While I was in the Philippines they were well into their dry season. It was going to be about a month before they had a good rain there and this is what the wells were starting to look like.
Salvador told David and I about a cave not to far from the camp that had water in it, but there was not enough oxygen to breath down there. He had been down there multiple times and each time it became harder and harder to breath. The last time he went in he promised himself (and most likely his wife and kids) that he would not go back until he had a source of oxygen so he would not pass out.
David and I thought about this for days. He has had some experience in caves before and really wanted to go down there and find the water. I have never done anything like that before and was not sure that I wanted in, but I did want to help these people get water. This water could be used for their crops, animals, and eventually cooking. The used bottled water for drinking.
We thought about trying to map out the cave so they could drill from up above and get a good water pump going, but that would take way to much time and money.
We knew that we could rent oxygen tanks and have David and Salvador go in with a pump and hose but that only gave a little bit of time and one shot at getting it right. Then after a lengthy brain storming session, God used our ideas to come up with the solution. You see, I have been working at an Auto shop for the last four years (Gerald's Tires and Brakes:) and more importantly I have been working with air compressors everyday as well. We decided to hook up an air compressor to the hose that will eventually pump water out of the cave but first use it to put the air we need to work with in the cave.
David and Salvador went in to town and got the supplies we needed and we were off.

David loaded up a video on youtube of the cave process.
http://www.youtube.com/user/drhenniger#p/u



So off we go into the cave. Salvador had told me that nothing lived in the cave but a snake and the front end and a bunch of bats. I had learned not to believe everything he said. His favorite pass time is, "Pull tricks on the Americans" and let me tell you he is good at it. But this time was no joke. I did not see the snake, but after this photo opp. I knew he was there.
Oh and that young kid with me. That was our guide. He had been in that cave more than Salvador and the owner of the cave combined! I guess when you are that young you don't breath much, so it was nice to be working with him.



Salvador is a leader over in this community for sure. He was also helping organize this project. But he did not sit on the sidelines, he was all in with this work.




For instance, Salvador after he got out of the cave. Did I mention that there were hundreds of bats in this cave?
Yep! That is not mud on him. That is bat guano!
He has been down there before to harvest some of the guano for their crops. Now we were just slipping around on it.



They did end up harvesting a lot more of the guano so they could make a pool large enough for the water pump.
And within 24 hours of entering the cave they had water pumping out.



This is everyone that helped the first day. We had a little celebration for finding water. We were not 100% sure that water would be down there because it was so far into the dry season. But now we found it, and have the means of getting it out.

For an update on what happened after we left and better pictures than I have here, check out Salvador's website:
http://arapalchristiancamp.shutterfly.com/cave