Today, my friends, was a good day. After going to bed by 9 o’clock, we finally started the day with a reasonable amount of sleep. Even though I am a college student, a group notorious for their lack of rest, I don’t think I have ever appreciated a good night sleep so much in my life – it transformed me into a new person.
This afternoon, we got to head into the city for lunch to a restaurant named Kip’s. Most of us got chicken kebabs and masala chips for lunch and then the beauty of all beauties – vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. Nothing fuels my soul more than ice cream. I do not think I can express with words how happy this made me, but you can ask Curt (if he can still hear you) how loud I screamed when I was told there would be ice cream.
Finally regaining some energy- we continue our hard work in Mphero. Today we finished drilling, screening and casing our second test well, in addition to finishing the construction of the well pad for the first well. As Megan would have said “We can get on a plane now!” We finally got to pump water out of Mphero’s new well! This is what we were here to do – and we did it!
After spending a week in Mphero, bringing water to these wonderful people means more to me than I ever could have imagined. Everywhere you go, everyone is smiling, waving, asking you how you are, or greeting you with a giant hug. The love that you feel in this community is like no other. It is an amazing honor to be able to be here and finally bring this community the potable water they deserve.
At the end of the day I think I found an even better medicine than ice cream. As you look to the west, there is one of the most beautiful scenes you will ever see. The sky turns a bright orange and fades into a deep purple as the sunsets behind the mountains. The final light glows on the faces of the people as they watch us in our final hours of work. This becomes the most stunning backdrop for the end of a great day, and the beginning of a promising tomorrow.

Tionana Mawa,
Emma