Vision Mozambique: Trouble at the Well!

We have some difficult times recently with the well at the orphanage. Our well provides essential water for washing, cooking, and cleaning for the whole of our orphanage and provides a huge amount of water around 7,500 litres each day to the local community

The well failed for the third time in a month, leaving the whole area without water, except for local surface water supplies that are not clean. People had seen one person removing condoms from the water, before taking the water home to drink. Things were getting desperate!

We had just had a new pump fitted after waiting weeks for someone to come out and help us, then to our horror, discovered the next morning that the whole shooting match had come undone at the top of the well, our pump, cables and pipe work had somehow dropped down 10 meters into the well. We still had the rope attached to the pump but every thing had jammed! And we were now in danger of snapping the rope, it had already started to fray...

No one would come out to help us, the word was that we would not be able to recover the equipment, and worse still we would need to drill another well, at a cost of around £12,000

Long story short... we stopped everything and prayed that God would give us wisdom and a way out.... It's amazing what happens when you pray. Things that would normally be impossible, somehow become possible as you trust God and believe.

Trying to get as much wisdom as possible, we talked to loads of people in South Africa... the word was still the same. " You would not get it out! it's too narrow a well to get specialist equipment in, and too deep down to do anything"

However God was speaking a different Word!

Much thought and prayer later, and we decided to dig down as far as we safely could, and break in through the well casing, so that we could then reach down still further, and try and attach something to the water pipe.

I found an engineer in South Africa who loaned me a steel cone with a coarse thread on it, which we welded on to a very long steel rod, back at the orphanage.

Against all the odds, and after quite a struggle, we managed to locate the 2'' thick pipe, and screw the cone into the pipe, strongly enough to get a good hold.

With bated breath, and with six of us in the bottom of a narrow hole, sweating and straining, standing on each others feet, hands wet and slipping on the muddy rope, we heaved.... To our amazement the pump came free, and we managed to lift it off the bottom by about a metre. It was dark now, so we decided to leave until the next day.

At 4 am the next morning, our strength recovered , hoping and praying the thread in the pipe would hold, we started the long pull up, 220 feet and weighing about 250 kg

Screams of delight and shouting went up as we dragged the obstinate beast out of its hole. None of us could believe it. We had not just managed to save the well, but all our equipment as well!

The next few days were spent sourcing new well casing, refitting new connections, and lowering the pump back into the well.

With everything back in place and securely fastened, we turned on the electric.... nothing happened for a minute, then there was water every where!

Taps that had been left open for weeks, began pouring out the treasure!

Screams of delight were heard from over at orphanage. The liquid treasure was already pouring out there too! It was so moving to see the reaction of the local people and the kids, God had answered their prayers!

Thanks so much for supporting us in prayer and words of encouragement, and a huge thanks to our amazing God, who helps us as we call on Him, who is able to do so much more than we could ever imagine or think!