We've had a week to set your nerves on end. The easy part is praising God when things are fine, but when things are difficult, wow....then it's hard. But we are learning, through those hard times. Let's see....to start with, our septic system backed up. Okay, we knew it was not the septic tank, we had had that emptied. So, Don, with our good friend Daniel's help, started checking the sewer line from our house to the tanks behind the dorm. Let me digress here and tell you how we found out the system had problems.
One of our "girls" (Betty) was in a wedding as the maren (God-mother). So, she had asked if she and the bride could dress here at the house. No problem. Well, Betty wanted me to get some photos of her in her fancy dress, too. They got all dressed, a few photos taken, and they were off. I went in to flush the toilet (in their rush, they hadn't). Then went on to do other things. I walked back to the bathroom, heard water running...and realized the bathroom was flooded, all the way out to the hall, and into one of the bedrooms. Praise God we don't have carpet!! It was NASTY! Don thought the toilet may be plugged, so he plunged it...wrong move, more water erupted... everywhere ... bathtub, shower, sinks...a fun time. So...back to them starting to "fix" the problem.
They dug down in several places, would stick a rod in the pipe, to see if water was flowing. Well, one place they dug, they missed the sewer pipe and hit the water line!!! Yup, here we are with no way to drain water, flush toilets or anything...but that's okay, now we have no water to do it with anyway. Are you catching the drift of frustration here? I wasn't bad...I had the mess cleaned up by then and had extra water set aside, in case I had to do it all again. Well, I didn't, but at least now I had water to use, which I could throw outside when done with it. Don on the other hand was not as "carefree". Those guys were running all over trying to find parts to fix the water line, and to get something they may need to fix the sewer line. Finally they got the water line fixed, for which I was really pleased. I figured I could throw water outside. Toilets were another problem, but we won't go there.
They finally found the "blockage" in the sewer line...and it only took a few hours to clear that. Then the next problem arose. They found a huge root had grown and pressed the pipe almost closed. Well, this was New Year's Eve day...so they simply closed it all up, and it was usable again. And decided to work on the line this week.
Okay, we are at "today"....Three guys came to help dig up the line and replace the collapsed pipe. They started digging and got to where they can work on it. Brought out the pipe (same size as the one in the ground), and the connector. The two 4 inch pipes are different sizes...just enough so they won't work together. So, they are off to town trying to find the needed parts...and prayerfully something will be open, because it is still a holiday here. Isn't life simply "exciting"??
Yesterday, New Year's Day, we were invited out to Pastor Paul and Belle's place for dinner. Abbie was going to see Richardo, so she wanted to be all dressed up. She had on a fancy dress, mama's earrings, and grandma's new necklace. We had washed and straightened her hair, and I put it up in curls for her. (My first try at that, but it went pretty good). Got Savanah dressed in a pretty outfit and were all ready to go. I still can't get over what a good baby Savanah is. She, along with Abbie, are the light of our lives right now. Don brought the Toyota around, we got in, and he said, "Hope the gas station is open, we won't make it otherwise." You guessed it, it wasn't open. Came back home, he changed a flat tire on the Diahatsu and we tried again. Got going and it sounded like a stone in a tire. He stopped 4 times trying to find that "stone". Never did. But we finally made it out to their place and had a great time. Played some "Mexican Train dominoes" and headed back.
So, pray for the guys as they attempt to finish this sewer problem. Don has a whole list of jobs to get done. And this was not one of them. He is still hauling sand and gravel for Pastor Marius for his church. Then he has several other projects on his agenda to work on. Guess we'll see what, if any, he does get to. The saying is, "That's the plan, subject to change, and it WILL change when in Haiti!!"
Don found out this morning that his brother passed away. He is so upset by that, but there is no way he can make any arrangements to get to the funeral. We learned yesterday that his brother was taken to the hospital and then this morning we got word he had passed away. So, keep Don in prayer concerning this situation also. We know Gene, his brother, has heard the salvation message many times. We are not positive if he actually accepted the Lord or not. So this is a very difficult time for Don.
We pray your New Year brings you joy, peace and comfort. As we are doing, grasp onto the Lord's hand and let Him be your guide and direction.
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