We met with the water committee secretary, Lucio. His story was basically that his hands were tied. It’s up to the treasurer and the president of the committee. He said he’s tried to give them our documents several times, but they aren’t interested in seeing them.
He gave us the president’s number. Lamar had already discovered where his house was. Lucio told us the president, Ernesto, has three houses: one in this community, one in another community, and a third in Cusco.
We went to the one here. No one was home. We called Ernesto and after a few attempts, Fernando got a hold of him. He said we should all come back this evening and talk with the secretary again and have a conference call with him.
In the meantime we worked on projects at the house. Lamar and I ran into Izcuchaca to pick up the tile. The shopkeeper offered to deliver the tile and us back to the house.
Across the street from the ceramic shop, a demonstration was happening. A woman allegedly murdered someone, but somehow her lawyer got her free. The town was angry and was shouting “Murderer!” and “Justice!” and hurling insults at the woman and lawyer as they came out of court.
After dropping the tile off, we went back out to the highway to meet Fernando to go talk to Lucio and call Ernesto. Fernando was late because he was eating lunch (at 4:00). We used our time to pray.
Once with Lucio, no one could reach Ernesto. Lucio told us the real holdup was Elena, the treasurer. So up the road to Elena’s we went.
She said she couldn’t do anything because the secretary had the paperwork. We handed it to her to read. Then she said she couldn’t do anything because we owe fees for the years no one lived in the farm, a fine for being past three years, and a fee to reconnect.
We offered to pay, but she said she couldn’t do that without the president and the secretary giving permission. We tried many, many times before reaching Ernesto by phone. He said they must meet first.
Elena said we should come tomorrow to the market; the committee meets there at 10:00. Then they will go with us to inspect our situation and decide what should be done.
Will we get water today?
This morning I helped Beulah milk Estrella. It had been years since I’d milked. Estrella was a little dancy, but she is pretty calm overall.
Juan David 