AGUA PURA

Finished with La Laguna

2009-08-30T15:42:00.000-07:00

Now that I have quit running around so much i can finally update this blog. We have finished installing the filters in La Laguna and the people there have all told me to thank everyone that has helped with this project. I always tell the people that there are people in the US that might not can come down and help themselves but they do give money and pray for the lives of the people in Honduras. The village of La Laguna really blessed me from start to finish. It was the first village that I did with out my two helpers that had been helping me the past two years. I did have Luis, another helper, to go with me to help and learn more about the project. La Laguna was also the first village i have done that when we had the town meeting, the entire town came. In the villages that i had done in the past, only about 15-20 people would show up. It was also one of the nicest villages that we have done. We were able to install 19 filters in La Laguna to finish the project. there are about 6 more that we might install in houses around La Laguna that are really out in the middle of nowhere. Luis said he felt blessed to be able to help me with this project because even though he has lived in El Paraiso his whole life he never really realized how poor the people in the villages were.

For our next village for the project, we have been thinking about the village of La Pimienta. Many say that this village is one of the poorest, if not the poorest village in the mountain. It is a small village and I already have the filters made so it should go fast. Everything depends on the rain. This village is on the opposite side of a river and if the river rises then we will not be able to go. Please be praying for the people in the village of La Pimienta.

One of the reason that La Laguna was delayed a little bit was for the trips we had to make to the capital for my wife's visa. WE FINALLY GOT IT!!!!! We received the visa after about a year or applying for it and now we are able to go to the USA. We plan on taking the first trip to the US in November. Please pray that everything will fall in to place with the planning of the trip and our time there.

I am also building a house here in El Paraiso. We have been renting for the past 2 years and not only is it a good investment to build here, I think it would help us in the long run with raising the kid and hosting groups. please pray that everything goes well in the building of the house.

i will post a link later for everybody to see the project in La Laguna. thanks again for your prayers.

2009-06-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

I have had a busy month of June cause I have started the village of La Laguna, got 2 more molds made, and have been getting ready for a group that is coming to help in the first week of July. With the two new molds that i had made, i am able to make up to four filters a day. That brings about the problem that its only Luis and I working with the filters and it makes for some long days in the sun if we make four a day. We were also able to start installing filters in La Laguna last week and the people are some of the most excited people that i have worked with. There are people that were not put on the original list that were begging to have a filter after we had installed them in the first 4 houses. We plan on finishing the list that we have now and add people to the list as they come to us interested in the filters. We have 17 names on the first list for La Laguna and we should be finish with those 17 houses by August. I have put up some pictures of La Laguna and Santa Lucia. check them out if you want to at http://s414.photobucket.com/albums/pp230/HisHands2008 and click on the links on the side. sorry this blog entry was so short but i am having trouble thinking in english right now. i might add something tomorrow.

La Laguna

2009-05-31T10:14:00.000-07:00

Well its time for another blog entry. i know that i need to update this thing more and i will try. Anyway i wanted to share what has been going on.

At the start of May, when i had finished Santa Lucia, i was still looking for some help to help me with making the filters and taking them to the villages. I ended up hiring a guy named Luis, and his lot is actually where i have been building the filters. There was also an opportunity to buy a cement mixer to help, not only with the making of the filters but also to help wash the sand. I bought it and it has been a blessing even more than i had imagined. With the cement mixer we were able to make about 35 filters in 2 weeks to have plenty in stock for the village of La Laguna. Also we were able talk to the leader of La Laguna to set of a town meeting. We like to have a meeting with the leader first, to get his or her permission for the project and to explain who we are and what the ministry is about. We met with the leader and she was very excited about the project to bring pure water to the village. We asked her to set up a time for a village meeting to be able to explain the project but also to share the Word of God to the entire village. Usually when we have a village meeting, there might be about 15 people that show up. This time there was probably about 70 plus kids. I started off by telling the people who we were and what the ministry is all about and then i read the passage of scripture about Jesus talking to the woman at the well. I started to explain the importance of both drinking water and spiritual water and got a few "amen's" and "yes sir's" and then for some reason i just started preaching. i preached for about 25 or 30 minutes. This was the first time that that has happened in a village but it was wonderful. Afterwards we explained the filter, what it was, and how it worked. After that we went out side the school and installed one for the school so people would have even a better idea how it was. It was a wonderful trip, probably the best village meeting that i have had in the 2+ years that i have been doing this. We plan to start taking filters sometime within the next week or so. I am going to put up some picture for yall to see how many people came to the meeting. check out http://s414.photobucket.com/albums/pp230/HisHands2008/ to see some of the pictures. There are not any up right now but sometime today i will try to put some up. please continue to pray for the people of La Laguna. thanks

2009-04-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

I first want to say that i am extremely sorry for not ever updating this blog anymore. i am still alive and still living down here in Honduras and working with water filters. i know that it has been about 4 months since i have updated anything so i am sorry. i have been working on the website.... www.hishands.ws to try to let people know more about me as well as my ministry.

At the first of the year i started taking filters to a new village called Santa Lucia. I have been working with the same men that have been helping me the past year and a half but i have decided that its best if i look for other help. They both have alot of responsibility to work to do in the villages and there just doesnt seem to be enough time when we go to the villages to work with filters and their own stuff. That brings me to my first prayer request. My board has voted to give me a little more money to pay for a full time helper. This will be better then paying per trip like i had been doing. so please pray that i will know the right person for the job. I believe it is very important to get the right person so please pray for that.

After i finish with Santa Lucia i plan on taking this project to the village of La Laguna. I had had this village in mind since feb. and i was paying that the dry weather would help the road conditions. Even better than the dry weather......the mayor sent the machines scrape it down. now it is one of the best roads in the mountains. It is a blessing from God. Please start praying for the people of la laguna as well as for me. La Laguna is one of the more dangerous villages in the mountain so please pray for my safety. I hope to have the first town meeting with them sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Along with the water filters i have been trying to expand my ministry. There has been an opportunity to put in sewage lines for people that just have a hole in the grown. This week i have been working, laying pipes for the sewage and i lack about three days. When we are finished there will be about 8 families that will benefit from this. please pray for this project as well.

Samaritan's Purse is also working with these same filters in the slums in San Pedro Sula (a big city). I have gotten in touch with the country director of Samaritan's purse and i am going to meet with him sometime soon see how they do the work with the filters and the programs that they have using the filters. please pray that i will learn alot. Also i have had a problem with some of the filters cracking still. about 1 out of 4 wind up cracking and i have no idea why. They also crack at the same spot but it doesnt matter what mold the filter comes out of. it also doesnt matter if it is in the sun or the shade. anyway i hope to ask about this as well.

i have put more pictures up from the different villages that we have done and i am planning on putting of pictures of the sewage project in the next couple of days. you can go to http://s414.photobucket.com/albums/pp230/HisHands2008/ and click on the names of the villages you want to see. there are also picture of my baby on there so you can look at him if you want also. thanks so much for you patients and prayers for my and my family

update

2008-12-15T08:58:00.000-08:00

Well its been a while since i have updated this blog and with good reason too. My son was born November 24, 2008 at 7:00pm. His name is Joel Josiah Aycock and he is the cutest thing in the world. I will try to update pictures on the blog. I used to update the pictures all the time but the internet that i have now is not very fast and it takes a few hours to upload pictures.

In filter news....We have started putting in filters in a new village called Santa Lucia. It is a smaller village than the two before but it is also alot more poor. Please keep the people of Santa Lucia in your prayers. It has been really busy with the birth of my son so we are a little behind with installing the filters. We have plans to go back this week to continue installing the filters if it doesnt rain and the river doesnt rise. I will hope to put up some pictures of the village of Santa Lucia sometime.

2008-11-05T19:18:00.000-08:00

There has been some interesting news that i head concerning me and the filters that i have put in the village of Joconalis. A few weeks ago a fellow came to me and told me that there are some people that were mad at me because of the filters. i thought that it could have been because they wanted a filter but it was something else. I asked who it was and why they were mad and this is what he told me....He said that it is the truck that brings up pure bottled water to the village that is mad because i took away his business. He told me that that truck doesnt ever make the trip up the mountain anymore. The people have been so happy and satisfied with the filters and now they have extra money in the pockets that could go for food, clothes, or a number of other things. This story really made me feel good because it shows that the filters work and the people trust them as well as me. Me having their trust is hugh because it gives me the opportunity to share the love of Christ.

Another story comes from the house where i put a filter with the group that came down to help. The only water they had was a stream that ran through their land. The problem is that up-stream is a corral where cows are milked twice a day, and it is the main water source for those cows to drink out of. Before we put a filter in that house the kids were always sick and always had rashes all over their body. I recently went back there to see if everything was good with the filter and how was their health. She told me that they use the filter every day and they kids have not been sick since they started drinking the water and the rashes have gone away as well.

Hearing stories like these has really helped me stay focus on how important my work is here. I am also praying that help will come because it is getting more and more difficult as i try to start other villages and still need to keep in contact with the old villages. Please keep praying for me, my wife, and my ministry here in Honduras

Website Update

2008-09-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since I have updated anything on this blog site. I started renting a house a couple of months ago and i do not have internet at the house. I has been kinda crazy in these last few month for me with other things also. I have had to make a few trips to the capital and San Pedro Sula, still working of the papers for my wife. We have an appointment on the 5th of Sept at the embassy to see whether or not she gets the visa. please pray for out trip down to Tegucigalpa and the appointment.

In filter making news....
I have completed replacing all of the broken filters with new ones. The filters were working so well that the people of the villages asked for more. I have put 6 more filters in Joconalis in addition to the ones i replaced. The people seem really greatful and have been using the filters since last year. I have been having touble with my contacts so it has been kinda slow getting other villages started. I have been installing filters in differnt farm houses throughout the mountains where the only water people have is the same as where their cows drink from. They have been the most excited and helpful of anybody.

The website is up and running. The address is www.hishands.ws It does not have a lot of stuff on it but it will shortly. The will be a link to see new pictures and upcoming projects and things like that.

A group of men came to help build and install filters as well as learn more about the ministry I have here in Honduras. They stayed for a few days and learned about every aspect of the filter from start to finish. I will put pictures up from that trip as soon as I can. There is talk about other trips coming to help and learn more in the future.

I have been trying to send out a newsletter but it has been imposible to send from down here. I am sorry it has been so long since the first newsletter but I will keep trying to send it. Thanks for your patience on waiting on me to update this blog, the website, and newsletter.

2008-06-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Well I know its been awhile since i have updated this blog. I really dont like to update it unless I have some good news about something. For the past little bit its just been bad news after bad news. I first had a wreck in my truck and had to wait about a month to fix it and its still kinda struggling a little bit. Then i spent sometime gong back and forth to the capital of Tegucigalpa (which is 12 hours in a bus)trying to get the paperwork done for my wife so she would be able to go to the US for my sisters wedding, but we still are waiting for the papers. Then the people who were helping me are not seeming to want to help me anymore so i have started trying to do things with another person and it is just taking alot longer. The to top it all off, the filters that i have installed in Manguito and Joconalis have started to crack. I am going to have to fix te problem and reinstall the filters to these two villages again. I have been in the process of calling and emailing people from other parts of Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico who work with these types of filters to ask them if they have encountered similar problems. They said they have and it could be that the sand i am using is too dirty or that i need to tapper the inner plug more. I am now in the process of reconstructing the inner plug or the mold and will test it out sometime tomorrow evening. Please pray for me and this project that everything will work itself out and also that i will have patiences to continue. I can tell the the devil is throwing all sort of things at me for me to fail so i need your prayers to help overcome these things. thanks for waiting for te updates and i hope to have so good news next time.

Update

2008-04-02T12:16:00.002-07:00

Thanks for all the prayers concerning the ministry here in Honduras. Please continue to pray for the villages here as well as the ministry to grow. I was recently in a car accident but everything is ok. Nobody was hurt but my truck is in the shop getting repaired. Its a small setback but I hope to get my truck back by the end of the week or the first of next week. When I get it back, I plan to continue my work in the village of El Jardin. Please continue to pray for that village. I recently went to the village of Maguito, where I had installed filters before Christmas to see how everything was working and if there were any problems. They told me that everyday people fill up bottles of pure water, and it has helped the community get closer because neighbors are visiting together as the fill up the bottles. Also I asked if they have seen a drop in sickness due to the water they were drinking before. They said that they have seen a huge differnce and do not know of anybody who has gotten sick. That is an answer to prayer. I will continue to update when there is new information. Please pray for me and my wife as we try to get her a visa to go to the United States next in May. Thanks again for all the prayers and support.

new news

2008-03-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

Its me again. Down in Honduras where it is about 95 degrees. That might sound good to some of yall because I heard that there were a few snow flakes that fell a few days ago. Anyways it hot down here. Things are going pretty good, although we have had some trouble trying to get the passport and visa stuff from the capital(Tegucigalpa) but I think we are going to go tomorrow to try to work things out. Please pray that all will go wonderful without any problems.

In the filter news...
There has been a few tiny set backs. Some of the filters that I made last year for Joconalis and Maguito were breaking apart. Not completely, but there were small cracks in the concrete were water is getting out. Before I could start on the new villages, I have had to go back to these old ones to fix some of the problems. I believe that the problem was with the sand (it had too much earth in it). Anyway, I have been working on that and still working to go to El Jardin and San Cristobal. It has also been tough and slow going because the two men that were helping me last year have been busy doing other things. Please pray that things will open up and there will be possibly new help to come or that the same men will be willing to help me again.

I have been a little frustrated because it seems as though I am starting back at square one. I reckon that sometime that's what it takes. Please continue to pray for the people in the mountains here in Honduras as well as for me and my wife. Thanks so much for your support.

A New Year

2008-02-19T12:17:00.000-08:00

Hello again. I know it has been a few months since I have last updated this thing to let everyone know how things were going. Some of you might have recieved a newsletter explaining some things such as; the new organization (His Hands Mission International), me getting married, and other things about the water project I am working on. For those of you who didnt get the newsletter and would like to be put on the mailing list then please send an email to Bigred_30@yahoo.com and I will be happy to do that.

Here is a quick update for those who did not recieve the newsletter. I came back down to Honduras on the 12th of January to continue the water purification projects. Before I came back I was very fortunate to be able to start a non-profit organization called His Hands Mission International. It is a 501c3 organization and will help me be able to get the word out to people as well as raise more support. I came back in January and I got married to a beautiful girl named Maite and we will live happily ever after. Thanks for all the prayers concerning everything. Also i have started back the filter building and have two new villages in mind. They are El Jardin and San Cristobal. Please start praying for these villages and that God will use me to minister to these people.

I have started back making the filters and things have been going wonderful. I have had a problem with one of my molds so I am waiting to try to get it fixed. I am still working with one mold and the filters are coming out wonderful. I do not konw when we will begin taking the filters to the villages but continue to pray for me, Maite, this project, and the people of Jardin and San Cristobal.

I will try to put up pictures of different things here directly and also I have been trying to get a website for the organization and I will let you know when that is ready.

Manguito/Joconalis update

2007-12-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

Well I made another trip, my last trip to Manguito for this year and installed 3 more filters. Manguito is the village where we have to carry everything on foot or horseback to the houses where we are going to install the filters. We got there earlier in the morning this time so we would have time to carry and install more than just one filter. When we got there we were a little worried because the filters were not where we had left them. We asked around the community and they told us that the men in the village had already moved the filters to the homes where they needed to be instaled. That was a huge blessing becuase we were able to instal 4 filters that day to finish up the village of Manguito.

The next day we made another "last" trip to Joconalis because the pastor said the families that have the water filters wanted to show their appreciation for them. We arrived there and there were each of the families that had received a filter their to greet me and tell me wow it has changed their lives. It really meant alot to be that there were men who did not go out to the fields to work that day but stayed at the church to thank you and me for the filters. Then when i thought that we were about to go, the pastor stood up and told said that they had something for me. He pulled out a certificate in which all of the owners of the filters pitched in to buy. That meant more than anything.

I will try to put more pictures of the manguito trip as well as the trip to Joconalis later on.

pictures

2007-11-24T13:28:00.000-08:00

Another Update from a busy two weeks

2007-11-23T15:05:00.000-08:00

Alot has been going on the past couple of weeks. I now have a chance to let all of yall know about it. Some parts have been exciting and some have been sad and all have been really, really muddy. We are in the middle of the wet season here in Honduras and that means that it rains everyday about 70% of the day. It has been very difficult to make concrete filters in the rain but God has provided me different times during the day when the rain would stop and the sun would come out for just enough time for me to get the concrete in the molds and cover them up. Then it would start raining again. Its been great.
A week ago I made my first trip alone to the village of Joconalis to carry the filters so we could install all of them the next time. In my journey down the curvey muddy road I car that was coming towards me skidded around a turn and was fixin to hit me. When I saw this I swerved, and in doing this, the rope that was holding the filters in place broke and three out of the four filters broke. This was the sad part. It is not about the money (because the money is still coming in to help with this project...thanks you) but the time to make and let cure three filters is a little over a week. I was disouraged because I knew that my time is running out. I turned around and went back to the place where I make the filters and for the next three days I worked and worked on trying to repair them. After three days I had completed repairing the broked filters and they were ready to go to the villages. In this time I had also made two more. (That is 5 in 3 days, not just 3 in a week...God is good.) I went the next day to take the filters to Joconalis again. This time everything went smoothe as smooth can be.
Wednesday of this week I made another trip to Manguito carrying four filters as well. Manguito is much more difficult to get to because many parts of the road are washed out leaving us to pray that we will not slide down the mountain. Also in Manguito, there are only two main roads that cars can travel on. The other roads are only for horses and walking. The filters each weigh around 250-300 pounds a piece so they are a little heavy and are not shaped very well to carry. In Manguito we had to tie the filters to two large logs and carry them with four people (most of the time its four people unless there is a gringo and then there are 2 people and a gringo). We started out carrying the filter up a mountain in mud up to your knees stoping every now and then to look for our boots that got stuck in the mud. We finally made it the house where we installed the filter. Everything worked great. It took us about 1 1/2 hours carrying the filter for each house. We were only able to install one because the rain started to pour harder than before. We plan to go back to Manguito to finish up there sometime later next week. Please keep praying for the people of Manguito. Oh yea!!! I have a good story to tell. In Manguito there has not been running water for the past 10 days. This means that there was no way for the people to use the filters with the faucet we intalled for them. The people that have the filters listed to what we told them and have been filling up big jugs full of the clean, filtered water. During the past 10 days they have been able to drink, as well as share with others the pure water that they have saved before the water got cut off. Isnt that exciting. Also there are many streams that run through the village or Manguito where the people bring water and pour through the filters to purify that water. Its a great feeling when you hear something like this.
We made another trip to Joconalis on Thursday of this week to finish installing all the filters. We made in there safe and without any problems. We installed four of the 8 filters we had to install and then something neat happened. The pastor and the men that were helping us install the previous 12 told us this. They said that they would like to be a part of this project too and if we didnt mind, they want to install the last four and explain everything themself. The selfish part of me thought...no this is my project...but that didnt last but a second. I saw the joy, confidence, and desire to help there people and to be a part of something bigger then themselves. I told them that I didnt mind at all and if they had any questions they could call me. They were so excited when I told them this thats all they talked about for an hour or so. It fills good to install a filter and see the people drinking pure water from the filter, but it feels even better when then people want to help, and want to be a part of something like this. One of the Hondurans that goes with me to install the filters said that these people in Joconalis never wanted to help him or do anything with the chicken houses or garden projects that he has provided. This project that you have brought, he told me, has really changed their hearts. That was more fulfilling and more rewarding than the purest water that any of them could ever drink.
Men change peoples minds but only God can change a persons heart. Knowing that peoples health is getting better is one thing, but knowing that God is touching and changing the hearts of men through this project we are all a part of is something much more special.

I have added three picture links...the first is the broke filters that I repaired. the second is of Manguito and the third of Joconalis. Thanks again for all your prayers and everything that you have contributed to this project.

Email Me

2007-11-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

Im thinking about starting a type of newsletter type thing. I havent really decided how often I would send one out, but I am thinking about maybe once a month. This would not take the place of this blog but only be something else with maybe more information, needs that I might have, ways you could help, or random stuff. I am just thinking that some people might like to have a hard copy of things that are going on down here. I know alot of adresses and I could look in a phone book for those who I dont have, but if you would like to receive a newsletter then please send me your adress. My email is Bigred_30@yahoo.com. It would be best for me to receive adresses by emails and not on the comment page. Also if you know someone who might be interested in what I am doing or does not have internet, then you could send me their adress as well. I do not know when the first newsletter will go out but probably sometime in the next couple of months. Thanks

Joconalis Round 3.....ding!

2007-11-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

Im not really good at picking titles for my blog but here is the latest news...In my
third trip to Joconalis could possibly have been the most exciting trip that we have been on. Before this trip we have not seen any of the filters working/filtering water. I have received phone calls from the people there and they told me how grateful they were to have the filters, that they were drinking the water and it tasted wonderful, and when I was going to come back to install some more. This trip i finally got to see and taste the water that has been filtered by my filrs. It was looked clean and tasted wonderful. I dont know if it was because I was thirsty or excited about the water or what, but it was probably the best water i have ever tasted. I walked around the town to visit all of the homes with filters to make sure all of them were working correctly and they were. The nurses at the medical clinic were almost crying they were so happy about the filters. Not only do they use the water to drink but also to clean wounds and medical equipment because they said they believe there is power in the water. How exciting is that!!! When we went we also installed 4 more filters; One at another pastor´s home two at different houses and one at a school(the school has over 350 kids that will drink from this filter.) It is exciting to see the progress and all of the hard work that has been put into this project pay off. I have added a few more pictures for yall to look at and hope to have more in the days to come. I will be making filters for the next week to take to both Joconalis and Manguito so I will update yall with whats going on sometime next week if there is electricity/Internet/something to say. Thanks again for all that each of you have done for this project. I could not do what I am doing alone.

UPDATE WITH PHOTOS

2007-10-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

I finally have the chance to update my blog and i have added some new photos also. To see them all you need to do is click on the photo link from the previous post and you can see the new ones also. I think they are a little bigger also.

For the past two weeks I have been traveling back and forth to Joconalis and Manguito. Why you might ask...Well I have finally begun installing the filters I have been making for the past few months. This has been quite an exciting time for me as well as the people of the villages because it is something that we both have been waiting to do for months.

In Joconalis, where we had installed one filter previously that didnt work, now has 6 working filters that can supply water to more than 60 families. Thats about 400 people. I had spent two full days washing all the sand and rock that I had to get the dirt out of it and with that, the filters work wonderful. The papers say that each filter should produce water at a rate of 1 liter per minute. Glory to God my filters do not filter at that rate. I strongly believe that God used the first filter that did not work to humble me and teach me patience and perseverance. With that being said I also believe that God has blessed the filters and doubled the rate of water being filtered to 2 liters per minute. In Joconalis there is a filter at 3 homes, the church/nutritional center/pastors home, medical clinic, and school. I have more filters ready to transport there and hope to go back sometime this week or the beginning of next week. Please continue to pray for the people of Joconalis

In Manguito, we had transported 6 filters but had yet to install any. We were waiting for the time when the men of the homes did not have work to do so they could show us where they wanted them. We finally found a time and have now installed 3 filters there. We could have done more but they had a town meeting with the mayor of El Paraiso to discuss things that needed to be done in the community. These filters have also been timed and have the same flow rate as the ones in Joconalis. There are more filters to be installed in Manguito and we hope to go back there some time next week as well. With the filters that have been installed in both villages are supplying clean water as we speak to about 600+ people (this includes the kids at the school). Please continue to pray for the people and the filters of Manguito also.

I have realized the importance of clean water, not only for myself but also for those who live in the rural mountain villages. Working/construction the filters in the compound in El Paraiso I have seen many kids who have been brought to the clinic with serious diarrhea, worms, intestinal problems, and other sickness that are caused by drinking contaminated water. Please continue to pray for the filters and that they will filter water more pure than any one could imagine. Thanks for all your prayers and I will update this thing again when I have something else to say.

Making of a Filter

2007-10-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

I have recieved some question about how I make the filters. Here are some pictures to show you step by step. (I left out the pictures when I was resting eating or drinking.)

The time is now

2007-10-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well its been another month and i am just now updating the blog again. Sorry about that. I am not one of those people that like to say just just to hear myself talk so im not going to write ¨Well i shovled sand today.¨ So now you know that when there is a new post that means that there is something worth reading. With my time here in Honduras a little more than half way over, I was getting a little anxious about getting up to the villages and setting some filters up. The time finally came on September 23. I took two filters up to the village of Manguito and everything i needed to set them up and get them going. When we got up there, there was one main problem. Nobody was there. Some how somebody got there days confused and nobody was there to recieve us. We left all the materials there at the church and talked to one man about another time that would be good to come. We made our plans and then left. Two days later we decided that it would be good to go to another village to start a project there. This village is called Joconales. We went there and took 3 filters and the materials to set them up. In this village there were people waiting for us. All of the leaders of the village decided to come out and see what this water filter thing was all about. We all went inside the church and had a devotional time where we shared about the importance of water as well as the story about when Jesus talks to the Samaratian woman about the Living Water. After this lesson, Adolfo (a guy who is helping me), explained the water filter in great detail and how it was going to work. We then began to ask about good locations for the filters so that they would be safe and also be able to serve the most amount of people as possible. Here are the names of the house that will have the filters and how many familys will benefit from them:
*Carmelina Rodriguez (10 Families)
*Mirna Mejia (9 Families)
*Rodis Aguilar (6 Families)
*Oscar Perez (8 Families)
*Angela Arita (9 Families)
*Gladis Reyes (8 Families)
*Odin Reyes (8 Families)
*Ceter or Health
*School
*Pastors Home/Nutricional center/Church
*Moises Henrriquez (13 Families)
*Tino Henrriquez (10 Families)
*Balvino Devaz (15 Families)
*Neptaly Valle (15 Families)
*Santos Menjivar (12 Families)
--with all the filters in place and working, we should be able to provide clean drinking water to about 125 different families (over 500 people).

We traveled back to Maguito the 28th of September to take more filters and also have the same devotional time with them. Everything went alot better then the first time because this time the entire village was there. It gave us an opportunity to share the gospel and also our hopes/dreams about this clean water project. I do not have the names of the locations where the filters will be in Manguito yet but when i do i will be sure to put them on here.

Also please continue to pray for these filters. When we were in Joconales, the pastor asked us if we could set up one of the filters to let them see how it works. We agreed and began to fill it up with the needed materials. everything was going great until the last part. When we put the water in the filter, nothing came out. We took everything out and tried it again and the same thing happened. Then again and again it didnt work. I had washed the sand but apparently there was still way to much earth in the sand and it wouldnt let the water pass. Humiliated, i spent the next two days washing sand and trying it again and again and again. Finally, one time when i put water in the filter it came out. It had finally worked. I am excited about this and excited about going back to Joconales and fixing the problem. Please continue to pray for this project. Thank you and here are some pictures of what we are doing.

Another Update

2007-09-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

Well the hurricane came and left and everything is fine where I am. We just got alot of rain, which flooded most of the roads but everything is back to normal. I have noticed it has been about a month since I have updated this blog thing, and for that I am sorry. Many things have come up (the hurricane, peoples health, making of the filters) that have made it difficult for things to go according to schedule. I will hopefully be trying to post some pictures of the installation of the the filters sometime in the near future. thanks for being patient, and please continue to pray for me and the vision I have for the villages here. Thanks.

Update

2007-08-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

I do not know how many people still look at this blog because of the amount of time it has taken me to put up new post. Anyway, here is a quick update of what has been happening. Things have been going pretty slow down here because nobody is in a hurry to get anythng done. I have been in the process of getting another steel mold built so I could be able to do twice as many. The guy who has been welding it told me it would take 3 days for him to do but it ended up taking about 10. This was a problem becasue for 8 of those days he had to have the existing mold to measure off of cause he could not read blue prints. I have both now and concrete in them drying as we speak. The ones that I have made previously have had little flaws that I have been trying to correct so I am praying that this two will be perfect. There is a village where we have chicken houses, garden projects, and nutritional centers, and this is where I plan to put the first filters. There are around 60 families and we are going to try to make enough filters so that there will be pure water for every 5 families as well as the nutritional center, church, and school. The name of this village is Mangito, so please be praying that this filters will serve them well, any that they will accept and understand the importance of clean, pure water to drink and also for their souls. Well that is all for now. I will try to do a better job of updating. Thanks for being patient and ROLL TIDE!!!!

Traveling down to Hondruas

2007-07-29T14:31:00.001-07:00

These are some picture of my trip down to Honduras from Alabama. I know it has taken me a while to put something new up but things happen a little slower down here. Enjoy 2600 miles in 5 minutes!!!

Photobucket Album

In Honduras

2007-07-14T07:55:00.001-07:00

Well I made it down to Honduras without any problems at all. To all who said it would take 2 weeks to drive down here must drive really slow. It took me just a little over 4 days. I will try to update this blog a much as I can as well as post pictures of the trip down and things that I will be doing. I do not know how much computer access I will have or how fast it will be to upload pictures so please be patient. I will also try not to delete the entire thing again.

Steel Mold

2007-07-14T07:47:00.001-07:00

This is the mold that I will be using to make the water filters. Thanks to Joe Craddock for helping me cut and weld this thing together.

Photobucket Album

What This is All About

2007-07-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

My name is Joel Aycock and after having just graduated college I had no idea what I wanted to do. I have felt God's call on my life to do mission work but did not know when, where, or what to do. I received some information of something called a BioSand Water Filter used by many organizations all around the would to give people pure water at very little cost while still being very effective. I decided to move down to Honduras for 6 months to start a water purification project in the Mountains of Copan. While living in Honduras I will get a glimpse of how it is to live as a missionary in a different country alone and also by faith for everything I may need. During these months I hope to try to discern what God has planed for the rest of my life. I am excited about this opportunity as well as what God has planned for my life.

How to be Involved

2007-07-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

After hearing about this project, many people have asked how they could be involved. The first and number one thing I need is your prayers. Prayers for my health and safety as well that this project will be a success. Also pray that the people will understand the importance of pure water as well as pure life. If you do feel that God is placing it on your heart to help financially then you can send a check to:
Asbury Methodist Church
980 Hughes Road
Madison, AL 35758

and write "Joel's water project." If you do not write this then I will not get the money.

Thanks so much!

2007-07-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

The blog is lost in the world wide web or something. i finally got to honduras and was going to update this thing but it didnt exist anymore.