The Barge Team "Barges" In...

The title for this post may sound as if our recent team had a rough landing or overstepped bounds in the Valley, but really it is meant to imply that the most recent group of professional engineers that we had visit us from the Barge Wagner engineering firm (in Nashville, Chattanooga, and Birmingham) truly made a lasting impact on us and the community of Sesalche II.

Sesalche II is the largest community whom we serve as a part of Project Ulpan. When we first visited them about two and a half years ago, the water situation seemed pretty bleak. The one water source that they could point us to was located at a pretty low altitude in relation to the rest of the community and was basically a mudhole, meaning that we would have to use a pump to get it to any of the necessary community-centered locations, and we might need a purification system, as well. However, back in the fall we began discussions once more of the possibility of beginning a water project in their community, and the community leaders surprisingly revealed a water source at a much higher altitude, located within property under the ownership of one older woman. After more discussions and with the help of a local lawyer, we were able to obtain rights to the water source, receive a map of the community with communal locations marked where they wanted a spigot and pila (a large, deep sink and washing basin), and plan for the Barge Wagner engineering team to implement the project the second week of January.

Sadly, we (with the team) decided to leave the Valley a day earlier than planned last week because of recurring news about robbers in the Valley. Although the activities of the robbers have not yet affected us directly, we have decided to not take any chances when it comes to safety, specifically with teams. It was nice, however, that leaving early allowed us and the team to have some extra time in the gorgeous, sunny Spanish-influenced city of Antigua. On the last night before the team left, we all sat around a dinner table together and shared three words that reminded us of the past week. It was a great moment of community and reflection. I cheated a bit by sharing three three-word phrases, and I think they can help sum up my fondest memories of the week:

1) "No Personal Space"- One thing that I can guarantee that no one of the Barge team will ever forget is the number of children that gathered around our trucks as we arrived in Sesalche II, followed (or usually led) us up and down the mountainous paths that the water line followed, shouted out our names repeatedly, and poked us again and again, often in places where we didn't want to be poked. Maybe it's the teacher in me coming out, but this is quite possibly my favorite part of these projects. Something about those smiling faces and sweet voices calling out my name urges me to keep on trudging through the mud, keep on carrying the pipe up steep slopes, keep on waiting for water to arrive at the right spots. We have always said that the health of the children and getting water to the community school is our top priority. The children that we saw last week, even though they allowed us no personal space, were plenty motivation to make sure that such a priority would be met.

2) "Surprise, Chicken Feet"- One common theme among the Barge team throughout the week was praise of Cata's delicious cooking. Especially after a long day's work in the mud and rain, it was such a treat to sit down and enjoy Cata's chicken or her famous chow mein. Cata is certainly one of the sweetest and most servant-hearted people I have ever met. Every team that has ever had her as a cook has claimed that just her cooking itself was reason enough for them to come back for another visit. Well, one night Cata decided to "surprise" a couple of members of the Barge team by placing chicken feet on top of the other pieces of cooked chicken on their plate. We all had a good laugh to see their surprised expressions, and I think Hollis even ended up eating the feet. I like this memory because it reminds me of all the good laughs we had with the team. Everyone had such a positive attitude the whole week, even amidst endless rain and countless changes in plans. Those laughs just kept us going...

3) "Energized by Teamwork"- I know from experience that being a part of a mission team is an amazing experience that helps one to feel purposeful and changes one's world view. I now know that being the "missionary in residence" who receives the mission teams is also a great blessing. I guess that it's easy as missionary to get burned out and feel very alone at times. Having a team like the one from Barge is extremely energizing for Kris and I and the Colvetts and Cata because it reminds us that we are not alone and that we have many people supporting and willing to join in our work. Also, it often takes a large project such as the one of the past week to encourage whole communities to partner with us in bettering the health and education of their own families. It is amazing what God can accomplish through us and within us when large groups of Americans AND Mayans are mobilized!

To sum up, this was a very large and complicated water project, requiring lots of professional engineering knowledge and skill, as well as a large amount of community involvement. Although the whole system was not perfectly completed after just four days of work (which was pretty much impossible to accomplish anyway), we are confident that Kevin and Kris and the rest of the community will be able to finish the system within the next week or so, and only because of the firm foundation that Barge helped to establish. We feel blessed to have had the Barge team join us and God in the work He is doing in the Valley. They may never know the extent of the impact they have had on the health and daily living of the people of Sesalche II. We pray that they will continue to bless others with their gifts/skills and joyful spirits in the States.

Sorry that this post does not come with video or pictures from the past week... they are downloaded onto a different computer. Look for them to be posted in the coming week....