The photo above was from the 2015 Summer Trip when our team spent the day in Bout Savane, the place where we were desperately trying to get the well completed successfully. It’s one of those photos that’s haunted me a bit ever since – the yellowing eyes, the gaunt features, the tell tale signs of malnutrition and dehydration. This village was in urgent need of a safe water source.
For the whole backstory on our relationship with Bout Savane, see previous posts at:
When our team was there in August of 2015, the crew that was drilling by hand (with no power tools, and through a massive amount of rock) had made it down to 55 feet. Jim Hopkins, Elder at the Holland Park Church of Christ, led our team in prayer over the well, and JT said he was hopeful that we’d reach fresh water once we got about 75 feet deep or so.
By November 2015 they were down to 85 feet, but still no water – and unfortunately that was the end of the line for drilling by hand.
Then came some good news: JT was able to negotiate us a deal with a well drilling company that had hydraulic equipment that would go all the way down to 500 feet if necessary. They guaranteed us a successful, completed well for a total of $7000 – about half the typical price tag for going to that depth.
Thanks to the generosity of many of you, we were able to secure sufficient funding to continue with the well-drilling project, which – unbeknownst to us at the time – was unfortunately a long way from over…
By April 2016 this new well-drilling company had broken off 3 drill bits, and still not made it through all the layers of rock at Bout Savane. The good news was that we hadn’t paid them any money; the BAD news was that our brothers and sisters in Bout Savane, who many of you have met and know and love, were still no closer to having access to safe water.
At that point, Rolin (minister from St. Michel) met with a drilling company from Cap Haitian (north coast of Haiti), and he believed they had suitable equipment to get through all the layers of rock at Bout Savane, and drill to a sufficient depth. JT traveled to Cap Haitian to meet with them himself, and and all of us continued praying for God to create a clear pathway to a successful outcome as soon as possible – these folks had already been waiting a long, long time…
