James has arrived, and we've already put him through the wringer! Yesterday was a full day, beginning with a trip to Epau Village. We were making sure concrete blocks and bags of cement were successfully delivered to Arthur's house. Their family sleep house was totally demolished, but they had been working on a block house pre-cyclone. We are working to provide materials so they can get a roof on the new build, so they can quit sleeping outside (under a UK Aid tarp). We also inspected the damages on other homes, and are working towards helping them get reliable roofs on their houses as well.
One of the brethren there, Bob, is in chairman of the water supply committee, and he has been working hard to get the village water supply back online. James wanted to have a look at the source and the holding tanks, to see what help/advice he could provide (he's the owner of The Water Store in Tulsa, OK). Together with Bob and the committee, we are looking into the possibility of reworking the system to make it more reliable ... as it stands, any heavy rains cause the poly-pipes to become disjointed and/or break because of the rushing river.
We visited a few folks in Eton on the way back, and made it back to town just in time to pick Alexis up from school. We then quickly loaded up all our 20L water containers in the truck and headed to Etas Village for our regular water run to the two areas there. We delayed a bit with the squad that live near the dump, so much so that the dump gate got locked, with us on the "wrong" side. We tried a couple of other roads, but the debris from the cyclone and recent rains meant they too were not passable. On the plus side, we provided A WHOLE BUNCH of villagers their free entertainment for the evening, as they watched me try (in vain) to get up a steep, muddy incline. Alas, we drove back to the gate, parked the truck, and headed out walking. Thankfully, a service bus came by quickly and was able to take us back to the house. He's definitely getting to experience the real deal!
Wednesday was shopping day (after I hitched a ride to Etas to retrieve the truck), as we had several things to pick up in preparation for our trip to Malekula and Santo this weekend. I am getting a bit of a cold, and appreciate prayers for health and safety as James, Titus and I travel to visit the brethren there from Thursday to Tuesday. We are slated to do some major building supply purchases beginning next week, and truly appreciate all the extra funds that have been provided over the past two weeks (www.gofundme.com/oz6e9c for more info).
Still no power at the house, but the workers are in the neighborhood and we expect it to be back on by the weekend ... fingers crossed ;).
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers! We read and appreciate every email, note and comment, but don't always have the time (or the internet connectivity) to respond. Please know that you are holding us up during this trying but faith-building time. We love and appreciate you all! To God be the glory... ~E
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