Filters installed, last brick laid.

Soon, I will not wake up to the sound of children laughing, and hurrying off to school. I wont have children come up to greet me as they come home. I wont see Henry’s smiling face, I wont get the satisfaction from working and sweating out in the african sun. I wont be able to wander around in flip flops, shorts, and a cut-off. I will miss very many things, but will be relieved that the project is over; bought and payed for by God. The children are safe. 

The last few workers. 

I went to pump shortly after I woke up. I opened the pump house just as a child came up to me and told me that Uncle Francis was calling me. I thought to myself, “Okay, Ill go in just a little while.” Another child came up, then another; all telling me that Uncle Francis was calling me. I closed the pump house and made my way to where he was. He was sitting with a boy on the foundation of one of the homes. As I walked up, I made a big deal about how he sent so many people to get me. He said, “I am sorry to have disturbed you, but there is a matter that I wanted to bring to your attention.” The boy that was sitting with him had been pointed out by some of the other boys as a thief. This boy was not taking another boys petty socks, he was taking materials and equipment from the storage and selling them at close to nothing to a man in the community. After questioning him, he pointed out several other boys that were involved. There were nine of them all together. They moved as a group and took whatever they could. The tools that they stole were close to brand new, and they sold for 700 shillings each (8% of the original cost). They are responsible for dismantling the solar system that I mentioned before. I don't understand how someone from this orphanage, a child, could be the thief. They were basically stealing from themselves. I pity the man that was taking advantage; causing them to stumble. Last I checked, God doesn’t much appreciate those kinds of people. Felix came and talked to the boys for the first half of the day. He told me, when I came up to greet him, that he had come prepared with his beating stick. He thought that we had caught an adult thief from outside, not an orphan. While they took care of the situation, I went back to taking care of the pump house. 

I cleaned the top tank today and gave it the same treatment as the bottom tank. It was very clean before I began, but I was able to rid the tank of debris, and frogs. I then installed the carbon filter and filled half the tank. I spoke to Mum Betty, who came late last night, and told her that since the construction is finished, the tank water should be restricted for drinking water only. It should cut back on the water and electrical bill.

While I was on top of the tank, I felt a little splash of water hit my feet. I pulled my head out of the tank, and looked down. Irene and Sharon were cupping their hands with the siphoned water and tossing it up trying to get me wet. That was it. I started pulling the broom out that I had been using to sweep the sediment to the drain in the bottom of the tank and flinging it on them. Once they got a cup and started tossing larger quantities up on to me, it was war. I climbed down the tower, took the main line from the tank, and turned it wide open. It has plenty of pressure. They could not hide, they could only get soaked, and they did.

I showed some of the kids what a siphon was, they could not believe their eyes when they saw it. they thought that I had some sort of machine in my hand as I held the tube, pumping the water out. They asked, “How does it do that?!!” I would just tell them gravity, but it still seemed a little unrealistic to them. 

The bricks were actually very strong.
I climbed all over them. 

I rode with Henry during the lunch hour to see a machine that makes brick using manpower. It emphasizes leverage to generate “8 tons” of compression. Clay and sand compress with a small amount of cement into brick. I took pictures of the machine, and then pictures of the wall that it makes. It is quite impressive for something that does not consume some kind of fuel. He then took me to his home. He keeps telling me that he really wants me to know who he is. He was very proud of the poster of Jesus that adorns his living room. He is a single man, and he is single, he says, because his wife was growing tired of how often he talked about Jesus, and she told him to choose between the two of them. 

The brick machine.

Back at the orphanage, the construction workers were placing their final bricks on top of the wall in the wetlands, and Mum Betty had taken over the main room of my house with all the children in primary 6. she had noticed my blackboard and asked me if she could help the children with their math using my blackboard. “It isn't my blackboard, It would make me feel good to see it used though”, I told her. I got to go in and help her teach some basic, basic algebra and geometry. It was a little difficult; some of the terminology is completely different; I say, “obtuse angle”, they say “outside” angle. 

Mum Betty teaching the P6 class math.

My evening ended with a delicious meal of Matoke and pork. It was very good. I just wanted to keep chewing, and not swallowing; keep all that good flavor in my mouth. I had a nice conversation with Betty while she helped the children write their letters. She kept asking them what they wanted to say to their sponsors, and then writing exactly what they said. She was telling me about a time when one of the children said, “I love you like ice cream”. I told her if I read that in one of my letters, I would be happy all week. I spoke to Pastor Eve on the phone about maintenance, and then ducked out into my room where I am crawling into my bed with clean sheets, and my clean, but somehow sweaty body. I hope I get tons of sleep and have some amazing doxycyclene (Malaria medicine) dreams.