Water For Life Resources

Where is the VIN number?
Our go-to-guy in Guatemala, Berny Leonardo, was at the dock the next day to see about getting the rig through the customs process. He presented the paperwork to the dock master and began to talk about money. When a figure had been arrived at which was higher than expected but still within the realm of sanity, it seemed that all was working out. Then the customs man announced that there was a “problem” which is usually a sign that more money is needed, but not this time. He could not find the VIN on the truck.

After several phone calls to the states and useless attempts to find the VIN on the 1942 GMC 6x6 military vehicle, Berny began to realize the magnitude of the “problem”. Without the VIN it became obvious that the rig would not be released. The specter of delay contributed to the risk of theft and “storage fees’ that would soon place the rig out of our financial grasp and result in its loss to us. Berny left the docks and went to a small boarding hotel for the night. After much prayer and little sleep, he started back to the dock without much hope or a plan. He passed a little store and without thinking wandered in to look around. His attention was drawn to a plastic label maker. He bought it for a few Quetzals and got onto a bus to go to the dock. On the bus he created the VIN number off the paperwork onto a blue label with the label maker.

Upon arrival at the dock, he asked if he could look at the rig one more time. The dock master said yes and waved Berny out the door. Berny went straight to the rig, peeled off the back of the label and stuck it inside the cab above the windshield. He then walked back to the office and announced that he had “found the number”. The customs man confirmed it without comment, took the US$12,000.00 and stamped the documents. The rig was released. Now his task was to get it to the school without incident.

That is another story and another miracle.

If you would like to help us, please contact Gary or Lynn Bartholomew at 509-466-5075 or 509 466-5134

Beside Himself
Lynn Bartholomew was so beside himself there were almost two of him. He could NOT get the Hercules engine on the 22 W to run for more that just a couple of minutes. Potential causes were eliminated one by one over several days work by Lynn and Brian Bot until the magneto was determined to be the fault. So now what? The situation was really very simple. No parts, No magneto, No drilling. But this is Gods’ rig he remembered, so I’ll ask him. After prayer he made one phone call.

3700 miles away outside Olympia, Washington, Rod Bartholomew got the call. A magneto? Hercules engine? Where to even look for such a thing? Rod was on the highway near the capital so he stopped beside the road to make calls. First to Bucyrus Erie. Closed. Then to parts stores in Spokane. They didn’t act like they had ever heard of a magneto. He was fast running out of options. Time to talk to the master. After prayer, it came to him to call a friend in Idaho, Brett Mcardy. Brett had a rig like this and maybe he would have an idea. Brett answered the call immediately. After hearing of Lynn’s plight and the critical situation, Brett said “Give me about 20 minutes and I will call you. I know a man who might be able to help”. Lee Davis runs “Magnetos Only”. He is a retired electrical man who still has a shop and provides services to cable drillers. Rod waited and prayed a little.

In about 20 minutes Brett called back, he was at Lee Davis’ shop in Athol, Idaho. Brett told Lee the application and called Rod while Lee disappeared into the back. He returned with a magneto in his hand. When Rod read the numbers to him, Brett could see they were a perfect match. The magneto was bench tested and was good. Brett immediately took the mag to Spokane where he met Rod’s wife, Jenny, and she delivered it to a volunteer who was flying that night to Guatemala. The magneto was on the rig the following day.

Within 30 minutes of the call from the rig, the right part was on its way to the highland jungle of Guatemala. With God as our service manager we are in good hands.

When questioned about how he came to have that particular magneto, Lee told the story of how a stranger had called and asked if he wanted an old magneto and how it had been left on his step one day with no information. No one ever called or inquired about it, so he repaired it. It had been on the shelf for about 2 years until Brett walked in.

If you would like to help us, Please contact Lynn Bartholomew at 509-466-5134 or Gary Bartholomew at 509-466-5075

City Life
I looked out the window at the people on the sidewalk. This was Guatemala City, home of 9 million people. We had driven the eight hours from the campus at Los Pinos, the last two of which had been stop and go as we made our way into the city center. After a long search we found lodging at the Pan American Hotel. It was about 2 blocks from the very heart of the city. We found out it used to be the Astoria Hotel before it was sold in 1942 to its present owners. The cost was $35.00 per night for a room and it was quite comfortable by any Central American standards. There was an elevator with a sliding brass mesh grate that came across the door and a handle that was moved left or right to make the contacts and move the car. Just like in the old movies!

In the morning we set out to make our purchases for the orphanage across the city. After stops at the bank and copier supply store, we went to the power equipment store. I intended to buy mowers and price weed eaters and a large cement mixer. It was sunny and cool in the city. As Berny Leonardo and I inquired about the items and made the choices, Annette went just outside the door of the store to soak up some sun and watch the street scene. I heard the pop, pop, pop sound, but it did not register to me what it was. The manager quickly moved to Annette and pulled her back inside the store. It was gunfire! After it was quiet for a minute or two, we saw a man on the ground about 200 feet away. The sirens announced the arrival of the ambulance and the police and the wounded man was loaded into the ambulance and carried away. The manager shrugged his shoulders and said “Drugs.”

The manager responded to my question about the safety of this part of town by pointing out that it wasn’t very bad here at all. This only happened about once a month! He warned that there were areas where it was not safe even for him, let alone a gringo. Berny was careful to tell him that he would not let us go anywhere that was not safe.

During the next two days in the city I heard the sound of gunfire often. I got so I could distinguish it from the fire crackers that are common too. I was glad to have Berny with us and to be on an errand for the Lord with his protection.

By Tim Rasmussen

Donaldo “ boy with no name”
When a spot was chosen for the first well at Los Pinos, several boys were given the task of clearing the brush surrounding the area with machetes and hoes. The work was hot and hard and the boys did not have much heart for it. One lad clearly did not like the idea of staying beyond the time expected in order to finish, and his scowl at the insistence that he stay was pointed and darkly hostile. At 14, he was small but powerfully built. He stayed but he was sullen and the other boys gave him a wide birth.

When Gary spoke to the maintenance chief about his need for just 1 boy the next day and a little of Donaldo’s attitude, he just shrugged and said,” Yes, he is a troubled boy”. The next morning, Donaldo was the one sent to fulfill the need for one boy at the rig. As days went by and he watched and helped Gary, he began to get interested in the drilling and he began to change. Soon he was staying far past the time for him to go to class. He carefully would check the buttons on the bit at bailing and he was ready to help in the repetitive tasks that are a part of cable drilling.

The shoes he wore to work were old dress shoes at least 3 sizes too large for his feet. Gary and I had the director take the lad and outline his feet on a piece of paper. When we went to Poptun, we found a pair of CAT boots and some suitable socks for him. We told him they were for his hard work and he seemed happy to receive them, but the next day he wore the same old shoes to work. We said nothing but we understood, when at lunch, he came to the cafeteria in his boots with his good school uniform on. They were far too good for work. The first new shoes he had ever owned. He worked hard and happily in his old shoes.

Through an interpreter, I asked the director about him. I was told that the police had brought him as an infant to the Receiving Center in Guatemala City, after he was found in an abandoned house. No one knew his name or age and no one ever inquired about him and the police could never find out anything about him. At age five, he left the receiving center and came to Los Pinos. At twelve he was taken to the judge to get documents and he was allowed to choose his name. He chose the name of his house father, and so became Oscar Donaldo Lopez. He is the official driller’s helper for the Well Project and one small life that has been touched by the Guatemala well Project.

If you would like to help, Please contact Gary or Lynn Bartholomew at 509-466-5075 or 509-466-5134

Fishing for Tools
On December 7,2005, a container was loaded at the Bartholomew’s in Spokane and began its trip to Guatemala. The expected transit time was 3 weeks but it took six. There were “paperwork” issues between the home office of the shipping company and the Guatemala terminal. After days of negotiation, many faxes back and forth and the payment of some “adjustments,” the container was released from the port and delivered. All cargo was intact.

Lynn Bartholomew and volunteers from Spokane immediately began to work erecting the steel reservoir forms on one of the two concrete pads which they had prepared. After 2 days of hard work, the rebar was tied, the forms in place and the materials gathered, but the weather was not cooperating. Rain every day disrupted the work. Working in the rain can be an inconvenience, but any rain in the Poptun area produces amazing clay. It is as slippery as greased ice, but it will stick to anything. Walking or even standing on it can be treacherous and working on it is simply dangerous. With time remaining on this trip getting short, Lynn decided the best course of action was to wait for his April visit for the pouring of the walls of the reservoir.

While Lynn was working hard on the reservoir construction, Gary Bartholomew and Brian Bot, a volunteer driller from Halifax, Nova Scotia, were pounding a hole through the familiar limestone with bands of clay at Los Pinos, the orphanage property. The drilling was going well, when at 280 ft, the cable broke without warning. Working without the benefit of down-hole video, but with the advantage of prayer to the master driller, they went “fishing”. The tools were extracted without difficulty. They found the cable had broken about 4 inches above the thimble. The cable was cut about 50 ft shorter, the end prepared and another thimble was reset with molten zinc. Back in Action! Shortly thereafter, the hole was declared finished. The water has not been tested but seems to have fewer minerals. The water tastes very good from this well.

Upon completion of this hole, the rig was driven to the maintenance shop for a little R and R. The chains were removed, the fluids checked, the carburetor adjusted and the brakes bled. After a thorough lubrication and little welding, the rig was ready for the 10 mile trip to Ixobel and another adventure in search of water in Guatemala.

Forest Fire
During January and February 2005, the first wells were drilled at the International Children’s Care campus. It was very hot and as a result of no rain, very dry. The rig was set up in a broad depression in the land between the school and the orphanage. The four inch main water lines had been constructed to this point and a small concrete shed was prepared to house the valves, pump controllers and electrical connections to the power grid. The rig was working on the second well and making good progress. One afternoon we began to smell smoke on the wind and it grew progressively stronger. By five o’clock the sky was full of thick smoke. From the higher vantage of the school, we could see a wall of flames about 100 yards wide moving through the tall grass and trees directly towards the valley where the rig was.

During supper, the director made an announcement and after the meal at least 50 young men gathered to try and fight the fire. The only weapons they had were hoes and rakes and machetes. It seemed to me that these “weapons” would just serve to cut the fuel into smaller pieces, but that was all they had. We visitors gathered in our quarters and watched as the red glow through the trees came closer. During the evening we realized that unless the wind changed, there would be no stopping the flames. The only thing we could do was pray, and we did. We went to bed anxious for our precious rig.

The next morning I was up before dawn and saw there was no orange glow in the direction of the rig. At breakfast, we learned that the students and others had been up very late, fighting a losing battle with the flames, when suddenly the wind changed and began to blow the fire back upon itself. The wind was such that the fire could not advance against it. The fire was dying out. The students had been up a long while that night, but at breakfast everyone was very happy.

That afternoon the fire flared again for a few hours, but in the evening, the sky opened and a drenching rain ended all threat of fire. Even the wind shall obey Him. Luke 8:24
By Tim Rasmussen

Ixobel
It sounds like a more exotic place than it is. If “exotic “ can be applied at all to a collection of 300 or so homes strung haphazardly alongside a highway outside of Poptun, Guatemala. If “homes” can be used to describe a shack with a few pieces of plywood and plastic or tarpaper, a dirt floor and no running anything except the dogs and a few chickens.

Into this place rolled our donated 1942 GMC military 6x6, with the Bucyrus Erie 22W and Gary Bartholomew at the wheel to the spot designated by the mayor of Poptun. He had chosen the location to be near a school which was being constructed but which lacked any sort of sanitary facilities. Gary had taken a quick peak into the outhouse that served the school grounds and found the ground water level was about 4 feet down. The surface seal and the casing would be critical to this well.

The work began immediately, placing timbers under the rig and placing the guy wires for the mast. The rig was started and with Brian Bott, a volunteer from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Gary started the familiar process of beating a hole into the earth. Almost immediately there were curious people present smiling shyly but wanting their picture taken. The mayor had provided a water truck and 2 or 3 men were always present to remove the bailed muck in order to keep the area from becoming too muddy. The mayor also provided the necessary guards every night. The security of the rig is always a concern.

Static water level was 4 ft as the drill went down. At first the progress was slow, but soon the rig was making the expected 30- 35 ft per day. The well was cased with steel to 120 ft and then then drilled to 320 ft through the familiar creviced rock. PVC liner was placed to 320 and a pumpset. A test pumping showed 82 gpm with a drop in static level to about 12 ft and then holding there for 25,000 gpm.

With time for this visit growing short and the impending birth of a grandchild at home in Spokane, Gary and Brian drove the rig back to the ICAP campus. The rig was prepared as much as possible for storage through the hot humid summer before another season of drilling in the villages of the savannah lands of NE Guatemala.

If you would like to help us, please contact Gary or Lynn Bartholomew at 509 466 5085 or 509

Just in Time
When the rig first arrived in Guatemala, our priority was to get wells drilled at the International Children’s Care orphanage and school. Their dependence on river water was unhealthful and dangerous. Three wells were drilled in close proximity to each other between the two campuses. Rod Bartholomew was inclined to finish in the morning because the day had been hot and long and he was tired. He had finished the third well by installing the pump and completing the plumbing connections. All that remained to be done was some electrical controllers needed to be hooked up and tested. It was about 4:00 and he debated whether he should finish in the morning but decided he should go ahead and take the time to finish now. It took about an hour and a half and then was done. When some switches were thrown and valves opened, water would flow from the wells into the water system of both campuses. He closed up the rig, cleaned up and with Jen went to the home of a sponsored child for supper.

Rod had not yet sat down at the table and there was a knock at the door. The director of the school was there and after apologizing, asked Rod how long it would be till they could use the water. He explained that the power company transformer that served the pumps in the river some distance away had burned out. The campuses would be with out water very shortly. The electrical service to the campuses themselves was not affected. The power company could not come for at least 3 days and what could they do? There were 400 students who were going to not be able to wash dishes after supper or use the facilities. This was a crisis! As Rod listened he began to understand the providential timing of the finishing of the well.

Rod told the astonished director that water could flow within 10 minutes and it did.

The students were cautioned not to drink the water because the whole system needed to be treated before the water was deemed potable, but it could be used the same as the river water. As the situation unfolded, the power company found the fault and repaired the problem but as usual in Guatemala it was expected to take a few days. And it did.

The water was available just about one hour before the electrical problems made the old system totally unusable. The timing was perfect, as usual. Some see coincidence, but others see providence.

If you would like to help us, please contact Gary or Lynn Bartholomew at 509-466-5075 or 509-466-5134

The Pied Pipers Of Sabonetta
Sabonetta is a small village about 8 kilometers from the Los Pinos campus and is the location of the first well that was drilled during this season in Guatemala. It is not known how many people live there and the town structure is loose. There is no village square or an area that could be identified as the center, but there is a loose gathering of houses, if they can be called that, at the intersection of two or three roads. Houses in this area are merely what we would call a shack. If a person can find a few sheets of plywood or some boards and some pieces of corrugated roofing he has the makings of a house. There are no sanitation facilities and the families live with the dogs and maybe a goat or two. The whole area is one of filth and poor conditions. Into this area came our trusted 1946 well drill to bring the blessing of clean water to these poor people.

The drilling was begun by Bob Perry of Spanish Fork, Utah and his mechanic Ernie Parkins. They are volunteers who decided to come and lend a hand to the project. Bob has been in some aspect of the well drilling business for years and has traveled to other countries in the world to assist with other projects. He is an experienced driller.

Some days after the drilling was started, when he and Ernie took a break to get the water drum refilled, they pulled up to a little store to get a soda. He noticed there was a man with a cooler on his bike who was selling ice cream bars. As Bob and Ernie bought an ice cream, they were joined by about 10 village children who looked with eager eyes at the treats. Bob motioned the man to give each of the children a cone. Bob said it was like a signal to every child in the village. They came from nowhere and seemed to materialize like magic. Before it was done, they had purchased 113 ice cream treats for the children! It was a magical moment. They were surrounded by a throng of smiling happy children like the pied piper. Although they didn’t speak Spanish, the language of love needs no translator.

Bob says that this trip was one of the best experiences he has had in his life and he intends to come back again.

If you would like to help us, please contact Gary or Lynn Bartholomew.

The General
“The General will see you at six o’clock,” the secretary said, as she replaced the phone. We had requested to see the General; Manuel Benedicto Lucas Garcia, brother of a past President of Guatemala. He had a played a part in the rescue of a child some 20 years ago who was later adopted by the Bartholomews and who had just finished college. They wanted to meet the man who had saved their daughter.

Promptly at six, we rang the bell at the gate leading into the small compound around his home. The ring was immediately followed by the low deep barking of large dogs converging on the gate. I hoped the general’s dogs were well trained. The general opened the gate placing his body between us and the dogs. There were seven of them we learned, and they looked disappointed that they could not bite us. We passed into the foyer of his home within the high-walled compound. The room was quite bare, and the walls hung with at least to 100 certificates and awards and such. He greeted us cordially but with reserve.

The general was not a large man, but you could tell he had once had a powerful physique. He carried himself with the air of man who is used to being obeyed. It was easy to imagine if he were in power, and you irritated him, he would swat you out of his way and have no other thought about it. You would just disappear. Many people during his brother’s regime met that fate. There are dark periods of oppression in Guatemala’s history and his brother’s regime is one of them.

We told him why we had come and as we talked he warmed a little nodding his head as the interpreter passed pictures and told him of her happy life. He told us how he always had a love for children and broadened his topic to include his love for his country and his devotion to it’s protection and people. He told of how in the beginning years he had helped get the first trucks safely from the border to the orphanage site, and the many children he had taken to the orphanage. We knew those things to be true and thanked him for his help and then told him what we were doing with the well drilling project.

The general was very receptive to our presence in the area and happy to see that we were helping his people. He offered to help us if he could but said he was just an old man and not anyone of influence. We asked if we could see him again and report our progress and he seemed pleased and invited us to see the rest of his home. We did and took our leave.

By Tim Rasmussen

Timing is Everything
For months Annette and I had planned to go to Guatemala on Jan 3, 2006. It was to be our second trip in support of the drilling project. Tickets had long ago been purchased and we had told many people we were going on that day and to expect us at the orphanage campus on the evening of the 4th. But then reality intervened in the form of serious illness of her father in California. For a short time we debated whether or not we should cancel altogether or whether I should make the journey alone. I decided I did not want to go alone and that we would postpone the trip for three weeks to see how her father progressed. It was a difficult decision but we made it and cancelled with the airlines on Jan 3, rebooking for the 21st.

On Jan 4, I went to work and felt a little sick and had a mysterious pain in the right upper portion of my abdomen. It got worse and about 2:00 went to the doctor to ask his opinion. He examined me and told me to go to the local ER to see someone there. I was glad to get it looked into because by now I was really hurting. Well you know how ER visits go wait, wait and then again wait. Finally the Surgeon was called and he carefully examined me and decided to keep me in the hospital for observation and a CT scan. The next morning, the 5th of Jan I had the scan and then the Doctor said that it was my appendix that was the source of the problem and that it needed to come out now. It was not in the customary right lower portion of my abdomen which had made the correct diagnosis a little more difficult. Within 30 minutes I was in the OR for surgery. The appendix had ruptured sometime earlier, probably within the last 2 days. Three days of IV antibiotics and I was good to go home and take it easy for about 10 days. We left on the 21st and had a wonderful visit.

Had I left when planned I would have arrived in Poptun with a ruptured appendix and most likely within four or five days would have had peritonitis. This condition is deadly without advanced IV antibiotics. Such drugs are not available in Poptun and maybe not even in Guatemala City. My misplaced appendix would have made the diagnosis more difficult. One more example of the providence of God watching over the Project.

Trucking for the Project
Willis and Sharon Robinson of Spangle, Washington own and operate a truck and trailer as Lost Pine Trucking Inc. They offered to haul the second rig to Houston for shipment to Guatemala without pay. This is their story:

Dec 13 - It was cold in Spokane. The drive into the yard is down hill and glare ice. Willis believes we may have to use chains to get back to the road. After loading by Gary and Rod Bartholomew and Steve Lingenfelter, we head back up the drive. No chains were required, but as we pulled onto the road, we lost the brakes to the trailer! This required immediate repair. Willis called his friend Terry French at Western Peterbilt on Broadway in Spokane and asked for help. Although they were covered up with work, they made the repair and we were on the road in 15 minutes! Into Missoula with 15 minutes to spare before the deadline, the generator is loaded and we are on the way to Denver with the trip’s fuel bill partially paid.

Dec 14 - We are in Billings Montana. As a donation to help us, our dispatchers Owen and Monica Foss, offered their commission on the last load. More money for fuel! We went south into Wyoming into winds reportedly gusting to 75mph. Trucks were blowing over between Douglas and Cheyenne. The wind subsided before we got there and we drove through the dangerous area with only a strong wind to hurt our mileage. We passed a rig lying on its side. I hope no one was hurt.

Dec 15 - We made it into Denver, unloaded the generator, and went on to Shamrock, Texas without incident.

Dec 16 - It was a day of rest with family and loved ones. They were all interested to see the old rig and learn of its destination and the wonderful work it will do for others. They wished us well and we were off to Houston on the 17th, down the long roads of Texas.

Dec 18 - We were one full day getting into Jacinto Port and getting unloaded and then out to get to our next load, hopefully a good run back home for Christmas. After some delay, we got a very good paying load of specialized drilling equipment to take to Casper Wyoming. When we got there, a Bobcat needed to be hauled straight to Spokane! We made it home for Christmas with the fuel bill paid.

Thank you Lord for the safe trip again. Bless the children and the villagers and all who use the fresh well water this project is providing. Thank you for letting us help.

Willis and Sharon Robinson

Weight? No problem
After receiving the Ok from the Customs officials on the release of the rig from the import process, Berny’s next obstacle to get the rig onto a lowboy and get it out of there. This was complicated by the bent drive shaft which prevented its being driven anywhere under its own power. The shaft was bent when one the loading sling straps was passed under the shaft and not above it. Berny also realized that since it was Christmas, the dock workers were few and very little cargo other than the rig had been off loaded. What to do? The rig needed to be moved now. The truck and trailer were standing by.

Berny walked over to a worker lounging in the shade. After explaining the problem he asked if the man had any ideas about how to do it. The man said the usual “No Problem”, (which in central America means there is going to be one soon) and walked away around the edge of a warehouse. In a few minutes he came back with four men all driving forklifts. Each went to a corner of the rig and lifted. The truck drove the lowboy under it and it was done. Less than ten minutes! The driver got in and they headed for the gate and one more obstacle, the weigh station.

Guatemala doesn’t have much for roads, but they have road use tax and weigh limits and fees and permits and fines for violations of many sorts. They have learned from us. The rigs weight was basically known but many things had been welded on for the voyage. Tool boxes were crammed full of supplies and welded shut and welded to the rig. Drilling stems were loaded on racks built and welded on. Only God knew how much it weighed. Certainly it was over the limit.

The driver stopped at the scales before the gate. Berny got out to help him with the process and to pay the money he was certain was going to be required. The only money he had left was his own. The higher costs of the rig had taken all of the 95,000 Quetzals that he had of the projects money. As Berny started to get out, the driver told him to stay in the truck. He did as he was told and prayed. In a few minutes, the driver got back in. He started the truck, drove around the scales and out the gate! They were on the highway and headed for the school! All the problems had melted away before him on this task.

I asked Berny how it had happened and if the driver had bribed the weigh master. He just shrugged and said, "only the good Lord knows" He is right. The good Lord knows.

Water For Life Our Adventures & Stories

Water For Life
Our Adventures & Stories