Ministerio Agua de Vida

The North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church has been working with the indigenous Methodist Church in the north Honduran coast for over 10 years.  The most recent partnership effort has been to build a new church in the community of Zochimilco, west of La Ceiba.  This area has a growing group of believers currently meeting in member's homes.  Pastor Carlos Moncada is shepherding this growing flock.

One major problem with the new church is the lack of water.  Not only is there no potable water at the church site, there is no water service in the community either.  Ken Lowery, the Cannon UMC member responsible for the project, contacted us some time ago to request assistance in getting a well installed.  This was one of the rare cases where the funding was in place and all that was needed was our help in locating a reputable driller and providing technical assistance in the selection of the pump and pressure tank system to be installed.  We were blessed to be able to join the Cannon UMC mission team to work on the church expansion and to get the well project underway while there.

Nelson Gomez, Honduran driller, using copper rods as a way to locate the drilling location

Large mud-rotary rig brought in by Hidro-Pozos

Through our contacts with Water Missions International, who is doing a lot of water work along the north Honduras coast, we decided to contract with Hidro-Pozos.  They did an excellent job and had the equipment needed to drill through the large boulders (up to 2 feet) in the area.  Nelson Gomez, the owner's son, wanted to try his hand at the use of "divining rods" to locate the well.  We have never used this technique on any of our projects in the past, but since they weren't charging extra, we agreed.  Luckily he decided to put the well right where we told him we wanted it!  Before we started, we gathered everyone around the well location and asked the Lord to bless the church, the well and to keep the workers safe.

Cleaning out the well after drilling

Flushing the pressure tank

The well was completed in about two weeks and is producing plenty of water.  An electric submersible pump was installed as well as a pressure tank to provide the needed water pressure for the church and the future parsonage.  The hope of Ken Lowery and Pastor Carlos is that the well can provide water for the families in the community, as an outreach ministry.

We really enjoyed getting back to Honduras.  As you can read in the July Newsletter we began our ministry here 12 years ago but for various reasons, we have not been able to return.  At last we are back where God planted His seed in our hearts to go into full time missionary service.  What a wonderful journey it has been!  To God be the Glory!!

Technical Details

Project date: July 9 - 31, 2012

Location:   Latitude -  N 15 44 54.9      Longitude - W  86 51 48.3

Elevation:     66 ft. above sea level

Project Cost:  $10,000  (Estimated)

Type of project:  Installation of well, pump and pressure tank

People served:  Church, parsonage (future) and about 20 surrounding families

Well depth: 120 ft.

Submersible pump: 3/4 Hp, 120 volts

Static water level: 15 ft.

Dynamic water level:  Unknown

Flow rate:   Estimated to be 15 gallons/minute