Ted chose/appointed me to write the next update for the internet. I am Gunnar Doerwald, from Virgil, Ontario. I joined the Wells of Hope group to drive the Diesel rig to Guatemala from Canada and to help out when needed as an interpreter. I am a member of the Niagara United Mennonite Church.

The life at camp is becoming more and more routine; the stake trucks get loaded with the equipment and materials needed for the day. Sometimes it is a generator with the AC welder or the acetylene torches to remove broken steel cables and always water for drilling.
We get up before 06:00 and by 8:00 Ted and James are gone for the day. Both have reached the hard rock layer and James found water at 350' depth. These are now well #4 and #5; although we have to go back to # 2 when the smaller diameter pipes arrive from Canada. There is normally lots of help from the local farmers; they also bring lunch to the rig operators, at least most of the time.

We also came to build some schools for some of the villages. The first site chosen was at La Puerta. After meeting with the local school board, size and shape was decided and the fathers of the school children started eagerly to chip the rock away to level the ground. Work advanced well and we started to pour the footing.

PHOTO BY GUNNAR

Up on the hill, where our camp site is, -2000m high- we had a lot of rain this week. Mud everywhere, tents flooded; lots of ditches made to lower the water level. Nights are cold; we are reading 5°C in the morning. All this rain happened after "All Saints Day", a day after which no rain ever falls -according to all the locals; so this year is an exception. One day we could not even drill, the access roads were impassable.

Miriam has started to show the ladies how to sew some of their clothing and they are eager to learn. Joline started to teach some children English; the class is growing to twenty children.

PHOTO BY GUNNAR

Almost next to our camp site is a small grocery outlet and the adults there offered their house if we teach them some English as well. People are eager to learn all they need is some help.
Doña Isa, in Guatemala City is also looking for a volunteer teacher for English and Bible study from January to October. Lots of opportunities to help.

We are also working on the upcoming well sites, as well as on the necessary piping to the tanks, where they exist. A planned well site in March turned out not suitable because suddenly the owner wants 6 thousand Quezales for the square meter of land; a lot of money when you think we get 12 windows and 3 doors made and installed for 5 thousand Q. So Ted went with the divining rod to find another promising site where the owner seems to be more willing.

We also tackled the difficult task of finding out how many people live in the villages we intend to serve. It is hard to get the truth out of the people; I think they are afraid to upset something and so all we get are vague answers. After patiently explaining them the reason we need the whole population count, I hope the answers they brought to the following meeting is correct. We have 55 villages on the list with 66,288 people.

Last Sunday we went to Mass at La Fuente. The priest comes here once a month and every other month there is a baptism. He server 14 villages from this location and there were 100 children lined up for baptism; in two months there will likely be another 100 children. The service was held outside in sunshine; lasted three and a half hours; we estimate an attendance of one thousand people; some came barefoot. It was another heart warming experience.

As a special treat we went to see a waterfall near Paraiso Sunday afternoon. The path was steep and often slippery but the view worth the breathless ascent on the way back. It is about 40m high and has a good water flow; "Niagara El Chiquito".

The local Electric Utility agreed to put power to the first well at Laguna El Pito; we will have to wait for a later report when it actually happens.

We had another delicate and difficult meeting with some village elders where we have been able to stop the people from signing a lucrative deal with a foreign company wanting to supply the villages with tanks and pipes most of them don't need.

We also found a spring at Los Llanitos and La Fuente and we want to see if we can harness the water and use it instead of drilling a well.

PHOTO BY GUNNAR

A flat tire on Ted's truck; more sewing lessons and English instructions; a Birthday party forSarah Vanderzalm and the next week has gone by.

If the updates to the web site are not coming regularly, then it is mostly the fault of the poor internet connections. The place opens when it suits the owner; half the computers have no disk drive; others drop the connection while down loading. It can be very frustrating and it takes many tries to be successful; but we will do our best to keep you up to date.

I came home to Niagara on Saturday and saying good bye was hard for all of us, tears were shed by all; we have grown to be a close family.

We all pray that God continues to lead us in our project.

Gunnar Doerwald