WorldWide Drilling Resource

61 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MAY 2016 Every day, nd v dua s from a wa ks of fe choose to demonstrate the r fa th n pract ca ways. Near y 4000 peop e from over 1000 mss on agenc es and churches have ca ed on Equ p Internat ona to prepare them for mss on f e ds across the g obe. Based n the footh s of the Smoky Mounta ns n North Caro na, Equ p s a nonprof t organ- zat on prov d ng too s, hands-on tra n ng, and act ve support for m ss onar es ca ed to serve n d fferent ways a over the wor d. Ded cated to prepar ng peop e for the rea -wor d of mn stry, Equ p prov des courses des gned by exper enced teachers to ensure m ss onar es are prepared for work and fe n and out of the r chosen f e d. Whether t s tra ned med ca profess ona s or students prepar ng to eave the country for the f rst t me, Equ p s there to get them ready. I was fortunate to speak w th Appropr ate Techno ogy Coord nator K eth Larr more about Equ p s fe-chang ng m ss onary preparedness programs and f e d support. K eth s devoted to he p ng nd v dua s he p others, espec a y when t comes to equ pp ng m ss onar es to dr we s and prov de c ean water where there s none. K eth tru y be eves n what he s do ng, and t s not d ff cu t to understand why. A certa n measure of earth y preparat on s requ red to answer a h gher ca ng. If you have a des re to share water w th those who th rst, you need to know how to dr a we . That s where K eth Larr more and the rest of the team at Equ p Internat ona comes n. A ong w th h s other respons b t es, K eth teaches we dr ng for Equ p. As he descr bed t, peop e come to h m w th a ca ng, and he he ps equ p them. Through the we dr ng techno og es course, students accomp sh a great dea n a one- or two-week tra n ng event. The best part s once m ss onar es have comp eted tra n ng, they re ready to meet the need for safe water n the f e d. K eth sa d he str ves to teach dr ng students more than just how to put a ho e n the ground; he wants them to know how to do t r ght. By the end of the course, students know how to dr w th a rotary mud system to comp ete a we , nc ud ng sett ng a pump and f n sh ng a grave pack a the way to pu ng cas ng and go ng through correct procedures to decomm ss on a we . Everyth ng about the course s hands-on w th a rev ew each even ng to make sure students understand exact y what they d d. To conc ude the course, students are tra ned on percuss on equ pment to get a fee for manua dr ng systems. The method s abor and t me ntens ve; however, n areas where cap ta s not ava ab e, but abor and t me are, the percuss on dr can be used to prov de a good source of water. Equ p a so teaches a s mp e method of hand auger ng sha ow we s n soft format ons where water mght be ava ab e at 60 feet or ess. Even though a we comp et on s the job at hand, students are taught to be mndfu of the r act ons at a t mes, because u t mate y, they w eave beh nd more than a ho e n the ground. Wh e earn ng to dr for water w th Equ p, students a so earn to dr nto the r own hearts and ask quest ons ke, “How do I act when th ngs go wrong?” Th s s the r true test mony. The ma n goa s to eave beh nd the ove of Chr st. Before I got off the phone w th K eth, he shared a parab e about Abraham from the B b e wh ch beaut fu y sums up the purpose beh nd Equ p Internat ona . Upon arr v ng at any new p ace, Abraham set up three th ngs: a tent, a we , and an a tar. When he departed, he on y took one of these th ngs w th h m. He took the tent, but eft the we and a tar. The we was a b ess ng shared by Abraham. The a tar was a rem nder of who sent h m. Missionaries trained by Equip International are serving approximately 162 locations around the world. Want to be part of the solution? Equip International is currently looking for licensed drilling professionals in North Carolina to teach classes for missionary training. If you’d like to help, contact Kieth Larrimore at equiptechnology@gmail.com or (828) 738-3891. To learn more about the organization,visit equipinternational.org Kieth Larrimore (above) and his wife Kathy have served on Equip’s staff since 1999, and volunteered as mission- aries in several countries in- cluding Kenya, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. The Well and Altar by Amy White, Associate Editor, WorldWide Drilling Resource ®