This is not a game. Lives are at stake.

That was a quote from our orientation this year. And it’s true. We are changing lives and saving them. 

I was at 151 installations in my 3 weeks this year! Wow! That is helping about 18000 people with access to clean safe water. (math roughly on 20 households of 5 people each per well)

Altogether in the 4 weeks that we American volunteers were in the country 3,410 wells were installed! There are still some to be installed and we don’t have to worry, our team of workers will get them in as they have been throughout the years without us (and before when we didn’t ‘finish’ before leaving). There are still many wells that need to be funded. Want to help? Donate here! 

Well season starts at the beginning of August with training wells for the builders to learn on. But it also starts much earlier than that with the zoning committees and figuring out which villages will get wells this year. With a goal of 3450 wells this year, many are left wanting a well having to wait for next year. 

The wells take an average of three days to build. Digging, lining the inside with the gravel at the bottom and bricks all the way up. Making the concrete cap to make it a protected water source. As installations don’t start until mid September and run until the end of October, some villages (the earliest built) could be waiting over 2 months for the final product. Installation really is a time of great joy! 

Last bit

My last day of installations was planned to be a half day. We got home after 3 so it wasn’t. But I’m not complaining. We put in 5 wells and we’re able to finish one of the builders installations for the year. He said that the villages had been calling to find out when they would get their wells and he couldn’t give them a day. Or when he did the plans would change and they continued to wait. 

The villagers said that they were calling. They were waiting, actively. Not wanting to be forgotten. Not wanting to wait any longer than they had to to get clean safe water. And now. Finally. They were satisfied seeing this dream come true, these prayers answered. Ulemu kwa Mulungu! Glory to God!

The last three wells we put in weren’t too far apart and yet they weren’t all that close either. We would dedicate and head back to the truck, drive tit he next and when I got to the well site, the same children would be there. And then again. This girl in green was one of those. She was at all three of the wells. She would smile shyly at me and hang around and then disappear as soon as we headed back to the truck. Then there she would be again. 

Moments

‘Thank you for the gift of life since water is life. And please when you go back thank all those at home who helped us. Let them know that we are grateful. But also tell them that there is more need out here. Our neighbors still need help. Please continue to mobilize resources.’ 
When I first heard this I thought ‘seriously aren’t we doing enough?!? Why are you always asking for more? You just got clean water.’ And then it hit me. Yes they are asking for more. But not for themselves. For others, for neighbors, for those who need it and can’t ask for themselves. Wells are $450. It makes an immediate difference. If you’d like to donate any amount (all undesignated gifts go to wells and not overhead) click here. 

(Bridge we decided to go around)
Another village said they were so happy to get the well but that when they were told an azungu (foreigner) would be coming they were a little anxious. Now that I’m here they see that I’m a Christian and also that the well is giving glory to God without restriction. That the well and the water in it has no denomination and is good for all! They gave me a chicken in thanks. I let them know that the azungu thanked them. 

 I arrived in a village and was getting out of the truck, making sure I had the keys and the android and had some water. I could hear the women singing at the well sight (not too far but out of sight for the moment) a girl about 11 years old was crossing the street and she caught my eye. With a big smile on her face she started dancing to the music. And then so did I. I didn’t think her smile could get bigger as we continued on to the well site to celebrate with the others. That moment of dancing ‘alone together’ in the middle of the road is one that I’ll cherish. 
Lunch break Medson, Wilfred and I

More

So now I’ve done it. I was so proud and confident. And then as I was closing the door I couldn’t stop it and I saw the keys still in the ignition. We went to install the well. The head woman is over multiple villages and she was very grateful we were there. She asked for more wells and was told to reapply next year as this year’s wells have been assigned. Back to the truck with a string and a wire. I had left the window cracked just a bit so that was what we had to work with. Tried to grab the window crank but that would have rolled the window farther up. 45 minutes and we got the wire and string to pull the tab up. And off we went. Wilfred told me, ‘don’t worry about it. It happens to everyone.’

Cholera has killed 110 people in Malawi this go round. And the people know it. Wilfred asks as we are dedicating and teaching them about correct use of the well. There should be no buildings within 30 meters of the well, don’t wash or bath at the well, keep any open water that is close moving, and keep the animals away from the area. It is a shallow well and the water comes from the surrounding ground. 
One headman went in for a while in Chichewa but said in English, ‘There are no toilets here!’ The translation was that if you are coming to get water (especially children) then know that you have to go to the bathroom before you come. 

A day in the life

A day in the life of a Marion Medical Mission volunteer begins early. Waking, breakfast, and grabbing all your gear (backpack, android, truck) before meeting your field officer or installation supervisor. Depending on the field officer that you're working with, we either go to load the truck with pipes, pumps, and all the pieces needed for installation or the truck is already loaded and it is time to head out. A stop at the gas station, a shop to pick up lunch supplies and we're on our way! 

As we try very hard to NOT drive after dark we try to go to the farthest village first which can be quite a ways...time to see the countryside, get to know your guide/translator better, and talk through the idea of the day. The number of wells that my field officer plans to put in each day almost always sounds very high and overly optimistic but we try our best and know that that is all that we can do and that all of the villages that have been promised wells will get them even if we can't be the ones to help install. 

Along the way we pick up a few more installation supervisors and/ or builders who know better where we are going and who is getting the wells. Upon arrival at the village/well site/ place to leave the truck to hike to the well site we jump out of the truck and pull all the pieces we'll need big pipes, little pipes, pump, plunger, connectors, tools. Then to the site (sometimes 10ft away and sometimes a hike). Installation as American volunteers meet and greet all who come to the well is followed by a dedication ceremony and instruction of correct usage for maintenance. Depending on the village there is singing, dancing, gift giving and hugs before we load up in the truck and head to the next well site. 

After 4 or 8 installations we head back to our accommodations aiming to be back by 6pm (dark). Once there we have dinner, shower, make sure that all our information is backed up, them crawl under your mosquito net into bed and rest to do it again!

And we keep going

Woke up one morning and Wilfred told us the truck had a flat tire. Had someone come to change it and Wilfred said we can head out into the field if we put the flat where the spare is because it is illegal to travel without a spare. I didn’t think that was a great idea as if we got another flat out in the field we wouldn’t have a spare that was any good. The guy said it would take about 20 minutes to patch. We can wait (or do our lunch shopping in the mean time). 

Two days later, Tom and Mr Khosa, are at our hotel laughing about how good it is they showed up since we have a flat tire. Guess our spare wasn’t that great though it did last 2 days. That also being said, neither of them changed the tire. 

As we finished a dedication and we’re headdd back to the truck a man came up to me and identified himself as a headman algo a nearby village. He said that we had come the other year and installed a well there and he just wanted to say thank you again. He was very glad that we were back and installing here. He pointed at our builder and field officer and told me that those guys are good workers. Very helpful. And he did it in English. 

The police blocks haven’t gotten less frequent but we haven’t gotten stopped nearly as often. Usually we are waved through which is lovely. Of course one more officer wanted to check my reverse lights and brake lights. I’ll admit to not having checked and so was relieved that we passed and we’re able to continue on to our wells. 

One village told me, ‘We stopped believing you were coming. We got calls on 2 days saying you would be coming and yet you didn’t make it. But now today, the third time. It has become a reality’. That is hard for me to hear and yet their thanksgiving is real. We call up all the villages we hope to make it to in the day but often distances are farther, installations are trickier, the sun heads down too soon and we miss some villages. It has been nice this year to still be in the same area for the duration and I have gotten to those villages that really have been waiting (they are all waiting…)

So much joy

We were met at the ‘road’ at every village. (Bigger track if not a dirt road). The people were already singing and dancing-all of them, men, women and children. They followed the truck to where we parked and then continued singing and dancing to the well. What joy!

The headman commented, ‘You have helped us today when many other NGOs and even the government have not. I wish you would run for office because if you did we would vote for you!’

Another comment, ‘Thank God for giving you the resources to help us, thank God for  entering your mind to come here.’ And ‘from the beginning of the world, there has never been such a thing in this village. Now we have safe water to drink.’

Blessings

At the end of the dedication we give time for someone to speak. Usual sentiment is thank you, thank God, thank those in America who sent you and sent funds for the well. One headman apologized for not having time to kill a goat for us. He said we should come back sometime and we would have the goat. 

At so many wells the women sing. They are encouraged by all (men, other women, the workers). Some songs I hear often and can ‘sing along’ others I try to clap but the beat is often off for me…most are call and response or lined out (easier to repeat)

🎶’The well is coming today, today the well is coming’ 🎶 can change to ‘marioni is coming today, today Marion I is coming’ 🎶 to ‘today the has arrived, the well has arrived today’ 🎵one song was a prayer for God to grant the people wisdom and peace amongst people 🎵

🎶Thank you 🎶 repeated (zikomo and totrakoza)

🎵Welcome visitor. You are most welcome, how are you, how was you night (or morning)🎵

And then there are the ones I don’t know or recognize. 

One day I had to grandmothers at 2 different villages sing to me their thanks. One was after the installation and we were back at the truck getting ready to leave. I was looking at her from the drivers side through the passenger window. She had such a big smile and looked right at me. 

The second was as we arrived. It was a song I didn’t know and possibly she made it up right then but I could tell it was coming from the bottom of her heart. She sang of the joy in her heart and that it was pouring out her hands. May God bless and keep me as we continued to share Gods love.  

I was brought to tears of joy and if I could have filmed them I feel sure you all would have felt the same love. 

Aack!

Moyo ndi wozuza 

(Seen painted on a building. Literally, life is troubles. Meaning: life is full of challenges)

The first two days we were stopped by the police 4 times. (We saw police on the roads 9 times) We got a ticket each day. The first was because the pipes were sticking off the back of the truck without a warning device (flag). The next day they asked to see our fire extinguisher and it turns out we didn’t have one. (So that one I understood). Since then (going into week three) we have been stopped twice more. The first asked me for a fire extinguisher, had it! And then my drivers license, had that too. Betty said he looked disappointed but let us go. 

The last time was a ‘fun’ interaction. ‘What are you doing?’ Putting wells in villages. ‘My village doesn’t have a well.’ We can’t put wells in when we’re stuck at police blocks. ‘I’m just doing my job to keep the roads safe.’ Thank you. And we got to go. There were smiles and chuckles. Most of this week we have gotten waved through which makes us think someone has told them to let us through. I don’t mind!

Malawi is having fuel shortages but so far we’ve been able to keep our truck well fuelled when we’re in a bigger area. There are also lots of power cuts everyday. With no schedule that I’ve been able to figure out. But then we were warned and the power does come on for a bit so I can charge what needs to be charged.  

We are told to not drive at night. And we try not to. But of course there are days we don’t quite get back in time. It gets dark at 6. And the roads haven’t gotten better. After our first night too late we said no. Can’t do it. And we haven’t. It’s been much better!

One well didn’t have enough water in it. We aren’t at the end of dry season yet and the well couldn’t pass the 10 bucket test.  The builder was instructed to come the next day to take the top off and go down to dig it deeper. That is so hard to leave. 

After all that, things are mostly working. We’re putting in wells, dancing and singing, hiking and seeing some beautiful countryside and people. 

Devotion

 Marion Medical Mission puts together a devotional booklet each year with daily reflections from Americans and Africans for the days of well building and installation. I wrote the one for October 1 (not that I knew that before the booklet came out):

WATCHING AND WAITING     Jessi Stitt Volunteer, North Carolina   Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12   It was my first year as a Marion Medical Mission volunteer. Most of our villages were quite spread out. We were the Team 2 clean-up crew – the outlying villages. We could easily have to drive two hours to get to the first well and then an hour plus to the following villages. But my partner and I both love driving so that wasn’t a problem. But this day, we had two villages very close to each other. In fact, we stopped in one to drop off the pipes and pump and then continued on to the other as our builder knew he could get back here and get started installing while we were dedicating the first well and celebrating with the people. This would ‘speed’ our progress for the day.   We dedicated the first well, celebrated and received offerings of thanks (eggs, ground nuts, tomatoes) and headed back to the village we had passed through. When I stopped the truck and opened the door, I was greeted by an agogo (grandmother). She took my hand and did not release it as we walked to the well site. She talked to me the entire way, waving her free hand around to the land and the people. While I don’t really know what she said, I understood. This was her home, her family, and the glistening in her eyes and the smile on her face said so much.   Agogo didn’t release my hand until she saw the clean water come out of the well. She let out an ululation (high pitched warble) and bounced with joy. Our Field Officer then told me that she had been telling me that when she saw the truck come through the village and not stop, she was devastated. She had seen trucks passing on other days and had begun to lose hope that our promise would be kept. And then we had come but passed right through. When we returned she wasn’t going to let me go until that water came to be. Her dreams came true. Her family would be healthy, her village would no longer get sick. Water is life and God is good. Application Questions: What are you hoping for? How can you help make it happen? Prayer: Dear God, thank You for your promises to us. To always love us and to send us those who can help. Help us as we help others and as we share Your love to all those around us, near and far. Remind us that we are not forgotten, we are loved, and we are called. Amen Looking for Easy Ways to Help? When you follow us on social media, and 'like,' comment or share our posts, it increases our exposure & helps new supporters find us! Writing a quick, 5-star review on Google or recommending us on Facebook is also a great way to share our mission! If a daily devotion really speaks to you, please share it on social media. All of these are great ways to support MMM! Visit our website FOLLOW US

Marion Medical Mission | 1412 Shawnee Dr, Marion, IL 62959 Unsubscribe jessi.stitt@gmail.com Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by info@mmmwater.org powered by Try email marketing for free today!

Perspective

Life is all about perspective. This comes up every once in a while in stark reality. On day 3 Betty and I headed out to install wells and we went down the road that passes the hotel that we stay in our first 2 nights in country. It is this road that we practice or refresh our driving skills (manual transmission on the left side of the road) on our orientation day. I went out on orientation day and remember that road being super bumpy. As we drove out to install wells, the road seemed not so bumpy in comparison with the other roads we’ve been driving on. I mentioned it and Betty said she was just thinking the same thing. Life’s experiences shape how we perceive it. 

T-shirt I saw on a boy walking in the market: 

Life is simple. 

Are you happy?

If yes, keep going. 

If no, change something. 

Animal sightings:  mongoose (ran across the road, very quick), monkey (turned a corner and there he was climbing a tree), lots of donkeys, cows, dogs, chickens, goats

At one well, the headman said that he was very sort thematic there was no time to kill a goat for us, and thus we will have to come back so they can. 

A villager told us “God must love you” as we left her village after installing a well that will keep them from drinking with the animals and knowing that the water is safe. 

Week 1

Betty and I have been in Nkhoma Synod driving all over and installing wells. While we both enjoy hiking, here we’ve practically driven right up to most of the wells. Don’t get me wrong, it is still on rough dirt roads and tracks through fields, over bridges and through river beds that we get out to walk before we drive through (don’t want to get stuck). And we are tired when we get back to the hotel. 

The gogos (grandparents) are here. The children are too (school break is now). The mamas are ready, sometimes singing and dancing. Dads are here. 

On the first day, at our last well, the installation was almost done and we were about to start the dedication. This well is close to a riverbed and there was some water there. It was where the people had been getting their water: almost stagnant, open, easy for animals and all to get to. Wilfred, our field officer, asked everyone to sit as the installation supervisor pumped the first bit of water to clean off the well. A woman was there to get water. She’d been cleaning her bucket and she looked up and saw the water coming out for the first time, crystal clear. She froze with a look of absolute astonishment on her face. Those around were excited, laughter and ululations and she was just frozen. A miracle come to her. 

We were told at many of the wells that they weren’t sure that we would come. Even after all the work they put in.  That is hope for the future. It was in a new area for Marion Medical Mission so the trust hasn’t been built. Thanks is extended to God, to us for coming so far, to the team for the work of building and installing, and to those in the US who help to fun the wells and pray for them. 

Mponela

We start our time in Mponela with orientation. Rev Mwasakifwa led us in a devotion using Luke 4:38-40. He spoke of how Jesus could have stayed in the synagogue but that he left and went to Simon’s house and healed his mother-in-law and then all who came for healing. Then he likened us volunteers as people who could stay in our lives at home but we have come to see the needs here and to help install wells and spread the help to others as they come. I have to admit when he first read the passage I was confused but I loved the interpretation (of course I did). 

We were told that there have been some wells installed in Mozambique as their neighbors in Malawi had introduced them to the program. We are told as one well is installed, the word spreads and more help is needed (likened to Jesus’s healing). At many of the wells, the spokesperson says thank you, thank God, and thanks those in America who make this possible and please don’t forget our neighbors who also need help. 

Betty and I are partners and we are staying in the Mponela area to install. We are working with Wilfred and his great installation supervisors and builders. The roads are bad (even worse than I remember), the distances are far, the people are joyful. Dancing and singing, giving gifts of bananas, ground nuts, eggs, chickens, rice, maize, and greens, shaking hands and greeting, sharing laughter and looks. Oh how it’s good to be back!