The next day we returned to survey the bridge and figure out a plan. Fortunately, a guest on the compound had a winch on their vehicle and graciously let us borrow it. I sifted through our maintenance shop and found two pulleys and some cable. We managed to jerry-rig a simple pulley system (perhaps I would have remembered more from physics class in college if Nicole and I would have first met in a different class ;). This allowed us to move the container slightly, but it was enough to make the whole thing much more stable. It also became clear that we would need a little more horse power to get the container on one side of the river.
A few days later I went into to town to search for a crane. This looked like it would be a huge challenge, but the Lord heard all of your prayers and had it worked out. I went to one of my frequent supply stops and asked the owner if he knew of any cranes for rent in the town. He made a couple phone calls and 30 minutes later his friend arrived to discuss the details. He took me to see his "crane," which was actually a 25 ton semi-tow-truck. That, again, was God's provision as it could get the container out of the river AND move it to another location on the compound. Check out the videos to see it at work.
Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement during this time. The container is now safely resting on solid ground where it will be used for storage. And don't worry, there is another bridge that was built about 2 years ago that allows us to get out of the compound.
