Living Water

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”                                                       John 7:37-38

Water.  Such a simple thing.  Something that most of us never really think much about.  Until we don’t have it or until we don’t have access to clean water.  I know I never thought much about it.  I woke up, turned on the faucet or shower and of course there was water.  I got a glass out of the cabinet filled it with water and drank, never worrying for one second that I might get sick.  Then the Lord called us to serve Him long term in Guatemala and I came to realize just how often I took for granted this simple yet vital thing.

One of the first things you learn when you enter this country (and a lot of other countries outside the U.S.) is that you DO NOT drink the water.  Also, you learn to be very careful with food preparation, teeth brushing, showering etc. so that you do not contaminate your body with any of the water because the bottom line is the water is filthy.  It is full of bacteria, amoebas, and many other disease causing organisms.  So when I first heard about not drinking the water I thought, no problem I’ve been blessed with an amazing team of ministry partners whom the Lord uses to provide for our needs here so I can afford clean water.  Great!  But what about those who can’t?  What about those who don’t even have enough money to eat every day let alone PAY for water??

As someone who has been sick countless times (literally I’ve lost count) from some type of bacteria or organism that has set up home in my intestines I can say that it literally breaks my heart when I am in the community in which we serve and I see people that I love, MY FAMILY that God has given to me here in Guatemala drinking this water because they cannot afford to pay for clean water or pay for a water filter.  And let’s remember I’m one of the ones who CAN buy clean water and I’ve still been sick numerous times so just imagine the amount of sicknesses that the people who don’t have access to clean water deal with.  And sadly, most of these diseases go untreated for quite some time because, again, there is no money for medical treatment.  I’ve seen children who complain of stomach pains every day, parents who have had to miss work due to illnesses (which leaves families without basic necessities), and even recently this little boy

Please pray for healing for this sweet boy from the stomach and intestinal issues he is having. Please also pray for him to not need surgery to correct these issues.

who is so sick from a stomach infection that his rectum has inverted several times and he just had to have surgery to correct this issue.

I’ve cried out to God about the injustice of this and I’ve seen him provide.  He’s provided these filters which our team of missionaries has been able to share with all of the families which we currently serve through the SARF ministry so that they can have clean water.  WHAT A BLESSING!!

One of our teammates, Val, sharing a filter with one of the families our team serves.

But still my heart breaks for the countless other families I come in contact with every day who need clean water too.  I can’t afford to buy filters for all of these families on my own.   HOWEVER, if each of you who are subscribed to this blog bought just one filter we would have over 100 filters with which we could offer clean water to families in need.  We could literally change a community here in Guatemala.  But who says you have to stop at one, some of you will be able to buy more than one so please do!!   Some of you won’t be able to afford a filter on your own but what about going together with some of your friends to buy one?

Friends and family I plead with you to please pray for all of the families all over the world who are living without clean water and without the living water that our Lord and Savior Jesus provides.  Praying that their eyes and hearts will be opened to Jesus is one of the greatest gifts you can give.  I also ask that you would prayerfully consider donating towards the purchase of these filters.  We often have SO many people coming up to us and asking if we can help them in any way and what blessing it is to be able to share with them the truth about our Lord Jesus who offers them rivers of living water and who can meet all their needs.  How wonderful if along with that truth about our Lord providing them with living water we could also share with them that there is someone who the Lord has already called to provide a filter for them which will give clean, life giving water to help protect the health of their families.  Will you partner with us to minister to their spiritual and physical needs?  You can click on this link to make your donation.  $40 buys 1 filter but if the Lord is leading you to give more please donate as much as you would like.  And as I said before PLEASE pray for these families, whether you donate towards a filter or not, because praying for them to come to know Jesus is truly the best gift you can give.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and for praying with me for all of the families we love so very much!