The Trying of Your Faith Is More Precious Then Silver

Tuesday morning I did a little work in the bathroom then I went and got a hair cut. Later that morning James and I got the supplies for installing an electric meter and installed them where they have the burger stand. James wants to have a meter specifically for the burger stand. Tuesday afternoon we went for lunch at the Cain's (One of the other missionary families) in Tepic. Yes I did say afternoon they eat lunch at about 2pm and then supper around 8pm. Things are a little different here, but that is fine. Later that afternoon we bought some large porcelain tiles that we will use as counter tops for the bathroom vanities.

Wednesday I sanded and varnished the vanity and cut the porcelain tile for the top. Wednesday afternoon I started feeling sick. I'm not sure why it might have been the cedar dust from sanding the vanity (they say cedar dust is really bad for you), or the very strong fumes from the varnish. Maybe it was none of the above but I had a fever and the chills. I slept for n hour and a half that afternoon and then felt a little better but I was definitely not back to normal yet.

Wednesday evening James, Nelly and I were standing under the bathroom that I have been working on and James happened to look up and there was a big wet spot on the ceiling. I had installed the toilet that morning and I had flushed it a couple times and some of the plumbing was leaking. I couldn’t figure it out I had poured a few buckets of water down the drain before I poured the floor to make sure nothing was leaking and it all looked fine.

Thursday morning we felt like we were being tested to see how much patience we had. Having had to rip up a finished tile floor twice all ready in the other bathroom it wasn't really anything new. I started pulling up the tiles, broke up the concrete cleaned around the pipes and then flushed the toilet to see if there were any leaks. There weren’t any leaks not even a drop. I was glad to fine out that it wasn't something wrong with my plumbing joints. We figured the only place that it could be leaking is in the pipe that goes down through the floor. I cut some of my pipes out and then looked down the pipe and about six inches down there was a seam. They had tried to join two pieces of pipe together we could see that the two pipes weren't inline and we knew that is where it had to be leaking. I chiseled away for a while and pulled the first piece of pipe out. Twenty five years ago when they built this house they had pvc pipe but not many fittings. They didn't have any regular straight connectors for joining two pipes so they took a four inch piece cut it down the side stretched it around the seam put some tar on it and twisted some wire around it. I must have loosened it a little and it just started leaking after I put the new plumbing in. Thankfully by noon the repair was done and the concrete was repoured.

The Ultimate Do It Yourselfer Connector

This afternoon James and I went up to Tepic. We had to get the window fixed on the suburban that quit working Tuesday evening on the way home from Tepic, which made for a cool ride, because it was down. We also picked up the tile for the shower floor which actually came in when they said it would. The bus transmission was finally fixed and we were able to pick it up and bring it back. It only took us a little less then eight hours to go to Tepic and come back and do those things. Ya makes for a long day, but hey this is Mexico.

Well I think this has gone on long enough. Oh an update on Mozambique. I think I had mention on here that Lord willing I would be going to Mozambique in March. I was going to be going with a few other guys, but it seems to work better for them to go in the summer. I am busy then cause Lord willing I will be going to India with Teen Missions. Now I will be going by myself to Mozambique, unless any of you are feeling called to Mozambique next month. I would appreciate your prayers that I will be able to make all the necessary arrangements in the short ten days or so that I will be home from Mexico before I leave for Mozambique.