I spent my morning visiting patients who have AIDS in the local hospitals. There is much to say about the experiences I have had over the last week as I have gone through orientation at a local AIDS clinic, but I can’t seem to bring enough clarity to my thoughts to write them down yet. Instead I will write about a much more pleasant story of tireless work yielding tangible results.
For the last two months our team has hosted an “intern” from Water For All who has led Dave Reeves and some of of the Kabiye Christians in drilling wells. The word intern is a little deceptive here as I feel more like we are his interns, Matt Waller knows what to do and how to solve problems when it can’t be done. I was recently reading Matt’s blog and it occurred to me that many people would probably not even have enough patience to read about the work they have put into drilling these wells, much less persevere through the work day in and day out! I am challenged to consider how easily I get discouraged, Dave, Matt and especially the people in Kaatchade and Lassa Tchou are great examples to me.
Admittedly, when I first heard about their goals of getting five test wells done in the time allotted, I was a little incredulous. It seemed like such a huge task in such a small amount of time, and now I feel a little wiser. I really admire people who don’t get bogged down in what the task seems to be, but just go about doing it earnestly and conscientiously. These wells were dug with a very low-tech, very grass roots method that is a perfect example of something sustainable. It is all really quite inspiring.
Matt is leaving to go to Ethiopia next week and soon after return to the States. It has been great getting to know him. He was great with our kids, a wonderful and thoughtful guest, and I enjoyed many conversations about music and literature with him. Make sure you take a look at his blog: http://welldrilling.blogspot.com/
