Difficulties and Blessings

It seems that I want to title all my posts "Difficulties and Blessings". There are so many challenges trying to operate a drilling company is South Sudan but God has a way of coming to our aid exactly at the right time. This past month is not exception.

Since about mid February we've been having issues with our compressor which is a major component of our drilling program. We've actually have been having small problems with it since we started using it (hence all the prayer requests for the equipment) but all those small problems came together into one big problem. In the beginning our brand new compressor would overheat once during drilling and shut off. The crew might have to wait 30-60 minutes but then it would work fine again. About three weeks ago it started to overheat after only about 15 minutes of use. Since the crew would have to wait about an hour between those 15 minutes of use, the problem was causing long delays. It was decided that we would go do to Kampala to get it fixed. Thankfully, after basically taking apart the entire machine, it turned out to be a wrong adjustment from the factory. This was truly a huge blessing for us as the fix did not require any new parts. If it did require parts, then we would still be stuck as it takes time since parts have to be ordered from Belgium.

The crew is now in Gulu, Uganda again drilling for an awesome Christian organization called Villages of Hope Africa (VOHA). We will be drilling six wells and sharing the Gospel with everyone we meet. Cole is also with them now documenting the entire event with his spectacular God-given ability to take beautiful photographs. Cole's apprentice, Godfrey, is also doing an amazing job and I am seriously impressed by learning speed and creativity. Cole has posted some of Godfrey's pictures on his blog: www.cgormanphotography.com

I am not in Gulu now but still in Kampala working out the details for buying another motorcycle. This is also very exciting as I found a great used motorcycle that was imported from the UK. The motorcycles generally sold around Kampala are very small and expensive but I found a larger motorcycle that is a perfect fit for the challenges and demands of WHI.

All the paperwork should be done by tomorrow and then I will ride the motorcycle back to Sudan with a short stop in Gulu to check up on the crew. My time in Gulu will be short as I need to get back to Sudan to take a trip up to Terekeka to find some churches and communities in need of water so a few wells can be put in when a e3 and Radler Foundation team comes in May.

I am excited but also dreading riding a motorcycle up to Sudan from Kampala. The trip is a total of 340 miles and only the first 200 miles will be on good roads (until Gulu). After Gulu, the road turns to dirt and will probably be a bit rough due to the recent rains. I will be taking my time and will ride carefully but still your prayers for safety are appreciated.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. I am also sorry for taking long periods between updates. Please know that your prayers and kind comments are more highly valued then I can express in words.

Love You All,
Stephen