A New Year

Sun, Rain and Mud

It’s a beautiful sunny morning in southern Ethiopia, with the temperature hovering around 75 degrees.  But lately the clouds have been rolling in late in the day, bringing rain, so we have been unable to get to the drilling equipment 2 miles off a dirt road, over farmers’ fields that are now too muddy to cross.  Then we hear of the storms and snow in the Pacific Northwest, and count our blessings!

Wells, Sea Level to 11,000 Feet

We have been busy drilling in Haiti (both mainland and the island of La Gonave) and Ethiopia.  We were blessed with a good season in Haiti; a total of 52 wells last year, most of them good.  Ethiopia has been more of a challenge, with us camping and drilling in the hills up to 11,000 feet above sea level.  Most wells there were dry, so we moved to another area, where we are now drilling, and most of these wells are good.  But right now we are waiting for a letup in the “short rain” so we can continue. We hope to be here another two months, until “long rains” sweep back across East Africa for a few months.  At that time we will return to Haiti after a break in the Seattle area.

South Sudan

A quick update on South Sudan:  the drilling machine and support truck have arrived there and been licensed, ready to go to work, but the container of supplies and tools has been delayed.  With the recent outbreak of violence, Healing Hands had the equipment taken across the border to Uganda for safekeeping.  Mary and I may go check on it soon, depending on how the situation unfolds.

Solomon and Demozy Working on Site

Good Men

Our Ethiopian crew, Nigusse, Solomon and Demozy, have been taking over more of the responsibilities for the water project, including handling all the finances, well reports, and are doing more of the drilling.  They are capable, good men, and we are fortunate to work with them.

Blessed

As Mary and look back over our 44 years of marriage, we are constantly amazed at how God has truly blessed us, with great kids and grandkids, friends and co-workers all around the world.  We think of women’s Bible studies led by Jan luurs, my sisters Carol and Edna who update their quilting and Sunday School contacts so they know how to better pray for us, to John Ed and his church who remember us, to Lowell Yoder who calls in our name to his Christian radio station for prayer, to Don who has given up his time to come and help supervise maintenance on equipment, to Bob McDowell who remembers us even while he is on a missions trip to Mexico, to Jim who rebuilt our old house, to Kevin who replaced the engine on an old rig, Steve who gave us a rig freely, to Joseph who finds parts I need without complaining, to George in Kenya who writes to encourage us, and on and on… there are literally hundreds of you; I wish I could mention everyone of you by name, but there are too many to write here; we say thank you again, from us, and from the thousands who this very day are drinking clean water because of you.  We are only one part of this work, without your prayers and support we could not continue.

God bless you all,

 

Curt & Mary King
Southern Ethiopia
February 2014

Where in the World?

Familiar and Foreign– Where Are We?

As I sit in this guest house in Addis Ababa, the sun is going down, I am struck by the mix  of familiarity and foreign-ness (if there is such a word).  I am writing with a Macbook, with a US  food show on the tv with Arabic subtitles.  A little later “Arabs Got Talent” will be on.  In the background I hear the melodic droning and chanting of an Ethiopian Orthodox priest in the ancient Ge’ez language.  I have been packing the supplies we bought around town today, most of the food is from countries other than the US, but many attempt to mimic western food {O2 instead of Oreos). Then there is Eliana Ethiopian coffee marketed by “Tar Trading”.

Mary and I are back in East Africa after a Christmas break in Seattle.  Before we left, we were able to complete 16 wells.  We spent much of our time waiting for paperwork, site selection, etc., and when we actually got down to drilling, we completed the 16 wells in 16 work days.   We are now back to do another 21 wells in this contract, then the crew will install the pumps, and hopefully we will be able to start on more wells before the long rains come to this part of the world.

Working Together 2012 and Haiti Update

We spent from April to October in Haiti in 2012.  We spent much of our time  waiting for parts and doing maintenance and repair to the equipment, but were able to drill  31 wells, thank the Lord.  Mary divided her time in the Burn Clinic, and in the field with me.  She is a constant source of joy and encouragement to those around her.

By Faith

As we start out this new  year, we realize again that we must continue to place our future in His hands.  We make plans as best we humanly can to best use our resources and talents, but at the end of the day, or rather at the beginning of  the day, we place our resources, plans and talents, along with our fears, uncertainties, anxieties, and frailties on the alter of His will.  We must, must, must live by faith and , especially when the road ahead seems dark and  confusing, we either go by faith, or buy a ticket home.  In my mind, there is no other option for continuing on this Christian walk.  And what an exciting life it is…

Our Thanks

Thanks again for your continuing prayers and support, we couldn’t continue without them.

 

Curt & Mary King
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
January 17, 2013

Old Rigs Keep On Keeping On

As I write this morning, the crew is busy loading to take the first truck of supplies to Mazoria, the compound we left last year, to come here to Santeria and drill.  But then those who choose our well sites decided to have us drill 30 wells back there, so we’re moving back. It’s a very long one-day trip with the old rig.  Pray we will have an uneventful drive.

Mary and I left Africa Dec 14th for Christmas vacation.  It was good to have all the kids and grandkids together, and it’s a true blessing to have all our kids following our Lord.  And believe it or not, we now have seven grandkids! We also drove to Montana to buy parts for our old rigs, which are getting hard to find.

While we were away from Africa, the crew drilled six wells, then celebrated their Christmas, on January 8th. They continue to take on more and more responsibility.

New source of clean water in Ethiopia

We returned and got right to work, using the 1978 rig.  But on the second well the compressor clutch failed.  So we brought the 1968 rig back up and yesterday finished up the last of the wells in the Santeria area.  The included photo shows a great well for a schoolyard.  Although it looks like the well exploded with water, it was a result of forcing the water out of the well with water pressure. It will be a great source of clean water.

Mary and I celebrated our 42nd anniversary last week. The guys bought, butchered, and cooked a goat, built a big bonfire and had fireworks for us.  It was a memorable day!

We will only have intermittent internet in Mazoria, so our facebook updates may be sparse.  But thanks for remembering us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue.  We will be in Seattle on March 21, Lord willing, then on to Haiti.

Curt and Mary King
Santeria, Ethiopia  Feb 3, 2012

 

Celebrating our 42nd Anniversary with Meal cooked by the Crew

Back to Ethiopia – December Update 2011

So far, we have completed 4 wells, all good.  The crew was working on #5 when rain once again stopped the work.  In fact, we have had barely one week of dry enough weather to move equipment.  It rained again last night, and after an early morning of drizzly fog, it rained for over 2 hours before noon.

We continue to work on things and wait for the sun to break through. I sent the men to Addis to get some parts off the auxiliary unit, to get the first rig in good shape and running.

 

– Curt King

——

A few words from Mary:

Rain. Cold. Cold. Rain.  I wasn’t expecting the weather to be this cool, and was very glad I had packed a sweatshirt and socks! Temperatures easily dropped into the 50’s at night, and slowly warmed to the 60’s during the day.  Far different from the weather in Haiti.

After eight long years, I returned to Ethiopia and some dear friends. The young crew I left in 2003, were single,  struggling with English, had no driver’s licenses, and knew little about drilling.  I returned to find three grown men, married with families, drilling on their own, managing project finances in the field, driving all of the service vehicles, including the drill rig, and confidently selecting sites to drill.  I thank God especially for their joyful spirits.  Please pray for Solomon, Negusse, and Demoze, as they assume more and more responsibility and strive to meet the water needs here.

Personally I have been making adjustments to a lifestyle that is more “labor intensive”, and takes more thought in certain areas.  My first mistake was buying supplies in the capitol before coming out here to the countryside.  I had remembered my freezer to be much larger than it actually is, and found myself giving away two chickens and several pounds of hamburger so they wouldn’t spoil. I am also remembering how to conserve water, and reuse it as often as I can. Dish rinse-water becomes water to scrub floors, and then used to flush the toilet.  I wanted to tackle the task of cleaning 8 years of “bachelor living” in the container, and make room for groceries, my things, etc.  What I thought would take a day or two, took one week with a lot of help from Curt.  I hope it wasn’t too painful for him as I helped him throw out a lot of accumulated things.

The time spent with friends has been very special.  The other day some friends invited us over for lunch.  We were served a dish called bulsame, not really sure of the spelling, but it is pronounced, bull-saw-mee.  It is made from a plant called a false banana.  I suppose it is a little like quinoa in consistency, and is eaten from a common bowl with your fingers.  What struck me wasn’t the menu, or the surroundings, it was the genuine hospitality and desire to honor us as guests that touched me.  I was reminded again of Pastor Richard’s sermons about the importance of relationships-first with Christ, then with others.  We have so much to be thankful for, and are especially thankful for the prayer support and words of encouragement many of you have sent.

We are currently scheduled to fly to Seattle for the holidays on December 14, and look forward to being with family for a few weeks.

Mary King

Southern Ethiopia

Rains, Wells, Wireless and Prayer…Haiti Update

Heavy Rains

We are back in the land of occasional wireless communication, the Habitation Hotel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  We have been on the little island of La Gonave, Haiti for the last month, and just came over yesterday afternoon, to spend a week working in this area.  We did not expect this break, but heavy rains and the forecast for more made work impossible, so we have taken a week to wait it out.

18 Wells Drilled

Mary and I flew over to La Gonave with Wes Young on May 4th, and immediately got things running.  After 2 weeks Wes left, and Rick Jenkinson came for 2 weeks, followed by Cary Carlisle, Lonny Murphy
and photograper Justin Greiman.  Because of the hard work of these men, we have been able to complete 18 wells, of which 8 are good. The rig is now parked at a Nazarene church high in the center of La Gonave.  Any rain at all and parts of the roads turn into bobsled rides.  After a dangerous ride Wednesday, I decided we must stop till things dry out.

“They Prayed for Us”

So, here we are in Port, doing other work, and taking a little time to relax.  The prayer of a man at a recent well site is bouncing around in my head.  After drilling two dry holes at the Mon Repos Nazarene church, we decided to give it one more try, and as he prayed before we started, he prayed that we would not become discouraged… imagine that, they had been so hopeful that we would find water for their community, and yet they were looking to us and praying for us!  I pray my life might be like that, in the times when I could become dismayed over some problem, Lord please help me to encourage someone around me.

And we did find water in that well!

 

Curt and Mary King
Port au Prince, Haiti
June 4, 2011

 

Note: Curt and Mary are back to La Gonave after doing some repairs on the HHI rig in Port-au-Prince.  They will continue drilling on La Gonave for the next few weeks, before a small respite and then back to work on the mainland near Port-au-Prince.  Thank you for your prayers and support.    – Lisa

A Little Island, a Little Rig, a “Few” Years and an Amazing God.

Curt and Mary go back to La Gonave, Haiti.

I want to share a very interesting story with you…

About 1980, there was a severe drought on the little island of La Gonave, which is 12 miles off the coast, in the “bay” of Haiti.  The island is about 10 by 35 miles, and back then had about 60,000 inhabitants.  There had been almost no measurable rainfall for about three years, and the need for water was severe.  A consortium of church groups and NGO’s got together, hired a hydro-geologist to study the potential for water, and after attempts to dig and hand drill wells, found a water well driller, and bought a new little drill rig.

I was that driller.  Mary, and our three young kids lived on the island for a few years, in a 28-foot long trailer house in a yard loaned to us by the Wesleyan Church.  We drilled about 35 good wells. After the project was over, we sold the little rig to the Free Methodist church and had it hauled to the mainland of Haiti, where we continue to use it.  My family and I left, and after about a year of helping the pump maintenance program start, I left the island.

Fast-forward about 26 years.  In church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia I saw the hydro-geologist I had worked with on La Gonave.  He came to Ethiopia as a Manager of the UNICEF water program, and was very influential in helping us establish a partnership with UNICEF, which continues on today in Ethiopia.

Now move forward about another 2 years.  Our daughter Kari moved to Tulsa, and happened to see an interestingly named church sign beside the highway.  She decided to check out Guts Church, and started attending.  One day she called to let me know that she had an interesting thing going on at the church.  They were starting a clinic and wanted to do a water project, on a little island off the coast of Haiti called La Gonave… and that they were having a hard time believing that she had lived on that island and her dad had drilled wells on it 30 years ago!

So now, I am the driller for Guts Church Water Project on La Gonave. I’ve done some work with them there for the past 3 years, and Mary and I are going there May 4th to spend a couple months, to drill up to 24 wells.

I took a scouting trip on the island a couple weeks ago, and discovered a few of the wells still working (with different pumps).  I also drilled a well beside one that I drilled 28 years ago that had been filled with rocks.  And I hired the same Haitian man that helped me drill it the first time!

This is an amazing story that God has put together!  Mary and I feel honored to be the ones who get to continue trying to help those people on the island who so desperately need water.  Please pray for us, as the work there is still very challenging, and we are much older now! But God is able to use even us to help.

We do not expect to have Internet access while on the island, so if you don’t hear from us until the first part of July, that is why.  In an emergency, you may contact Lisa (the one who blogs here for us) and she’ll find a way to reach us.

 

Curt and Mary King
On board the Sugar Plum
Seattle, WA

April 28, 2011

Ethiopia Wells Completed— 64!

Curt and the Crew Complete Season’s Wells

I just received word that Curt is already in route home as he and the team completed the wells in this season’s project in Southern Ethiopia.  It was drilling in very remote locations and challenging conditions but God provided what was needed each day.  Thank you again for your partnership in this project, whether in Ethiopia, Haiti, Sudan or wherever it is God has Curt and Mary serving those in need of water and hope.

Notes from Curt and Mary

Curt 2/6/11: We have a series of wells to complete about 2 ½ hours south of our base in Senteria.  We drive back and forth some, and spend the rest of the time at a hotel in Yirge Chaffee. (As a side note, you can go to Starbucks and buy coffee from this area by the same name.  If you do, say a prayer for us as we we work in this very area.)  Let me just say, for about $9.40 per night for a room, one gets what one pays for.

We are drilling at about 7800 to 9000 feet above sea level, so the drill rig is struggling, with a great loss of power and efficiency due to the thinner air.  We have also encountered some hard rock, which requires a hammer bit, that requires additional air volume and pressure, so at this altitude it drills much slower.

But we are moving forward, with well #39 out of 64 completed this week.  We are working in remote areas where the need for clean drinking water is serious.  Water sources are scarce, and we sometimes have difficulty finding the water we need to run the drilling operation.  Understandably, the communities are reluctant to see us hauling their water away in our trucks to run a machine they have
never seen before.  But once the work is finished, the communities have been so thankful and have shown their appreciation in many ways.

I’ve been given more Pepsi than I can drink, and we are also given food and coffee as we work.  The communities have been very helpful and we appreciate their efforts to work with us. We normally pray with the community before we start a well.  Often after we have found water and are ready to leave, someone will say, “shouldn’t we pray and thank God for the water you found?”  It is a reminder for me that when some people live so close to the edge of daily existence, God’s providence is very real to them.  Now I may think I have a “savings account” of good health, material blessings, a job, but none of us are more than a breath away from meeting our Maker.  I want to be a living witness to His goodness, and not forget that “all good things come from above,” and not forget to thank Him. I continue to learn from those I seek to help.

2/28/11:  We got the equipment to the furthest site in Bensi, southern Ethiopia. It was a 10 hour trip; we got water at 170 feet today, but before we finished the well (#54 in this season’s project), the rig engine blower drive shaft stripped again (we had taken it from the other rig here in Senteria), making the rig inoperable.  We tore it down (for repairs), and came back to Senteria, arriving in a very heavy rainfall.

Unfortunately we had to decline to drive the rig to one of the 5 proposed sites in Bensi, because of the incredible unsafe conditions; we were able to get an alternate location for that site.  I am determined to stop taking the rig on some of the types of roads we have done in the past.  This week, Solomon saw the the front wheels of the rig come almost completely off the ground as I was going up a very steep road to a well site.

Mary 3/8/11: Thought you’d like to know the project is now finished, and Curt just called me from Frankfurt!  The drilling was finished on March 6, the next day they cleaned and stored equipment, and today flew home. 🙂 Can you see me smiling?  More importantly, we are praising God for the many communities that will benefit from the wells.  He is to be praised!

16 New Wells in Ethiopia and More Good News

Here are some highlights from Curt’s current notes that I’m sure you’d like to hear:

New Water Wells in Ethiopia

In the last two months Curt and the Ethiopian team have completed a total of 17 wells with 16 of them being good, producing wells.  This means 60,000 lives will not have to face the sickness and death caused by contaminated water sources (diarrhea, cholera, etc).

Eleven of the wells were drilled with the “new” replacement rig that was shipped in last year (another used Schramm T-64).  It was often tough to reach each of the rural well sites and the drilling was also difficult at times as Curt described technical challenges for the young drillers he trains, such as caving broken rock, very tight sticky clays and also hard rock formations.  Even though it took longer for the drilling the team was thankful for few breakdowns or set backs– the regular flat tires and misc vehicle issues that one encounters traversing the rough back “roads” of the countryside.  Most importantly they were thankful to have success with 16 wells and continue in the progress of providing safe water to these village communities.

Solomon, Nigusse and Samuel will do pump installations and possibly a bit of drilling while Curt has a short visit with family during the holidays.  Please keep them in your prayers as they continue in the work and travel with the equipment.  The work is dangerous and they truly rely upon God’s protection.

Great News

Healing Hands International recently announced that Curt and his wife, Mary, have agreed to come “on board” with them as field directors in their water well drilling  program. This will mean that they are able to be in areas like Ethiopia, Haiti and Sudan drilling wells eleven months out of the year and TOGETHER!  Many of you know that Curt and Mary have often spent 6 months of the year apart as Curt traveled around drilling for Healing Hands and other partners in Haiti and Ethiopia.  We are all very thankful that they will be together again in this service.  They will both be heading to Ethiopia sometime early in the new year.

In His service,

Lisa Dunn for Curt King

Drilling through Rock

Mary will Return with Curt to the Field

 

Counting Blessings

Reflections

As I sit here tonight in our little 20’ house in the Church of Christ Compound in southern Ethiopia, I am counting my blessings.  Through the generosity of many, our friends, the Dotson’s, made this shipping container into a very livable little box!  My wife bought me a Bose portable speaker system and loaded up her ipod with music, everything from Gaither Homecoming (ok I admit it, I am almost a Gaither groupie) to MC Hammer to Hawaiian to Andrea Bocelli.  Tonight I am filled with both good memories of the past, and great anticipation for our future.

Curt & Mary on the Field

Lord willing, this will be my last stint here without Mary.  Healing Hands International has generously offered to take us on full-time!  For 7 long years I have been gone from Mary and the family up to 6 months annually.  We are thrilled about being together again on the field, and  we hope to be able to provide clean water to many more communities in more countries than before!

Wells and Rigs

I’ve been in East Africa since the last week of October.  We finished 6 more wells in another part of the south, and last week moved our entire operation (including my house) about 200 km to Senteria. After 7 years, there was a lot to move.  Then we drove to Addis Ababa and picked up a rebuilt drilling machine generously donated by Ojard Drilling.  It took us 10 hours to get it back here, and we’ve spent the last few days adapting it for our use, and checking sites.  Lord willing, tomorrow we will drive another 130 km south to an area where we have about 40 wells to drill.  As we have time, we will rebuild the other rig.  After about 350 wells and a few thousand miles over some very difficult terrain, it sorely needs some tender care.

Haiti

Often, my thoughts turn to Haiti and the incredible suffering going on there, even as I am writing.  I just can’t imagine the fear of sickness and death that so many must have.  Thankfully, that is one of the places we will also be drilling, as our schedule allows.

So, as I enjoy the incredible blessings around me tonight, may I never forget those struggling around me, not only in Haiti, but here in East Africa, and in Seattle when I am back there.  There is a sobering passage in the Bible, “…to whom much is given, much will be required…” Let’s use whatever we have been blessed with to help lift those around us.  It’s not always money, it’s not always clean water, sometimes it’s just making eye contact and smiling, and letting the
Lord fill in the rest…

Curt King
Senteria, southern Ethiopia
November 18, 2010