The Saga of Water in India
January 5, 2008 email #16
Here in India the sunsets are a daily miracle, I am convinced.  There are colors everywhere, red, yellows, oranges, tinging the dusty sky.  From the rooftop terrace of PBI I can go and enjoy this awesome sight of God’s love for an artist’s heart.  I have been doing some watercolor/pen and ink drawings.  This has been a marvel to the staff. 

From years passed I have written about Peewee and Herman our personal geckos.  They continue to occupy our room, but it is now hard to tell them apart.  Peewee must be getting an abundance of bugs

We were delighted to meet with a former student of PBI who is now having a ministry with the 50,000+ street children of Nagpur.  He works mainly with the little ones who reside/exist near the railway station.  He tries to build a relationship with love, food, and stories. These kids normally roam the streets and steal whatever they can to eat.  Actually, he is being supported by another former PBI student who went to work with YWAM and is now living in New Zealand.  It would make all of YOUR efforts seem so worthwhile if you could see his zeal for the work of the Lord.

Water has doggedly made itself an issue here at Prakash.  Thanks to many of you the well has been fixed, BUT yesterday the large water line was found to have leaks---not one---but many!  Loren was out in the field seeing about our mascot bullocks and noticed they were walking around in a muddy area.  “Where is the water coming from “ he wondered?  Well, the 30+ year-old steel pipe was leaking.  We do not own equipment like a backhoe that could dig a trench to the leak, so by calling Mission India we were able to borrow a backhoe and driver.  That only took about two hours for it to come---no big deal---we have all day!  When the pipe was found it had deteriorated so badly that there were multiple pinholes.  Now get the picture . . . the welding teacher and his class brings out to the field the entire ARC welding equipment.  This is called “practical training.” They proceed to stand in muddy water up to their mid-calf while TRYING to spot-weld the holes.  Loren finally says, “Hey, this is not working guys.  Why not put a larger piece of metal over the whole area and run a bead?”
Great idea, but because of the moisture the bead still had leaks.  “What to do????” Well, there is a kind of putty that could be put on the leaky areas, so off to town again to purchase the putty. It is now dark by the time the putty is ready to be applied, so the extension cord (simply two little twisted wires with NO pins (plug) stuck into the 240-watt outlet,) is connected to a flood light of sorts.  Remember, they are standing in water.  The putty still needed something to hold it in place till it dried, subsequently a two-inch pin knife (wouldn’t it have been nice to have a Snap-On tool truck near by) was used to cut a bicycle tube so it could be wrapped around the pipe and hold the putty in place. I only wish I had gotten a picture. 
Guess what gang. . . we have water this morning!!!  Whatever works is great I should think.  To be SURE this is not the end of the saga.  The pipe will have to be replaced and that will be another whole story. 

http://www.prakash4india.org
Sylvia H. Eckhardt
Prakash for India