5 weeks from today...

Time is going by so fast. I blink and another day has come and gone. There seems to be no way to slow the rapid flow of time, the growing nearness of our departure date.

Steve has been working like a crazy man to get his project done before we leave. This last month he has spent most of his time on designing and constructing a larger ferrocement tank. This tank holds 1500 gallons and will be shared by several families. Quite an impressive structure, eh?

The first day Steve spent on the tank they were not able to get a decent cover and were soaked to the bone. But they quickly learned how to construct a tarp over the 7.5 foot tall structure. You can see here the wire mesh that helps to reinforce the concrete. Hence, ferrocement.



What’s more impressive is that Steve completely designed the mold of this tank, using nothing but his brain. And surprisingly, he discovered, once again, how much he enjoys design.



Before we came to Nicaragua, he worked as a design engineer and thoroughly enjoyed his work. Once again, he had the chance to design something from nothing. The work has been a bit hampered by the rainy season, which started early and is a bit ferocious this year. In one sense, all the rain is good. We had a severe shortage of rain last year due to El Niño, so hopefully all this excess will help us catch up. However, it is difficult to build a cement tank when it pours all day. The one good thing is that the cement will cure slower, ensuring more strength for the tank.

On another note, Steve has delivered all the materials needed to finish up the tanks and the latrines. It feels good to be done with that part of the project, to never again be figuring out the material lists and going to the hardware store to order the materials. Most of the animals have been delivered, except for the goats. Steve will be going up to a town called Somoto today to look at some goats. Hopefully he will be able to find the remaining 12 that he needs. A few people also need worms and rabbits, but the majority have already been delivered.

All the chickens have been delivered except to one person. So we are finally seeing an end to this 3 yr project. There were some failures (most of the rabbits died), but there have also been some successes. The worms have done really well, and the people are impressed with the results they are seeing from applying the “worm dirt” to their gardens. And the people are enjoying the goat’s milk. Already we are hearing stories of malnourished children who are getting stronger from receiving a daily supply of milk, where before they never drank milk or any sort of dairy product.

Pray that we would be able to get all the things done that need to be finished and also know how to balance our priorities.

In the next 5 weeks, we need to:
Decide if we are staying or going back to the States.
Pack up our house.
Decide on where Steve is going to work, school options for Zach, and where exactly we are going to live.
Finish up a pile of paperwork for MCC and complete several doctors’ appointments.