Of Tantalus and Togo

After some difficulty from drilling at our place in Awashbuni, we
decided to attempt a few easy wells instead of immediately embarking
on our third attempt. Joe had already drilled three wells in our area,
completing one per day. Those were down in the valley, a few miles
from our house. The further one moves from the road, from our home,
and further into the valley, the shallower the wells become. So we
drilled at the house of our good friend Haile "the School Teacher"
Faresa, hoping to avoid the large layer of rock directly beneath our
homestead. I don't know if we succeeded in avoiding said layer of
rock, but if so, we found an entirely new one which has caused us just
as much grief.

We lost the first rig to a foolish mistake which cost us the rig and
the hole, and then the bit broke off at the bottom of our second hole,
as it did at the bottom of the third hole, both of them the product of
poor welding. In an effort to make the best of our situation, we cased
and developed our third hole since it was fairly close to our intended
depth. No water thus far. We may be too shallow.

Camping at Haile's house, we could look out over wide fields of cut
straw and tall lines of swaying eucalyptus trees haphazardly dividing
properties, clustering occasionally around circular, thatch-roof
homes. Out there - out of earshot of our sloshing mud and our
whirring, clunking vehicle - water waited 30 feet below the land, not
60 feet and hiding beneath three feet of stone. 'Twas tantalizing, in
the purest sense of the word. In kinship with Tantalus: the water is
always just out of reach.

Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time at Haile's house. Everyday his
mother and sisters prepare the coffee ceremony for us and any other
neighbors who have dropped by. A few of his younger brothers (he has
17 siblings by two different mothers) help us with the labor. A couple
of the youngest set up tents in imitation of our campground, tents and
a cooking area set up behind a row of eucalyptus. We were sure to
provide the brothers with a thorough campout experience, including
smores one night. (May I recommend roasting marshmallows covered in
peanut butter; a gourmet roast). It was the least we could do after
the boys performed the coffee ceremony themselves at our campsite one
night, a particularly uplifting occasion since Jeremy and I had been
struggling alone with the drilling while Joe was in Uganda for a week
with a team from his home church, Christian Fellowship Church in
Evansville, Indiana.

They went to Uganda to survey an area where the church is supporting
several projects. The church team spent the previous week in Ethiopia
inspecting projects before leaving with Joe. Joe returned accompanied
by a friend, Cheryl, who was in Uganda while renewing her visa
to continue medical and agricultural work in Central Asia. She has
spent a few days of this past week with us at Haile's place, aiding us
in our drilling and such fiascoes as marshmallow roasting. Her
cheerful spirit and warm humor has been a blessing to us. She plans to
return to Afghanistan on Tuesday. Please keep her in your prayers.

Afterward, Joe and Jeremy will return to Haile's place and try to
develop the well in hopes that it will produce water. In the meantime,
I'm off to Togo in a matter of hours. Several Church of Christ
missionary families have raised funds and want to try out the
well-drilling technique in their area of northern Togo, so I'll be
with them for the next two months, returning to Ethiopia May 9 so that
I can return to the United States on May 12. Please pray that we'll be
able to drill wells there, that the water may be well within our
grasp.