June 28, 2022

 

A couple in San Isidro de Chipo washes their hands at a spigot that has been installed at their home. 

Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. - 1 Chronicles 29:11 

It is a moment that some community members have waited decades to see realized. Each family has contributed hard-earned dollars and months of manual labor to be able to turn the tap at their home and see clean and clear water run out of the spigot.

This was the case in the community of San Isidro de Chipo. Sitting along the Pan-American highway just a few kilometers south of the town of Guamote, the community of 70 families previously collected water from an open-air concrete irrigation channel to use for cooking, drinking, and bathing.

As you can imagine, the celebration of having access to the clean and clear water is one that matches the effort that went into the construction process. Starting at 11AM, the celebration – which consisted of meals, skits, speeches, choir performances, and sermons – lasted until midnight.  

The concrete irrigation ditch the community previously used as water distribution next to an open trench dug for the pipe which has been installed and now provides clean, clear, potable water.

The system design was not without its challenges. The spring the community had rights to was just meters above the highest home in the community. After initially protecting the spring, there were signs of bacteria that resulted in water that would have a foul taste and be unhealthy to consume, should it be connected to the system.

Thorough hydraulic modeling and careful system design solved the pressure concerns. And, after building some additional concrete barriers to separate the spring from other nearby water sources, follow-up tests from Calvin University students showed the water free of the presence of bacteria. 

Calvin University students tested the source water which supplies the San Isidro de Chipo system, confirming the water would be safe to drink

What a joy it was to see this community celebrate access to clean water, and what a blessing it was to receive the gratitude from the community on behalf of everyone that made this project possible, including spiritual and financial partners like you!

The celebration was a great reminder for me of how these water systems are a real-life representation of God’s providence. Yes, the CODEINSE team completed the engineering design and the community members dug trenches, built tanks, and installed the pipe - but, there are so many factors that have led to the construction of this system and dozens like it. It is impossible to not see God’s hand at work. King David’s words from 1 Chronicles 11, which I’ve quoted above, were shared at the San Isidro de Chipo celebration, and I can’t think of more fitting words for a moment such as that.

Communities show their gratitude by gifting ponchos to those that took part in the construction of their system. I accepted this red, stallion-patterned poncho on behalf of all of you. With me are Chris and Samantha Visscher, missionaries from California who are also with CTEN and based in Riobamba (Photo credit: Chris Visscher)

While the celebration in San Isidro de Chipo has been the highlight of the past six weeks, I've also been excited to step back into the work of water system design and modeling, which I have been working on for the community of Pull San Jose. 

A lot of the engineering design work isn’t especially exciting to share in words or pictures - most of it happens while sitting at a desk in the office - but I hope you can imagine me working hard and using my technical expertise to help these communities have access to clean water!

Prayer Requests

• Smooth design process for the Pull San Jose distribution system
• For the construction process in the community of San Antonio de Quito. The design process for this community took almost six years to complete. The community members are excited to start the construction work.
• A safe, healthy, and fulfilling summer program for the three interns here through July —two from Liberty University and another from Cedarville University
• Chris & Samantha and their four children will be in the States for two months, leaving Ecuador in mid-July. Prayers for safe travels as they visit family and friends and a time of rest and relaxation for them.

The three interns got their first true Andes Mountains experience by climbing up to 16,500+ ft on Chimborazo. Here we are at the start of the hike at 15,750 ft. (Photo credit: Bruce Rydbeck)