plugged pond pump

A few days before our church's camp-out the second weekend in August, Josh noticed that the automatic sprinkler system at the golf course wasn't working right due to a problem with the pump in the pond that provides the pressure. He told me he wasn't sure he'd be able to come to the ward camp if he couldn't figure out how to fix the problem. 

He went into work that same night that he realized something was wrong with it (that's when the sprinkler system turns on), and he worked for hours manually turning off and on all the sprinklers that are usually automatically programmed by the computer.  He watered the entire course this way, which required less pressure due to less sprinklers being on simultaneously and less time they were each on. It was just a temporary solution, but it worked for a few nights. He ended up being able to go camping with us because it rained that day, so he decided to skip manually watering the golf course that night.

The night after we returned home from camping he went into work to do the same process again. Amanda and I went out to eat, and John came with us. We ate pizza at a restaurant in town, then we took some leftovers to Josh at the golf course. John and Amanda had never seen the entire golf course before, so Josh took us around on a utility cart as he worked. It was a really relaxing evening!

John & Amanda next to the golf course pond.

Josh and I emptied garbages, and he filled the divots on the teeboxes as we drove around the course. It was during this time that John remarked about how beautiful the golf course was and introspectively said to Josh: "I'll bet you feel like a God out here".  That statement really made an impact on Josh, because he'd never thought of it that way before. He thought about what John had said that night for quite a long time. Josh creates a beautiful landscape and maintains its beauty seasonally every year, and he enjoys being outside and seeing his hard work come to life. He likes going to work each day and feeling peace and serenity in the surroundings. Creating is a godly attribute, so in a way, Josh IS kind of like a God in the field of work that he does.

This is a photo of John talking to Josh about the course on #8 teebox. It's not a
great photo, but I included it because I wanted to show what Josh had to wear
every day for the first two weeks after his accident. He couldn't lift up his arm,
so he had to wear short-sleeve, button-up shirts. He only owns 3! He wore this
Hawiian-print shirt that's totally not his style multiple times out of necessity!

Josh knew that this system of going to the golf course each night from 8pm to 1am couldn't last until the end of the season, so he decided to take a different approach to actually fix the root of the problem. The pump has a self-cleaner that blows air out as its sucking water in to rid itself of building dirt in the filter. The self-cleaning blower apparently stopped working, so the filter was plugged and not suctioning enough water. He took a boat out onto the pond, and tried to clean off gunk and plants that were stuck to the filter, but it didn't help anything. He also realized that a pipe had become disconnected from the pump, so he worked on connecting that back up, but it blew off again once the pump started because there was too much pressure and not enough water.

The next day, he tried another approach. He drained as much water as he could from the pond, then he walked out into the pond where the underwater pump is located, and even with his painful collar bone ligament tear (his accident had only been one week prior to this), he shoveled as much stuff away from the pump as possible, then he took a pick-axe and whacked the underwater filter multiple times until there were large enough holes in it to let the water in. He stayed at the golf course late again that night, making sure that the water system was running properly without his assistance because we were leaving on vacation the following day for 3 days, and he didn't want to leave unless he knew it would work in his absence.

And thankfully, it did work! This winter, when the pond has much less water and there's no need to sprinkle the course, he is going to pull it all out and replace the broken parts. I'm so proud of him for being independent and working through this problem, for physically working hard despite the pain he was feeling, for finding solutions on his own, and still being able to spend time with our friends and family! He may be like a God creating beauty at the golf course, but he's like a superhero to me because of all that he is able to accomplish (and I think he looks good while doing it, too)!