Hi Partners,
We trust you are having a great Fall. The rains have finally started falling in Bolivia and the trees are turning Spring green. It is such a relief to have the smoke filled skies of the dry season behind us. October was a busy month as we prepared for and hosted a mission work team from Crossroads Christian Church. Eight people ventured south to Bolivia to help us with a water well project at Talita Cumi children’s home. This home already has city water, but by putting in a private well and a water tank we can help the home save about $50 a month in water bills. The team had a great time getting dirty and drilling the water well, but I think they had an even better time getting to know the 30 or so kids at the home. Unfortunately we didn’t finish the well while they were here. We hit a hard layer of rock at about 50 feet and could not get through it before they had to leave. We will keep working on it. If you would like to see pictures from the week, they are available at http://www.pbase.com/beamsclan/cccoct2007.
The well drilling project is beginning to pick up steam. Carlos, is working full time for the project now and we are installing our workshop/training center on a rented farm about 20 minutes out of town. It is a beautiful piece of property with fruit orchards, forest, pasture, and a river. A number of people and institutions are showing interest in supporting the project, but we are still financing the project with a shoestring budget almost completely out of our own salary. There are so many doors opening up to work in rural communities and to provide water well drilling training to other institutions. Pray that our resources will expand to meet the need for water in Bolivia. I visited, Nueva Esperanza, a community of flood refuges near Cuarto Canadas several weeks ago where 130 families are getting water from a single well. These families have had to leave their farms and communities because of severe flooding. They established a new community on higher ground, but now they are now living on small house lots and only have enough space for a house and a small vegetable garden. In the mornings and evenings they have to stand in line to fill their water jugs to carry back to their homes. We have promised the community leaders we will come back soon and drill two new wells at each end of the community so people will not have to stand in line or have to carry their water so far. We would also like to help the community build a water tank and an irrigation system for the vegetable gardens. This would really help them increase their productivity. There is not yet a church in Nueva Esperanza, but there is a group of Christians meeting in a home each Sunday. They have asked us to help them purchase a lot and build a church building. The land they would like to purchase will cost about $400.
Thanks so much for you continued support of our work here. We could not be working here without your prayer and financial backing. Bolivia is sometimes a hard place to live. Violent demonstrations, strikes, road blocks, and fuel shortages are daily worries. Two days before our team arrived, the Santa Cruz airport was the scene of cancelled flights, protests, a military take over, and then more protests that kicked out the military. The scenes on the television on Thursday night looked like an all out war. I didn’t think our team would be able to come in, but by Sunday morning when they arrived everything was back to normal. Despite all the poverty, and political and social turmoil, God is working here in the hearts of many people. It is encouraging to see the positive spirit and hard work of so many Christians working to share the gospel and to help those in need. You are all a part of this work as well. We are excited about a number of teams that will be coming down next year. If you would like to come and help out a while, you have an open invitation.
Blessings,
Danny
Daniel and Vanessa Beams
EFCCM
Casilla 3740
Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Email: beamsclan@yahoo.com
Bolivia Telephone: 011-591-3351-1087
Blogs: www.beamsclan.blogspot.com
www.simplewatersolutions.blogspot.com
Photo Gallery: www.pbase.com/beamsclan
