It is amazing that drivers here seem to be mechanics as well. You may recall our early experience in 2009 of having a wheel fall off the car, and the driver tied it back on with a rope and drove home over the mountain. We didn’t have his confidence and chose to wait for another vehicle. Since then we have seen fuel pumps removed, cleaned and reinstalled on the side of the road, as well as break jobs.
On the home front, the truck used for hauling sand, stone and timbers for the building projects is periodically in need of repair. It was parked in front of the neighbors’ house for days for engine repairs.
On another occasion, the transmission was in need of repairs. Without hoists or service pits, students turn out to assist in providing the manpower and leverage needed.
In like manner, we’ve seen the truck stuck to its axel in mud while hauling sand from the river, but somehow the students’ united efforts have freed the vehicle.
Determination to see something through, with as much success as possible, seems to be a part of the culture here. When you consider that most of the work is done with very few tools, it is remarkable.
Whether they are building a goat shed with scraps of tin and bamboo, or preparing for National Exams in their quest for an education, they put their all into it. At the bottom of examinations, teachers will often put a quote, usually something like, “No Sweet Without Sweat” or “No Success Without Struggle” or “Success Is Suffering.”
Thank you for supporting our efforts to bring spiritual fruit bearing to this part of God’s garden. It is a sweet and sweaty labor of love.
Gary and Joanne Grenell
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