Go Beyond | Water

by Mike Kelley

By the love of God expressed through Kingsland Baptist Church, Living Water International, and the men of City Gates we give to the community of Santa Cruz Porrillo this fresh water pumping station.

by Mike Aronson

The well is completed, dedicated to the community and the Lord.

Today was a day to recuperate before the journey home. Breakfast at 8:00 but for many this didn’t change the wake up time. Ham & cheese omelet, refried beans, fried plantains. This was followed up by our daily singing and devotions, James 2:14.

Now that this trip is over what will we do next. Will we continue to show our faith through works to others or sit on the sidelines and be a spectator? For us the answer was obvious.

For our day we went into San Salvador for lunch at Pollo Compero, getting us ready to go back to gringo food. After lunch a quick trip to Starbucks, it was here we said good bye to Danilo. Hopefully. We will meet up with him on another drilling trip.

On to the “Market” to look for trinkets to bring home. After an hour of “man” shopping Stanley (our host and drilling expert) took us to a vista point overlooking the city.

We are now back at the hotel waiting for dinner and a few more stories and off to pack and get some rest. Up at 4:00 am to begin the journey home. What an exciting week this has been.

by Don Davis

Work began this morning with the pump assembly and was finished relatively quickly. Several pumps from the hand lever and clear water started flowing. The well was complete!

A few of the villagers built a fence around the water well to protect it from livestock. They all took turns at the pump with big smiles on their faces. We again had lunch in the village — this time enjoying delicious homemade chicken soup.

The dedication service for the well began after lunch with many of the villagers attending. Luvi and Danilo started by addressing the audience and had everyone laughing in short order. Then came a puppet show featuring the story of Jonah and the whale. This was followed by a Good Samaritan skit performed by our team. Danilo then presented the gospel message and finished with an invitation and prayer.

Everyone walked up the road to see the well. There was some more pumping and placing of hands under the flowing water. A few pictures were taken and this concluded a fantastic week of working with the wonderful staff of Living Water and the extremely friendly and hard working people of Porrillo Village.

Everyone was excited to see clean water flow from the well.

Everyone was smiling.

Another delicious meal prepared by the village ladies. Chicken soup.

Our team acted out the story of the Good Samaritan. Mike Kelley being mugged by Danilo as they play the victim and the robber in the Good Samaritan skit.

Danilo preaching the gospel.

The villagers rejoiced at the dedication of the water well.

by Dennis Shumard

This morning we continued to purge the well. The water is clean and welcome. I have been blessed by the number of men that have been joining us in labor every day. While we don’t share a common language we are still able to work side by side and laugh with each other as Mike Kelly and Don Davis both fell in the water pit and I fell in the mud.

A number of men from the area have been spending the night on site to protect the equipment. They have been doing this since Friday. The entire area is very anxious to have clean water. Yesterday  when we started sending water into the air it was almost a carnival atmosphere.

After cleaning up around the well, the form for the concrete was set and work began mixing concrete. With the last of the concrete in place Stanley set the Living Water/Kingsland BC dedication plaque in place.

It has been a true joy meeting the staff of Living Water and the people benefiting from the well. It is also wonderful spending time with brothers in Christ as we labor to further His Kingdom.

Purging the water well.

Setting the form around the well.

Pouring concrete into the form.

Waiting for the concrete to harden.

Mike Kelly being Mike Kelly — loving on people and sharing God’s love.

by Todd Watne

Another excellent day filled with warm smiles and hard work. Began the day with coffee and the ocean mist while engaging in some great conversations. The waves are thundering in the morning. I shared a brief devotional from Isaiah 46:9-10 and to paraphrase it: God is God and he governs the beginning and the end. He will accomplish his purpose on earth while graciously letting us play a part.

We finished drilling today at a depth of 120 feet (39 meters). We’ll continue with our work as the locals from the village grow eager with excitement. Their faces and their hearts are warm with hospitality. The team is benefiting from their assistance too.

Laundry line at local home.

Broken chain on drill rig.

Don Davis and Mike Aronson repairing broken chain on the drill rig.

This is Reese and he’s full of life and energy. Loves playing frisbee with us and also with his friends.

In addition to the broken chain, the starter had to replaced. The LWI staff managed to locate what was very likely the one and only starter in the country for our rig. It set us back a couple of hours but we prevailed in the end.

Getting very close to the desired depth!

On the way to the work site, we were shown this dumping ground just off the highway. It consists primarily of dead horses and parts and some cattle. The locals often swap horse meat for cattle.

We are grateful and eager to serve the community and one another. These Kingsland men are so solid.

A common means for water storage in remote El Salvador are cisterns that collect rain water. Here is an example.

Unloading gravel to pack in around the casing of the well.

by James Meredith

Our Team had a great trip to El Salvador. The local people we have met are very friendly and have made us feel at home.

We arrived on Sunday evening and settled in to our hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean. On Sunday evening, we sat on the porch, looked out over the Pacific Ocean, and discussed our task that lay ahead.

Then the Lord blessed us with an awesome sunset.

We were up early Monday morning for coffee, a devotional and breakfast, and then off to work. We arrived at the job site where several of the local folks were waiting for us. We had an hour or so before things were to start so several of us played frisbee with a couple of the local boys. What fun we had. Those boys had big grins on their faces. Then it was time to work. We made a plan and got down to business.

We dug a couple of pits for later use, leveled and prepared the rig. We ate lunch down the street at a local residence. The lady there made us a fabulous meal. After lunch we returned to the drill site and got back to work.

We drilled for 2 hours and found a little water before our drilling rig broke down. Stanley, our driller, says we don’t have much further to go tomorrow after we repair the drill rig. We returned to our hotel late and worn out.

The Lord indeed blessed us with a great day.

by Mike Kelley

One of the best things about drilling a water well in a rural village is eating lunch prepared by the people we are serving. When it came time for lunch, Luvi, a member of the Agua Viva El Salvador Staff, set up a hand-washing station for our team. This foot-operated contraption was brilliant.

Mrs. Santos, a lady who lives in the village where we are drilling, hosted our team for lunch. She lives in a mud brick house and cooks over a raised hearth. She was kind enough to show me how to make tortillas.

Mrs. Santos’ tortillas were absolutely delicious. I could not help but compliment her and brag on her tortillas.

As for lunch — well, all I can say it that it was worth waiting for. Absolutely delicious. Our team could not have been happier. We enjoyed our meal at Mrs. Santos’ home.

by Mike Kelley

Six men of the City Gates men’s group left Kingsland this morning at 6:00 AM bound for La Paz, El Salvador to help bring fresh and clean water and Living Water to a small village of thirsty citizens. During our day of travel we talked about how God might use us in unique ways this week. We prayed we would have eyes and ears to respond to God’s leading. Upon arrival we were greeted by the in-country staff that will be our host for the week. The rest of today was spent sharing with each other as we soaked in the gracious and friendly Central American cultur.