A New Well for Krinkrin

 

Dear Loved Ones,

Greeting you in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that all is well with yall. We are all over the bad flu that some of us had the last time I was downriver. Thank you for your prayers. Things are going well here, with most of the people in Krinkrin over the flu. Praise the Lord no one died of it, although a few got really close. I’m sure the medicines and the Pedialyte that we are able to have because of your giving, has saved several lives since we have it.

Something else has become a challenge for us in this last month. There are only a few of the people in our village who have any rice left to eat, and more and more of them are running out of beans. There is no one in any of the villages close by who has rice to sell either, for the few who have money to buy some. The plantain and bananas are out of season, so there are more and more children hanging out at our house hoping to get something to eat. They are not hungry to the point of loosing a lot of weight yet, but the elders say that it will only get worse until the rice harvest which starts sometime in Sep.

So I checked when I came down to see if there was enough money in the account to take several hundred pounds of rice back with me, and praise the Lord, there is enough. Thank you all so much for praying and giving so we can do what is necessary here. It makes it so much easier for us, when we don’t have to just look the other way when there are things that urgently need help.

 

On the medical, this is the first month that we have seen a decrease in patients. I looked at the records before I came, and the number of people we treated in the month of May was 187, and it looks like June may have a few less then that. We are still praying for a dr. or nurse to come and run the clinic when we get it ready. We are also still praying for the funds to send Mary and Eva to the three week jungle medical course in NC. in Nov., so they can be better equipped to do what needs to be done. The cost for the school, the tickets, and transportation for the two of them will be right at $5000, and so far we have about $850. But we are convinced that the money will be there when the time comes to buy the tickets next month, because this is something the Lord has laid on their hearts to do.

 

On Alma the widow, I have been brought to tears numerous times about her. Last month it was because of grief, and now this time I’m down it is because of joy. I praise God for touching the hearts of His children by His Holy Spirit, and I want to thank you who have been praying for her, as well as the ones who felt led to give for the purpose of helping her and others like her.

We are now able to give her some rice and beans every day, so she can feed her children even if she doesn’t go to the fields every day. It will also allow her to spend some time with her precious children who have suffered greatly. We will also be able to order some materials to repair her house so they can stay dry in the rain, and not have to worry about falling through the floor if they step on the wrong spot.

 

Now about the new well in the community; I will say the whole thing was quite a challenge. This other organization sent a guy to dig a well for Krinkrin and another village, but the guy (to state it mildly) was more interested in fulfilling the desires of the flesh than he was in the well, or the well being of the people. Because he spent the money that was given for the well on other things, he didn’t have the money to pay the workers, and the project got shut down three times before we moved there.

When we got there, they had a hole three feet in diameter and twenty six feet deep with no water. But we were convinced that there was water down there because of the kind of rock they were digging through, so we put up the money to pay the workers so they would dig some more. At thirty two feet they hit a good water source, so we helped put in the cement rings. After that the guy left again, saying that he was going to bring up cement and money to pay the rest of the labor, but he never came back.

The well was not sealed off and every time it rained, surface water and animal waist ran down into it. Because there was water in the hole that was clearer then the river water, and was closer, some people used out of it.

We were convinced that much of the sickness in the community was due to drinking dirty water, so when we were in the states we presented this need to the people there. The Lord chose someone to provide the money for the materials to complete the well, so when we came back we went right to work.

It ended up being quite the challenge to get enough help to get it finished, because it was right through the rice planting season, but with the Lords help we got it done.

The day we set the pump we had a lot of people watching, and when the water started coming out of the spout, they got really excited, and soon about half of the village was there with buckets and jugs to take some of the water home. For the next two and a half to three hours the pump was going full time, and almost 200 buckets of water were carried off in that time. The next morning as soon as it was daylight the pump was going again, and about 10:30 it ran out of water.

They must have had every pot and bowl and bucket filled that they had, because from there it has leveled off, and there is plenty of good clear water. We got the water chlorinated and the lid sealed off so that no trash can get in it, and on Sunday we dedicated it to the Lord and ask Him to bless the well and the water, so hopefully it will have a positive affect on the health of the people soon. This is a very exciting step in the right direction for the wellbeing of the people of Krinkrin. Here is a link of the video Sarah put together of the well being done. http://youtu.be/wUmyDZb_6pM

Other matters in the community; a few days ago we learned of several families in our community who don’t have rice seed to plant. They know that if they don’t plant rice they will suffer much hunger in the coming year, so they have been praying that somehow they will have seed before it’s to late, which is in about two weeks. For several month as they prayed, they cleared all the trees and brush from their fields and got everything ready to plant, but still there is no money for seed, nor is there any rice seed to be had in the whole community or the ones around it.

A few of the families were about to give up that they will be able to plant this year, so one of them came to us and told us about it. We met with them to discuss the matter, and offered to bring seed up for them, if I can find some, and they can pay it back with rice when the harvest comes in. The idea of not being able to plant rice is devastating to them, and can mean serious hunger and malnutrition for them and their children. It was a great blessing to see that there was enough money in the account when I came down, to be able to take them the seeds they need. Thank yall for making this possible.

Let me say once again, thank you all for being a part of this work! I am convinced that everyone of you is part of this work because the Lord ordained it that way. Each one of you is involved in a special way, and without you, it wouldn’t be the same. We love y’all and pray for you too. Also, thanks to the ones who write us a note or a letter at times, it brings us great joy to hear from you. Grace and peace be with yall! Until next time, Eli Lee and family