the pipe, not vertical.

Now, lest you think it was a bunch of Keystone cops doing this job, let me just say that these guys all knew what they were doing, they had done the math and made the predictions - it was just that every little tiny detail had to be thought out.

And no one thought of bees…  That’s right, bees came on Monday night and decided they liked living on the windmill, directly above the top of the well.  You can’t choose your neighbors, and these neighbors were easily offended.  They ended up chasing the workers into the Land Rover for cover, stinging some many times.  So, the men retreated up to the house to think this through out of danger.

We prayed and God moved the bees.

On Tuesday the non-return valve was re-plumbed how it should be and pumping continued. But, by Tuesday night, still no water had reached the tank.  Wednesday and Thursday included various interesting developments, as we got a pressure gauge to prove what we already suspected, there was not enough pressure.

  So, they pulled 100 feet of brand new pipe out of the well, looking for a break, a leak, a crack – somewhere the system was losing pressure – and there it was!!  On the first pipe attached to the pump - surreptitiously covered in electrical tape to hide it.  Hmmmm... 

By dark the pipe was replaced, and the pump started again.  Jon called our friend Dave Potts, a well driller in Montana for advice.

On Friday a series of unfortunate events happened yet again.  They found a break in the pipeline way down near the well.  They fixed it.  Then returned to fix breaks in the same section of pipe TWO more times that day!  By then they were running out of pipe glue. Its not like you can run out to Lowes if you are low on supplies!  So we once again held our collective breath and…the pipe held!

The pump was started once again – trying to get enough water to fill the pipeline (around 7,000 liters) and then reach the tank!  The technician had to go do another job over in Maasai Mara, but promised to come back.  He did!  Like I said, these guys were in it with us – as determined as everyone to see water come to the tanks.  Unfortunately though, it still hadn’t!  Jon re-did the math…again and again. And it always said what he already knew - that the only thing wrong with the water pump, was that there was just no water getting into the tank!!

Through all of this, the windmill (which has a separate submersible pump) had been able to pump enough water to give us hot showers at night.  Good thing too, diesel and sweat take a lot of water to clean off!

 

There was nothing else to do but wait. So the technician went back to Nairobi, Johnstone went home for the weekend, and Jon came home to catch up on his other jobs.  Saturday night, he went up to check the tank and found one gate valve that had been closed, so he opened it.  Within second he heard . . .WATER flowing into the tank!  This gate valve had been mistakenly turned off, directing water to a different tank – but had only reached it shortly before Jon checked.

He went to the river to check the pressure gauge – and it still read too low!  Well, the gauge had been faulty!!  But who needs a pressure gauge when you can hear the water coming in!

A couple last things to be done…  Jon climbed down into the concrete tank and took a bucket to measure how long it took to fill a five gallon bucket at its rate of flow…just over a minute, thank you!

Then he did the last great act of bravery.  He collected 8 bloated dead lizards, a bat and some other suspended solids out of the tank, wading around in his shorts and sandals. (Sorry, no pictures!)

Are you exhausted yet???  These guys sure were!!

The end result? WATER!  

The power of water to make tired workers smile, a call to Johnstone so we could hear him shout over the phone in happiness.

The power of water to make a shower much more than just a shower, but something to be appreciated.

The power of water to fill a teapot from the sink and make me sigh in relief, and…

The power of water to bring the Maasai ladies back to the project to collect water again.

Amen and amen!

Prayer Letter!

Here is an update on the happenings of last month! Stand by for a more detailed description coming soon!
There is MUCH more to the water story and the adventure it was!
http://www.wgm.org/document.doc?id=1447

A Kenyan Sense of Humor

 Let me begin with an apology for the long time between posts.  Since our last one, our internet has been pretty laughable.  Tho that is not the topic of this post it does fit the title.  

Something I have always loved and appreciated about Kenyans and the country I live in is the surprise of finding humor in so many things.   It's a great thing when you discover someone else laughing at themselves or when you come upon a scene that makes you chuckle.  Many times I have made Jon stop the car so I can take pictures of such events.  So this entry is mostly pictures.  I do know this much, having a sense of humor has helped so many times in so many ways!  I think we all know that if we don't laugh at ourselves, someone else is going to!

His day went from bad to worse pretty early!

Tired, jet lagged and the shower head won't stay up, what else are you going to do?

Is this funny or tragic?  No Dominos or free delivery!

Maybe its my weird sense of humor, but I find it funny she was dancing with her cell phone!

How can you resist that smoking goat?



An all time classic!



Well, how else will you get ticks from your armpits?




The fill- in-the -blank shop.

I love that the passenger looks sooo cold and embarrassed.

Donkey cart surfing!

The Art of Bartering

Rumor has it that Walmart has the lowest prices in the merchandise world. Well, I know better!  Anyone who has ever shopped at the outdoor markets on Kenya’s city streets knows the reality!  Not a better deal can be had than the one you’ve argued over to get!

Bartering is not an exact science, and I believe that one can only measure success by how much one wants the thing they are bartering for.

 

I’ve been able to watch a lot of people, from all walks of life in the art of bartering.  It’s really kind of fun.  Even if you don’t understand what’s being said, the facial expressions, the waving of the hands, the rapid talking of the seller, it’s all an international language.

Sikoni Cacophony

 The people who sell things on their own, who set their own prices and decide for you if you are going to get what you want, are moody!  VERY moody!  From one day to the next, it’s as if you have to meet that person all over again, and assess their mood.  That’s why I never go the same seller twice.  That and the fact that if I know the person selling stuff to me, and like them, I’m a pushover!

Deciding is half the fun.

Here is what I have seen.  Europeans barter with a large dose of guilt.  They barter thinking they are cheating someone out of a day’s food.  This gets a high price for them every time.  Not saying that’s good or bad. It is just an observation.

Kenyans tell the seller the price, and get it - no matter what language they use.  Then they turn and tell the European how much they paid, thinking they are doing them a favor, when in fact, it just makes the European feel mad and taken advantage of.  (Case in point - a Kenyan lady paid 50 shillings for a shirt the same guy was trying to sell me for 200 shillings) ERR!

Old ladies just hand over what they think is fair and no one even argues.  That’s respect.  No, I’m not that old yet.

The oriental buyers think everything is such a great deal they hand over the first price offered. Thus making the seller feel a bit disappointed cause, as of yet, no one has ever had to argue with an oriental over a price!  Bummer!

Kids - they have the art of the barter down pat. If they want it, they whine in front of their parents AND the seller, and they get it. 

Its fair for sellers to sell to other sellers too! Who could pass up sugar cane?

 I was with a friend of mine shopping recently.  She always gets great deals. This time the seller was being kind of hard on her.  We both came away (with the merchandise of course) with a phrase we liked.  The seller said to my friend.  “Add 50 shillings more. Fifty shillings won’t make you poorer and it won’t make me richer.”  Gotta love that one.

So, here are my not so hard and fast rules of The Barter, in case you would want to give it a try:

1. Compliment the wares that the person is selling.
2. Look at the person selling the object, not the object.
3. Always barter, even a little.  One has to keep his dignity you know.
4. Don’t act like you want it.  Even if you REALLY can’t believe you are getting brand new Chacos for twenty dollars!
5. Don’t whine in front of your mom that you have to have it and can’t live without it.  People can see you!
6. If you are determined to pay a set amount, stick to that amount and be willing to walk away.
7. Don’t sweat the small change.  Remember, “Fifty shillings won’t make you poorer, and it won’t make anyone else richer.”

Every marketplace has a happy crazy person. (they love to help!)

An extrovert's paradise!

You can get ANYTHING you want or don't want.

We call this  the creepy toy seller-the toys being creepy, not the guy.

Let me know how it goes!

  

Upgrade...Downgrade!!

 Ah, contrasts!  I've written about them before and lived with them all my life.  Each is unique and interesting as it stares you in the face, begging for comment. So, here I go again with another great example!

 We just finished a great week with a visiting extended family here at Olderkesi.  The Crosby family worked hard on lots of things from fencing to teaching at the primary school. To our delight, they offered to take us with them to spend a night in Maasai Mara!

 We had good game drives and saw four of the Big Five - Lion, Elephant, Buffalo and even Leopard - but only managed to get this shot from behind . . .

OK, so we only saw three of the Big Five.

The kind people at the tented camp gave us all a free upgrade to their luxury tents, and we slept in bliss under down comforters on cushy white pillows, as rain fell hard all night long!

 Our team said goodbye to us on Sunday morning and we began our journey home . . .

Our first glimse of the sky over the road home was a bit worrying . . . 

then we got to what is usually just a small draw for run off, and found a raging torrent. 

After that, the trip got more and more interesting.

Yep! We got royally stuck! We called our friend Johnstone and he said he was on his way . . . but, he didn't come!

We decided to walk to the nearby river.  We could hear it crashing along, so wanted to check it out.  As we turned around . . . we saw this beautiful rainbow.  Personally, I took it as a promise I would sleep in my own bed that night.  How silly of me!

So, this is why Johnstone hadn't gotten there - the river was flowing over the bridge!  We were now, officially DOUBLE stuck!

No one was going anywhere, anytime soon.

Mrs. Oblivious . . . thinking the river would go down!

This is where Jon was talking to Johnstone across the river telling him to go home and come in the morning.  And where I said, "Huh? In the what?"

As we walked back up the sloppy road to the vehicle, we had a nice sunset.  I did appreciate it, but my mind was more on what I was going to eat for dinner!  Pickings were slim!  Our work team had given us some mixed nuts (THANKS STELLA!), so we had those, water, an apple and some chips for dinner.   At least we had that!!!

So, yes, it was a long night - and quite a downgrade from the night before!  It got very cold, but this vehicle had a heater and Jon would turn it on once in a while. (Thanks Russ and Beth White for letting us use your vehicle while ours is in the shop.)

There is a song by Steve Green that says, "I will awake with the dawn." Had that one stuck in my head all night, and so did just that, me and my pjs, and my stylish boots. 
You gotta have it together no matter what, you know!

We went to the river, expectantly.  Yes it was down, but no one was there...boo hoo. Jon decided not to waste a perfectly good Monday morning work day, so set to work clearing the debris from the bridge. I did not help. I was disgruntled...in a good way.

He finally did get it cleared enough to increase the flow under the bridge and take the pressure of the water off the edges. Yea Jon!

Finally! Help has come with a wench and a cable!!  Yea Johnstone!

So, it looked bad in the twilight last night, but even worse in broad daylight.

We had lots of help getting unstuck!

We had a hyena visitor in the night apparently.

Finally home at 10:30 AM and Odie the cat took no time getting back to his favorite spot on the roofrack of the vehicle while we fixed a big late breakfast!