 |
| We had seats for 60... 92 showed up!! |
Once again, the brothers were up at 5:30 to worship, and I was down at the green table for quiet reflection. There really is no better way than to start the day with God in quiet peace.
 |
| Bob, Olizard, me, Surpris & Bill ~ The "A" Team |
This was the first day of the 3rd annual LWW (Living Waters for the World) Operators
conference where the operators from all over Haiti come together for fellowship and further
education about the clean water systems. It’s an overnight affair starting at noon and
going to noon the next day. We had contracted with Brother Olizard to house 60 people, and while we had heard 82 responded they would come, we never expected they would! Weren't we surprised with 92 showed up!
I immediately went into panic mode! Chris and Surpris began the conference at noon, while Bill and I worked on finding everyone a place to sleep. After a couple of hours, we finally had a plan. We arranged for Ancy and Ronald to shuttle everyone who lived in Leogane back to their homes following the last meeting of the night and pick them up the next morning.
When I say it was a family reunion, it truly was. Nearly every Living Waters and Solar Under The Sun system was represented at the conference. So many of my old friends - Kerby from Gonaives, Michel Paul from Limbe, Pastor Evens from Blanket, and all of the Episcopal Priests - were in attendance. Hugs were aplenty, and laughter and joy abounded.
Chris, Surpris, Ancy, Bertone and Valdes led most of the conference, while Bill and I recorded the discussions and Bob filled in with business plans and models. This is all part of the sustainability education we continue to impart on our Haitian brothers and sisters. We even had the head engineer of DINEPA, Emmanuel Moliere, in attendance. DINEPA is the Haitian organization responsible for potable water and sewage in Haiti. He was there to speak briefly to the group and then would leave.
As it turned out, the water systems we had prebuilt were sitting against the wall in the dining room, so Bob grabbed Bertone to give Engineer Moliere a short lecture on how the system works. He was very impressed and later told the group that the work LWW is doing with these water systems supporting small communities of 2000-3000 is exactly what Haiti needs. With that endorsement, I felt we had made great headway into unofficially staying on the good side of the Haitian government.
In other news, Jake Sangster from Coreluv did bring a water sample from Gonaives! Bill got to work rebuilding the sand filter with a new non-leaking bucket, new river sand, and clean gravel. As an extra filter, I sacrificed a corner of my bedsheet to also run the water through a cloth. Would you believe the filter brought the water levels (TDS & hardness) down to LWW treatable standards? We did a little happy dance!
All in all, even with the ups and downs, finding corners and floors for people to crash for an evening, and hearing the news of my dad being hospitalized back at home, God gave us an Spirit-filled day, and to Him the glory is given.
I immediately went into panic mode! Chris and Surpris began the conference at noon, while Bill and I worked on finding everyone a place to sleep. After a couple of hours, we finally had a plan. We arranged for Ancy and Ronald to shuttle everyone who lived in Leogane back to their homes following the last meeting of the night and pick them up the next morning.
 |
| Valdes can preach! |
Chris, Surpris, Ancy, Bertone and Valdes led most of the conference, while Bill and I recorded the discussions and Bob filled in with business plans and models. This is all part of the sustainability education we continue to impart on our Haitian brothers and sisters. We even had the head engineer of DINEPA, Emmanuel Moliere, in attendance. DINEPA is the Haitian organization responsible for potable water and sewage in Haiti. He was there to speak briefly to the group and then would leave.
As it turned out, the water systems we had prebuilt were sitting against the wall in the dining room, so Bob grabbed Bertone to give Engineer Moliere a short lecture on how the system works. He was very impressed and later told the group that the work LWW is doing with these water systems supporting small communities of 2000-3000 is exactly what Haiti needs. With that endorsement, I felt we had made great headway into unofficially staying on the good side of the Haitian government.
 |
| The Duct Tape "T" still works! |
In other news, Jake Sangster from Coreluv did bring a water sample from Gonaives! Bill got to work rebuilding the sand filter with a new non-leaking bucket, new river sand, and clean gravel. As an extra filter, I sacrificed a corner of my bedsheet to also run the water through a cloth. Would you believe the filter brought the water levels (TDS & hardness) down to LWW treatable standards? We did a little happy dance!All in all, even with the ups and downs, finding corners and floors for people to crash for an evening, and hearing the news of my dad being hospitalized back at home, God gave us an Spirit-filled day, and to Him the glory is given.
