It's funny how different days bring different temperaments to teams. Yesterday we ended the day on a very high note. We worked hard and we played hard. This morning, just waking up felt different. I don't know if it was the soreness, stiffness and tiredness all catching up with everyone at once, or if the subconscious knowledge that today was our last day with the community set in overnight. Breakfast, which had been a time of laughing, joking and greeting the day head-on was very quiet and reserved. Many of us seemed to be lost in our thoughts. I found myself quietly reflecting on what this week had brought and what I might expect to see and feel today and so were many on our team.
We left on-time for the community and arrived a little earlier than we had been. Instead of getting right to work (our boots were in the truck that had not yet arrived), we took some time to play with the few kids that had already wandered into the "playground" area near the pump. Once our boots arrived a few of us cleaned up the area around the well site (2 settling pits and the water trench that are required can leave quite a mess if you don't fill them in). We kind of eased our way into the day. We took a lot of photos of (and for) the kids.
We packed gravel and concrete around the casing to stabilize it. The men of the community took turns mixing up concrete and filling up the form boards for the pad around the pump base while many of us played soccer with the kids. Once the concrete work was completed, Michael Johnson was given the honor of installing the plaque (designating this as a LWI / Radius Church well). As I snapped photos of the installation I began to feel that our job here was coming to a close. That we were, indeed, going to leave today having given these folks a well and I began to have to fight the tears.
After installing the plaque, the women of the community had prepared a meal of chicken soup for us. We had known it was coming and we watched them feather the chickens early this morning right after we had arrived at the site. Four of the chickens that had been underfoot this week were right there in the pot for us today. Four chickens that these folks use for eggs (and extra income) were being offered as gifts to us. The "widow's mite" took on a whole new meaning today. We sat down and ate lunch with our hosts - and it was a great meal. Then the work resumed. We sank the pipe (100' of galvanized pipe) and the pump assembly and rod down the casing. It was a slow, labor-intensive process that took almost an hour and a half to complete. As we wrapped up this portion, we each took turns writing our names (along with the important information about the well itself) under the repair access cover that would be installed on the well head. As we took turns writing our names, I could see the emotions beginning to well up in team members (I could feel them myself). Our "goodbye" was coming quickly.
We finally finished setting and bolting the well head and handle. The community had slowly been congregating around the area (45-50 folks had turned out). The women who had prepared our lunch were back at the site, but this time in the best clothes they had. This was a big deal. They had been on a waiting list for over 12 months. Some of them had been praying for this for years. And we were here to see the answers to those prayers. The emotions continued to flood in.
Our LWI team leader, Lew, addressed the community (with a translator) and told them "thank you" for the opportunity to serve them. A few spokespeople from the community also spoke up and offered thanks to us and to God for providing them this well. One of the community leaders told us that this community was now our community too. That we could return at any time and would be welcomed with open arms. And the tears flowed.
The Spanish word for goodbye is "adios", which I can't believe is by accident. Literally translated it means "to God" or "with God". When you are telling someone goodbye in Spanish, you are sending them "to God"'s care - trusting that He will take care of them and that you will see them again. Today was not a day for "hasta manana" (see you tomorrow) or "hasta luego" (see you later), it was a day to say "adios" (go with God). We were telling our new friends that we were trusting God to care for them. And in turn they were telling us that they were doing the same. They were some of the hardest goodbyes I have ever had to say.- Andy
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