Hello from Sierra Leone

    I thought I would give an update on how things are going here in Sierra Leone.  It has been really hot here I am sure well over 100 degrees, especially because the work we are doing require us to be in the sun.  I usually go through 3-4 1 liter bottles of water/day.  I am really thankful for the guest house we are staying at.  It is not a 5 star hotel but it has AIR CONDITIONING at least while the generator is on.  The generator shuts off at 1am so I go to bed cool and then slowly get warmer throughout the night as the air warms and I usually wake up in the morning sweating.   Some evenings it rains and that also cools things down.  Actually, it just started raining hard while I am typing this.  

     The last several days we have been able to start on the barn, the workers dug a 10' wide ditch approx. 3ft deep by 80' long to allow us to build the barn level.  The rest of the dirt will have to be removed after we leave.  Making adjustments is part of the deal when working in Africa, rarely if ever do things work out according to plan.  Today we finished cementing all of the support pipes into the ground which is the foundation for the barn.  The cement was mixed by hand and brought to the holes in a "head pan", which is like a round dish pan.  The ground was very hard so it took a lot of work to dig the holes and get everything lined up.  I know it is not perfect like my friends Craig and Josh would have done it but I think we are close.  We only have two work days left so my goal is to put all of the arches up tomorrow and then the main canvas cover on Tuesday.  The rest will have to be done by my African contractor Andrew.  Please pray that we can be successful up to that point.  Also, we are having some African scaffolding constructed to be able to get 20' in the air to work on the barn so please pray that they complete it in time and that it will hold.  I hope the pictures will come through so you can see.

     The drilling project has honestly been a big challenge.  We have faced a number of problems that have prevented us from accomplishing our goal to teach the African staff how to drill wells.  We have worked extremely hard to work through problems but it seems we are running out of time and parts to make that a reality right now.  Even a holiday  has prevented our last chance to get repairs because the shops are all closed.  It has been really amazing however,to hear the story of how God provided the drill rig and support truck and the oversees shipping to get the equipment to Sierra Leone.  It is obvious that God has used faithful donors to provide desperately needed water for people who need safe water. It seems God's timing is for the drilling to start after the rainy season to allow us to

get the additional supplies that are needed.  Please be in prayer and maybe consider donating to Let them LOL to help ship more supplies over.

     I have highlighted the projects but the most important project I believe is investing in people.  It has been great to work along side of many hard working men who are willing to learn new things.  The learning curve is steep and the men I have worked with have been hungry to learn new ideas.  The investment in these men will last forever.  God has given us opportunities to encourage the men even in difficult circumstances and to show the love of Jesus.  It has also been a joy to get to know the team from LOL and partner with them on this trip.  It is a very rewarding but very challenging work they have here.  

Well, that catches you up a little, I will update you as soon as I can.

Thanks for all of your prayers!