Ministerio Agua de Vida

This is our first project with the Global Resource Team (GRT) of the Mission Society - click here for more info on our new roles.  The project was a perfect example of collaboration involving two Methodist Churches, The Mission Society, Amigos for Christ and El Camino y La Verdad Church in Honduras.

It all started when we got an e-mail from Darryl Martin of Hickory Flat UMC regarding the church in Honduras where he and members of his church had been working for 4 years.  They had attempted to drill a well there previously, but due to equipment problems they were only able to drill to 26 ft.  The well needed to be deeper to provide potable drinking beyond the church membership and for much needed sanitary services for the community.

While we lived in Nicaragua we were only about 30 miles from the Honduras border and only about 50 miles from Choluteca.  We went to visit the church to see how we might help, but the area was very wet and muddy and we could not get a drill rig in until the rainy season ended, which was after our starting date in our new role with the GRT.  Since most of our projects in Nicaragua were done in conjunction with Amigos for Christ, they agreed to do the job when things dried out.

Prayer before drilling with Hickory Flat

Proud Amigos for Christ drillers

At this point the REAL collaboration started!  The good folks at Hickory Flat UMC were trying hard to control costs on the new well since they were hoping to also build wash stations and other sanitation facilities to make use of the additional water.  Our ministry had received a donation from the Oak Grove UMC in Decatur, GA; and we had not yet committed these funds to a well.  Imagine how happy Darryl was when he asked how much the well would cost and we were able to tell him that it would be FREE!!  The Hickory Flat Mission Team was able to overlap with the well drilling crew (who were detained for a couple weeks due to paperwork with the drill rig at the border) and they built the most functional wash stations we have ever seen.  The project has been a blessing for the community and a great testimony for the church in its outreach and witness ministry.

      The Hickory Flat team working on the wash stations ...

  ... and the ladies putting it to the test!!!

This has been an interesting project for us - the first one that we were not physically involved in the drilling or dedication of the well.  But God has put us in a wonderful position of being able to bring all the groups together for His glory.  So now we realize that it is not important whether our drill rig is in a given location to use the gift of clean, abundant water to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We just have to answer His call and trust Him to bring it all together!

Thanks to Hickory Flat UMC who provided the great photos, Oak Grove UMC who provided the funds to drill the well and to Amigos for Christ for the excellent drilling crew.

Technical Details

Project date: Feb 24 - Mar 16, 2011

Location:   Latitude -  N 13° 17' 57.7"     Longitude - W  087° 08' 47.5"

Elevation:     201 ft. above sea level

Well Cost:  $5,287

Drill rig used:  Drilled with Bucyrus Erie Cable Tool rig with 9" bit

Drilled Depth:  150 ft. below ground surface

Well depth:   150 ft. below ground surface

Casing  type: 6 inch diameter PVC bell & socket

Screen length & type:  40 feet of 6 inch diameter PVC

Length & Type of Seal:  2.5 ft. of bentonite pellets

Static groundwater level:     67.4 ft. below top of casing

Dynamic groundwater level:     66.7 ft. below top of casing (with 3/4 hp electric pump)

Depth to base of pump:   100 ft. below top of casing

Pump description:    1/2 hp Gould electric submersible