Into the Breach~

"How in the world do you FIND these places?" This comment, not from us, but from our native Honduran interpreter, Dominique. Even he is amazed at the intensely rural locations the Rev. Mark Wright takes us in the backroads of Honduras. We have just turned off the "main" road and onto the dirt track that will take us to Puente Jalan. Almost there, we pass this local farmer dealing with his team of oxen. Shortly before the church we pass Pastor Castulo's home, and he sees us and jumps on his bicycle to meet us at the church.



After greetings and introductions we settle in to the business at hand. Actually, it turns out that the President of the water committee has not arrived. A quick cell phone call discovers that he has no transportation. Rev. Mark and Pastor Castullo jump in the truck to go pick him up. David takes a couple of men from our group and takes measurements on behalf of Dan Sugarman, who has not been able to join us on this trip. The result is a nice diagram of the footprint on the property.

Once the water guy comes back courtesy of the pickup, we settle in to talk about details. Six hours later we have been wading through village politics, some hidden and not-so-hidden agendas on the part of the Water Board. Seeing a potential opportunity to gain some profit for the water board, the water guy begins to make noises about a "fee" separate from the normal water charge. We politely but firmly explain that Living Waters for the World is about providing clean water to communities as a mission, NOT as a profit-making venture. He is not happy to hear this, but sees eventually that we are resolute.

Pastor Castulo has also invited a gentleman from Puente Jalan who happens to be the Director of The Project for Community Health Development. Francisco Varga tells us at length that many local people are not used to seeing the church in active outreach. They are accustomed to the church being about worship and prayer, but not acts. He is excited about a project that reflects our own values of Faith in Action. The passion he has for improving the health and life of the people is palpable. He wants to do anything he can to make this installation a success.

When we got to the question of who would be named as the ones responsible for the installation and operation it became apparent that many of the likely candidates had day jobs and were not available that day for discussion. We will go back on Saturday for a general church meeting. We hope to make significant progress then.

We are at somewhat of a disadvantage in our discussions because of Dan's absence. Fortunately, Harlon Mills, one of Dan's instructors from Clean Water U. and one of the LWW folks that Jane and I traveled with back in May, has made himself fully available for consultation during our negotiations. At least three times during our visit in Puente Jalan we called him (at his home in Memphis!) to answer specific questions, and for general advice. Today (Friday) David and I spent about a half an hour with Harlon on a Skype face-to-face chat to help us think through things. Many thanks to his dedication and openness.

Stay tuned for a report of our visit to the general meeting of the Presbytery of Honduras where we will make our pitch for LWW in front of so many of the pastors all at once!