February 15, 2013
This morning we got up and did our devotions before heading to the Pastora’s house for breakfast. From there the team split, Al and I (Sarah) went to pick up the new generator and head to Cuesta Arena while the rest of the team headed to the church to continue painting. Even Felix wanted to stay home from school today so he could help paint the church. The team was joined by men from the Rehab facility in Los Cocos, Arquinio, Belquis, Freddy, and other church members. The team began painting the outside of the church, continued painting the iron fence, and installed lights. Painting has gone quickly and it is always a joy to see what members of the church are going to show up to help paint.
Al and I headed to Cuesta Arena to work on the water system. When we arrived, we were told there were some problems with the system. First we needed to buy a new generator and possibly a new pump. Al and I had gone up yesterday to look at the system, we came back and talked with Sairy about what needed to be done, and Sairy called the filtration company we hired. Today the filtration company was going to Cuesta Arena to meet us up there to talk about the system. When we arrived the two guys were already at work. We decided we did not need the Ozonator or one of the filters and it was causing the system to produce clean water too slowly so we removed the those two things from the system. The company then changed the filters in the two we were using and then they left.
Al quickly configured that to have “pure” water we could not put “pure” water in the tinaco (black tank on the roof) before dispensing. The tinaco is an open tank that is not sealed and bacteria, dirt, and particles could easily enter the tank. We came up with a plan to revise the system and headed back to Santiago for lunch and to talk about it with Sairy. Sairy listened to our concern with the contamination, talked with Arquinio, and called the filtration system. We set up a meeting with the guy overseeing our project and we went to meet with him. He told us about a tinaco that is sealed and took us to the dialysis plant at the hospital. The water in this system is so pure it is used in dialysis. We have revised the system once again to a system that is pure enough to enter into the blood stream and are confident in the system we are enstalling. We also hope to add an ultra violet light that will kill any bacteria in the water since we cut out the ozonator. Once again, nothing comes simple in the DR! But we trust that God has control and a plan in it all. It seems like every day is a fight for the health of the people in Cuesta Arena.
Tonight after dinner, Jessica and I went up to the monument with Henry and Luis to a Christian concert. It was put on by Teen Challenge, a mission organization here in Santiago and all over the world that works with youth on the streets caught up in drugs, alcohol, prostitution, and gangs. They showed videos of their various projects. Singers and dancers from Santiago, like Luz en Las Tineblas performed along with a well known singer. They also presented awards to some of the graduates from their programs. I think Jessica loved the performances and was excited when she could understand what was going on.
We then headed back to the house to welcome Rev. Rojas and Merile in from New Jersey. It was a long exhausting day but full of exciting things!