Rachel Chapman a servant of the Living God
It’s not done, but it’s live-able!
We have a roof, solid walls, and even a kitchen sink!
We’re lacking a bathroom and running water. But, it will come eventually! Right now, this is our “facility.”
And, I have my own room.
I’ve got a little table rigged up like a desk for the moment. Since I took the picture, we were able to move in my bed. All of us are sleeping on regular beds now instead of cots!
Early return
Yes, that was a lightning fast trip.
The storm that changed the plans
This is why the trip was so fast.
3 friends had come down to help pour the floor for Katie’s and my house. Dan, Ron, and the 3 guys were about 2.5 hours into the trip on the second day of travel when they realized they were not going to make it to the village. It started raining during the night and Dan said he “was filled with foreboding.”
Rain on the clay roads created very slippery mud.
However, they started out in the morning, hoping to get past the slippery hill before it got too bad. Before they even got to the slippery hill they knew it was too much. Up until the slippery hill, the road is “good.” And, they were battling already on that part. Dan said as they were descending on one of the hills, he started sliding to the side and slide right into the bank. If they had kept going, once they got to the “bad” part of the road, they could have slide right of the road and down the mountains. Not only is the road condition worse, but there are no guard rails to keep you on the road if you slip.
That was just the 1st day of 3 days of torrential downpour. And, guess what? 3 more days of downpour are coming!
We praise God that the guys made it back safely. In addition to the mud and rain, they had to watch for ice on paved road through the mountains on their way back home.
We’re leaving again for the village in a little bit with a dentist. He’ll treat as many people as he can and we’ll keep working on our house. Please pray that the weather will clear up so that the roads can dry out a bit. And pray that we can make it in safely.
Despite setbacks and discouragements, we press on!
We just said “goodbye” to Dan & Ron again with our first work team. 3 guys came to help us pour the floor on Katie’s and my house. One of the guys is a plumber, so he’s going to put in the plumbing that goes under the floor.
They are packed!!
Please pray for them:
-For safety in travel
-For safety and strength in working. They’ll be mixing up and pouring 15 yards of concrete.
-For good relationships with the people in the village
-For good progress
Christmas Eve
I am blessed to be able to celebrate Christmas with my sister. May you have an equally joyful time with your family.
“So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son…No one has ever seen God. But the one and only Son is himself God and is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.” John 1.14,18
Well, we´re not in the village! We tried to head in yesterday and weren´t able to make it up the side of one of the mountains. It had been raining and the road which was clay dirt was very wet and slippery. We got out and put rocks in the road and some branches, but it still wasn´t enough to be able to get up the mountain.
So, we backed up until we could turn around and came back to the coast where we´re waiting it out. We´re watching the weather and praying for sun – that the roads might dry out so we can make it in soon! Please pray with us.
Hydrologist & his wife
We had the privilege of taking a hydrologist friend of one of my partners with us on our last trip. The men hiked all over the area investigating all the water sources within a mile radius of our village – springs, creeks, and seeps. He determined that we have plenty of water to supply all the needs of the village and our own needs.
Our problem now is to get the water to where we need it. Our friend gave us three options for how to get enough water and store it. So, beginning with our next trip in, we’ll be working on the simplest/easiest option. Lord-willing, soon we will be able to have water at our house-sites!
There is a spring about a mile away that flows year-round – even in the dry times. So, we plan to tap into that spring and bring water to a storage above the village for us to use. There is plenty of head so that we will not need any pumps!
Although it will take a bit of work to put this system in, it really is a simple solution. And, there is a church that desires to help pay for part of the project!
Thank you, Lord, for providing the water that we need!
This is the box that supplies the neighboring village with water. We will tap their spring downriver to supply our village.
A few days ago, some co-workers with another people group in the same region came back from the US from a translation workshop. So, they brought in our mail and packages that had been waiting at our mailing address in El Paso. Living so far into Mexico, we don’t get regular mail delivery. It is dependent on people traveling down this way, which doesn’t happen but every few months. So, it’s like Christmas when we do get our mail!
Some people have asked about what things they can send me. Here are some things that I enjoy and/or things that I can’t get here:
notes & photos – I love a hand-written note, or an encouraging email!
sermons - Chip Ingram, Chuck Swindoll, Ravi Zacharias, John Piper
music - Praise & Worship music, Amazon mp3 downloads
stamps -US stamps – Forever or postcard
nuts - brazil, macadamia
dark chocolate - especially Dove’s dark chocolate promises with or without almonds
books, DVDs, and music that’s on my list to get some day…HERE
kitchen things – Ranch dressing powder mix, tea (chai, english breakfast tea-regular & decaffeinated, mint)
