(ancient Fiat)
Well, I know it has been a long time since our last post but we have just gotten internet back after more than 7 days. No explanation, no sorry, it was just on again one morning. It makes you grateful for the little things like instant communication.
Since we have been away the rainy season has started in earnest. In the last week we have had more than 6 inches of rain. This is great for the gardens around here but not so great for the road that we have to maintain. Our training center sits at about 1400 feet. We are about 5 kilometers from the ocean. Our road is a one lane winding dirt road that is quite steep in places. This time of year it is not uncommon to have to come up it in 4 wheel drive. I have had to pull out 4 stuck trucks recently.
It is a government road but the government does not take care of it. They simply don’t have the equipment or the man power to do it. It’s a matter of resources. So if we want to get up and down the mountain the responsibility falls to us. We usually have two tractors to take care of the road. One is a 1991 4 wheel drive Ford/ New Holland and the other is a VERY OLD Fiat. The Ford is a much larger tractor and can do a lot of the heaver work. Unfortunately, it has been down for months. It was not working for part of the time we were here as students. First the front differential went to pieces and then the PTO assembly went to pieces. I know that probably doesn’t mean much to most of you but trust me it’s big work to fix both of them. It can take months just to get parts because they are all special orders from out of the country.
(Ford/ New Holland)
The Ford is back together now but we are still having issues with the hydraulic system (the bucket on the front won’t work). Please, pray that we can figure out what the problem is and fix it quickly. Also, pray that the Fiat will hold together long enough for us to get the Ford running.
More on the road later…
matt
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