10/09/09

This week we began to have generator problems. Fortunately, we aren't in as bad of shape as we were last year. I don't know exactly what day it was, but one day the radiator hose broke on the older generator and it overheated causing one of the pistons to break. This put the older generator out of commission. Around this time, we began having problems with the newer generator (which we just bought last year). There is a hose connected it it, I don't know the exact reason for it, that allows excess oil to drain. Well, for some reason it is leaking oil much faster than it should. It is dripping so fast that it appears to be a constant stream. John can only let the generator run for a couple hours before he has to shut it down and put the oil back in. He had looked in a repair book and according to the diagnosis, the book said that the turbo needed to be replaced. So, we ordered a new turbo. Scott Alexander, from my home town, was planning to visit and brought a turbo in. John replaced it and the problem persisted. He had thought that the turbo was bad so we had a group bring in another one a few days later. Once the second turbo was connected, we continued to have the same problem. Unfortunately, this is the last group to visit this year and we have yet to diagnose the problem correctly. Hopefully, we will be able to figure out what the issue is and fix it before something major happens. When it leaks oil so quickly that a bucket is filled in a couple hours, it makes you wonder if something larger will break. If that happens, we won't have power at all unless we reconnect the 5KW generator we had last year which is only enough for our refrigerators.

Fortunately, we have been doing well so far. We have to shut down the generator during the day, which isn't too bad. It does go off around midnight, but is only off until about 4AM. This isn't to bad because by midnight I am asleep and I don't notice that it is getting hotter. I have woken up sweating, but four hours isn't too bad considering that it could be off completely. I feel like we are walking on egg shells by using it, so please pray that the problem is a minor one and that we will be able to fix it soon. Not only does this affect the missionaries, but we have around 100 customers that have been without power this entire time because we cannot turn everyone on. If we did, the load would be too hard on the engine and we would risk major damage. I'll be sure to post updated on what is happening as I can. As I write this, I am not able to connect to the internet. It rained pretty hard last night so I assume something is acting up with the satellite. I would like to assume for now that it is a minor problem. If you are reading this, then we clearly have gotten the satellite fixed.

On a good note, my home church is here visiting, so I am excited to have everyone. It's always good to have visitors here, but it is especially great to have some friends come and I get to meet a few new people that I didn't know from my church.