Living Water

Last month six local community members from The Chapel in Barrington Hills traveled to Nicaragua on a Living Water International mission trip. They were a part of a well-drilling team and also had the opportunity to help teach water hygiene studies to villagers.

“I can still mentally feel the hug of joy from the school principal and hear her few words in English as I watched the tears of joy flow down her face. She said, I will not remember who you are, but I will remember you every time I come to this well for water,” said trip participant Joe Witkins.

Community development traditionally starts with identifying a community’s needs, and then setting out to solve their problems. The underlying questions are “What is not working and how do we fix it?”

Dave Davis is the chair of the Living Water International Chicago chapter. His full time job is executive pastor of Parkview Community Church in Glen Ellyn, IL. Dave wrote the following article about how the local church can contribute to global missions. As you consider ways to support Living Water International and the world water crisis, Dave’s notes might inspire you to think of creative, fun ways your church can help.

Angela Craig’s son wanted to join her in giving up something he wanted in order to provide something someone else needed. Austin LOVES chocolate milk, so he decided to ask people to sponsor him for each day he went without his beloved chocolate milk. He refused Angela’s efforts to help him compose a letter to send to his potential sponsors—and he made his case in his own words. At one point, his fundraising efforts surpassed his mom’s. Here is his letter.

Milestone report celebrates success in water supply, reveals remaining challenges

Houston, 12 March 2012 – Last week, Unicef and the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the world has met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for safe water supply, five years ahead of schedule. The goal, created in 2000, was to, “Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.”

Today’s the first day of lent.  The emotional reactions to that idea probably differ in as many ways as there are colors in the world.  To some, it means absolutely nothing.  Not one thing.  To others, they understand it as something their friends or their family do.  They don’t really get it or understand why, but they’re sure that the ashen cross on a loved one’s forehead basically means it’s time to give up something for a while.  And for all the rest, it is a time to deny oneself of something they hold dear as a physical showing of one’s repentance and desi

Would you give up something you want so that someone else could have something they need?

That’s the idea behind The Well Dressed Challenge, the brain child of Angela Craig, Women’s Ministries Director for the Northwest District of the Assemblies of God. Last year, when Angela and a group of women were working with children through Mission of Mercy in Honduras, they asked the people there how else they could help. What did the Honduran people in this village need?

GHANA – Chiana KagoginiaFour drillers had come and gone from Chiana Kagoginia when Hayford and his team showed up. A young boy told him that others had tried to find water and only found dust.Hayford found dust, too. His team drilled where the survey suggested they would find water, but the hole was dry and empty. Other community members echoed the young boy—Hayford was the fifth driller to come and dig into the dry ground.

Different isn’t a bad thing…

“Kids have so little sense of ‘personal power’.  It is important for them to realize they can make a difference no matter how old they are.”  This comes from a mom whose two little girls are setting a high bar for advocates of the water crisis.