Saturday, March 28, 2009

Internet Day


Saturday brings extended internet hours, so I wanted to take the chance to post a few more pics.

Jonathan and Evelyn have been loving it here – playing in the dirt with rocks, chickens, dogs. They've been such good sports too – haven't complained once about the heat. Jonathan has been amzing us with his appetite! It must be a combination of the heat and all the exercise he's been getting, but he eats three helpings of rice and beans at every meal!

The other day our work at the bridge was interrupted by a request for help from one of the market truck drivers. He had somehow tipped his truck (which was piled high with bamboo he'd harvested and was preparing to sell at the market) over onto its side. We brought over a winch and were able to tip it back up, and when we returned in the afternoon, the truck was gone. What often happens (and by often I mean every day) is that the trucks are so heavily loaded that they can't make it up the hill on the far side of the existing stone bridge, so they stop there and block traffic in both directions while they unload the bamboo. It takes hours to unload, move the truck and then reload, so you're totally out of luck if you'd planned on crossing in the car. Yeesh.

Here are some shots of the bridge foundations. The first is a shot of the soil anchor reinforcement, which I spent my first couple days here assembling. The second is a shot of the soil anchor formwork. The cage of reinforcement sits in here, and we'll fill it up with concrete next week. This last shot is the threshold on one side of the river. We built these two masonry colums and then filled them with reinforced concrete. The steel piece on the top is called a saddle, and the handrail cable will come up and over it. The traffic will walk in between these columns. Pretty cool, huh?

6 comments:

Adam & Ali said...

What a week Greenes. You guys are moving on that project. Always excited to hear from you. Love you guys and still praying Em gets better.

Hatfields said...

Hello Greenes! Love this blogspot and the pictures--the kids have grown already. We've been thinking about all of you and hoping all is well. Looks like there's lots to do and what an adventure! Not much new here: Noah's been sick but getting better, Linda (across the street) broke her ankle on Melissa's deck, and my baby brother visited for 2 days last weekend from Iraq (a surprise leave!) Your house looks good--the wind kept blowing the little sign down but the big sign's staying put. Take care, and our thoughts and prayers are with you. Hugs to all.

Jon said...

Amazing. How awesome to see the great work you're doing, and the kids look great! Not surprised that they are fitting right in. Love to all of you, hope Emily's beginning to feel better!

Andrea Rooks said...

Wow -- I love seeing the photos of your life there. It helps to know that you're under the same blue sky with green trees, brown dirt, four-wheeled cars, smiling faces. Somehow it's so easy to imagine foreign lands as much more foreign than they really are. We hope and pray that all goes well and that you feel God's protection and leading in your time there.

Mike said...

Hello Emily! This is Mike Mutschleknaus, your old Peace Corps volunteer friend from Chad. I have been trying to figure out a way to thank you for that wonderful letter you sent me a few months ago. I didn't have Sudan address. Your heartfelt words touched me deeply, and I will always treasure that letter. Thanks so much for it.

Unknown said...

keep up the great work! We serve an amazing God. Our prayer is this bridge will also serve as a connection between you and the people there, allowing you to share Christ. Tell Jonathan Ellie says hi and hopes to see him in Africa real soon. God bless