I was sitting in on a leadership meeting at the church I work at a few weeks ago. Long story short, the church has just raised enough money for EIGHT wells to be built by Gospel for Asia. I was able to relate my own experiences around the world seeing how valuable clean water is which prompted me to think aferwards about just how valuable the substance is. It's valuable for health and sanitation but as a tool for evangelization among non-Christians. Throughout this fundraising venture with the church, I have looked more into the wells and clean water, in general. An a recent article, GFA said that each well will impact hundreds of people! Praise God!!
I will assert that we, in the western world, underestimate the value of clean water--or water in general! When's the last time you:
- Turned on the faucet
- Flushed a toilet
- Cooked (with water)
- Washed your hands
- Washed your car
- Went swimming
- Enjoyed a nice, refreshing cup of ice water
- Enjoyed coffee, cocoa, or cider
- Took a shower/bath
- Washed your clothes
- Washed your dishes (by hand or dishwasher)
- Watered your lawn (think summer, Midwesterners!)
- Put water in your car to prevent overheating (okay, maybe just me...last summer!)
- Washed off a piece of fruit
- Drank from a water fountain
- Ran the shower to help with congestion
You get the idea....I bet you wouldn't use even a fraction of that amount of water if you had to pump water out of a well or fetch it out of a river...and then CARRY IT! Let me tell you, water buckets are HEAVY! I watered plenty of dust in my six months at JCC. And you probably wouldn't care nearly as much about the temperature after all of that... :-) But here, at home, we like our "creature comforts", don't we. Addicted to our hot showers, nice bubble baths, "just-right" cup of coffee....aren't we? This is as much to me as anyone.
This is essentially the first installment of a series about WATER and how we might better be informed of the issues. Water--clean water especially--is critical in Sierra Leone as it is throughout the world! If you read this blog or follow Jonathan House at all, then please take note of this and pray! Pray for clean water in the villages of the church plants, for the poorest, for the "least of these", for the wells at Jonathan House to work without mechanical issues. The driest, hottest month of the year in Sierra Leone is March. And it gets HOT!!! Then the rainy season will start in late April, May. The World Water Day (UN) also takes place in March coincidentally.
Let me leave you with this YouTube video about water. And as always, if you have any contributions, feel free to let me know. Contact information is at the top of the right margin.
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