No Water–Again

Yesterday was spent largely focused on water, or the lack thereof. We weren’t as prepared for running out of water as we usually are, but kudos to Steph for having Juanito fill up several two-liter bottles with water on Friday. We’ve been very glad for them.

We did have water stored in the spare tank. Caleb and I worked at setting up a pump to move some of the water. Unfortunately, the only pump we had available was on its last leg. It didn’t have enough umph to fill the upper tank, but it was strong enough to get water into our houses.

Caleb decided to go into town to get another pump from Rafael as we got into evening chores, but Rafael’s were in Cusco, so we decided to wait and just get by with what we have bottled.

Thankfully, there is a bit of water in the front ditch. I dug out a small indentation and built a dam of gravel to hold enough water to fill a small bucket. We are using that water for all things not ingested.

We’ve had rain every day for seven days now, so the ditches are beginning to fill. Had we come home before the rains came and not had water, we’d have been stuck up a ditch without a bucket.

Caleb was a big help yesterday. I was more than once filled with thankfulness for him. While the water situation did make our day more difficult, I was able to leave Caleb with the problem after awhile so I could go try to study to prepare a sermon. Before, that would have all fallen on me.

Belinda and Ashlyn are still not feeling the best. The change in altitude is making them feel fairly ill betimes. You can pray for them in that. Caleb’s have been thrust into life here, and they are handling things very well, despite the strangeness and difficulty.

I’ve invited everyone in the WhatsApp group to come for today’s service. Rafael’s said they would come, and Percy’s indicated they might. I did not hear back from Esmeralda or Cristina, so I’m not sure about them. We did not get to visit Alicia yet, so I’m not sure what to expect from her.

Caleb will be having a devotional aimed at younger ages, maybe something like a Sunday school for the children. He’s eager to get into the language. It brings back memories of my anxiety with those early days of Spanish preaching though Caleb doesn’t seem anxious.

Percy says that Conchacalla said we should have water again “in a few days.” I’m not sure what they are doing, but it has something to do with the reservoir up the mountain, I think. It’ll be easier to get water from other places tomorrow if need be.