The Sozo/Flatirons Construction Trip - Day 6

If you received my daily email updates you've seen most of it, but not all. Since my return I've added a few notes and comments which I've put in blue italic type so those of you who don't want to read it all again can pick out the "new stuff." <g> I've also added a couple photos from each day of the trip, which weren't always in the daily updates.

If you'd like to see more photos from the trip, follow the link to the left.  I took many of them, but the rest were taken by other team members Levi Dockendorf, Jeff English, Dave Harrison, Jordan Kejr, Micah Kirkwood, Michal Kmita, and David Pesek. Ron Barnes was there, too, but usually too busy keeping track of the rest of us to take photos. <g> If you'd like hi-rez copies of any of them just let me know.

Saturday, June 28

Another amazing day at Barek Aub.

Thanks to your prayer support we enjoyed a safe drive to and from the camp. Since Saturday (the day after the Muslim holy day) is like our Monday in USA, there were many more cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, people, donkeys, you-name-it on the roads today. We used the ChaseCam (racecar video camera) for the first time and got a couple hours of great Kabul road video to bring home with us.

Upon arrival at Barek Aub we were greeted by a few of the village elders. With Mohammad Kahn translating for us, they expressed their deep appreciation for the help we were providing to the people there, not just by our construction team, but for the ongoing support the village of Flatirons and Sozo have been providing for the past year.

And then it was time to get back to work. Most of the team returned to the same tasks we'd been doing on Friday while Dave H. and Jeff went to work on a soil perc test to assist with public health planning.

As we began to get to work, MIchael noticed that Shabadi, one of the kids that was helping us ,had a nasty cut on one of his fingers. I grabbed the First Aid Kit we'd brought and Michal cleaned it up, applied some antibiotic ointment, and bandaged it up for him. No sooner had he finished than Fiam, another helper, presented Michael with an even more ugly looking blister. Michael treated him, too, as Wisadin, Saloudi, and more and more boys lined up for treatment. We took care of a couple more bad ones before explaining to the others that we weren't equipped to treat a lot of minor injuries and they'd have to let us get back to work on their new clinic so they could get treatment later. THAT was hard to do.

During breaks several of the guys would entertain the local kids that always gather when we're there Dave P. was teaching them various English words and phrases (word of caution: if you come to Barek Aub and one of the kids offers you "chocolate," pass on it); Levi was teaching them how to throw a "movie" punch (where you fake like you hit someone and they fall over anyway) until one little guy popped him square in the jaw; and Mikel put on a break dancing/robot exhibition the likes of which have surely never been seen anywhere east of Prague. (Yes we have it all on video and there's a photo below.)

Just before lunch a few of us were invited to meet a recently orphaned 11 year-old boy, Amine Gul, who had been treated for an infection by Deb Nickell and Dr. Max from Team 1 in April. Amine, who was orphaned a year ago, was hit by a car while trying to cross the highway outside Barek Aub last December and left to die in the snow. A convoy of American troups found Amine laying in the road and had him medivac'd to Bagram Air Force Base about 30 miles away. The doctors at Bagram had to amputate Amine's right leg above the knee and he had massive internal and skin/muscle injuries. But he survived and virtually all of his injuries, including the infection on his remaining leg that our team treated him for in April, have healed. Amine lives with his grandmother, Fatema, who expressed great thanks for the Flatirons medical team that helped him so much and, although she is Muslim, permitted us to pray for Amine's continued improvement. Thanks Deb for keeping his story alive so we could all share in it. (I hope to have a photo of Amine to share tomorrow.)

After lunch we loaded another 3000+ bricks into the soaking pond (the climate is so dry here that bricks must be soaked for 24 hours so they don't absorb too much moisture out of the mortar and weaken it) before hiking up the hill to the well that Flatirons had dug last November. This is the same well that we were fortunate to see actually producing its first water when we were there in April. Also in April, the first bricks for the pump house were just being laid and now the pump house is fully finished with a beautiful stucco exterior.

While on the way to the pump house, we passed the first business to open in Barek Aub! It's a small store that I would say is the Afghan equivalent of an American convenience store with its modest inventory of candy, cookies, cigarettes, soft drinks, potatoes, and other staples (including a well used "Tomb Raider" DVD featuring Angelena Jolie oh boy!). I have no idea how a store like this survives in a village like Barek Aub during its infancy, but the mere fact that someone opened a business venture like this says a lot about the hope Barek Aub residents now must have for the future. Which, when you consider what they have been through, is remarkable!

After we arrived back at the guest house after a long and exhausting day, Naieme surprised us with cups of Pakistani Chai Tea a very special treat! This was followed by a dinner of mantou (Afghan pot stickers), okra, and ground "meat" (mysterious, but delicious).

Our prayer request for tomorrow would be for increased effectiveness and heightened sensitivity to the needs of the people of Barek Aub - we really want to be sure we're doing everything we can before we leave on Wednesday.

Thank you once again for your faithfulness and continued support.

--Bob Tunnell

"Mike The Medic" giving first aid treatment to Shabadi and a few others with a variety of wounds and minor injuries.
photo by Bob Tunnell

Dr. Qahar and Ron with Amine Gul, the 11-year old boy treated by Dr. Max and Deb Nickell in April.
photo by Jeff English

Michal bustin' a move for his homies.
photo by Bob Tunnell

Dave H. doing a perc test near the clinic with Micah and Jeff assisting and Dr. Qahar and a couple kids looking on.
photo by Bob Tunnell

The first store in Barek Aub!
photo by Bob Tunnell