June 2, 2012- A Day of Firsts

Today was a day of firsts. I drove my first car in Africa. It was a manual off road Land Cruiser with the steering wheel on the right, but we drive on the right side of the road. It was also my first time being a school bus driver, as I had 10 kids piled in the back to travel to the nearby village. Today I learned how to survey for water with an earth resistivity device. It was an interesting process, and it enables Water Harvest International (WHI) to select well locations with a higher degree of accuracy. Before, WHI would drill 7 out of 10 successful wells, but now they can drill 9 out of 10 successful wells. The team just started using the device in January, and they have immediately seen the positive effect it has had on their work. Today I had my first African rainstorm. Of course, it was just like storms in the US, but since we live in tents in the field, everything seems louder. The lightning is bright, the thunder booms and rain pounds our tent. Tonight was my first time to drill at night and also my first time to do mud drilling. There are two main types of drilling that we do: air compression drilling and mud drilling. In both cases, the mud/air is forced down the drilling pipe until it reaches the bottom of the borehole where it returns up the side of the drill pipe pushing down the dirt and rock cuttings out of the borehole. Air compression drilling is cleaner and easier. Mud drilling is necessary in areas where the rock is further down, and you have a deep hole that is still only made of dirt and clay. Mud drilling requires much attention, and the area can get messy.

It was a long day, and I am tired. Tonight I was frustrated because I had a solution to a problem, but nobody would listen to me. Even if I tried to voice my opinion to fix the problem, it was difficult to communicate effectively because of the language barrier. The men on the drill team speak English, but it sounds different than ours, and it actually can be difficult to communicate with them. The Lord sustained me through my frustration and gave me peace and patience once I submitted to him in prayer. I am thankful that we have a Lord who tells us to cast our burdens on Him. He is good when there is nothing good in me.

-Brady