On September 12, 2021 a group from GAIN Canada came and spoke about raising funds for water wells around the world. They flashed a slide that went by quite quickly, but there was a slide that God highlighted to me and disturbed me for weeks. The following information was on that slide:
- The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 785 million people live without clean water. That’s nearly 1 in 9 people worldwide.
- Nearly 1 million people die / year due to lack of access to safe water.
- Water related diseases kill a child every 90 seconds & cause 58% of deaths in the developing world.
- 1⁄3 of all schools lack access to safe water and adequate sanitation.
- By 2025 half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas.
Life is lost because of a lack of water. There are people all around the world who are desperate for water. I was reading 2 Corinthians 1 at the time, and the passage is about Paul writing to the people of Corinth where he writes of his hardships and his deep despair. He has no finances, he is in great hardship (even to the point of wanting to die) and he is appealing to the Corinthians for help.
As I was reading the Scripture, the Lord started to challenge me. If it was Adrian & Sherene or Alvin & Patricia crying out for help, how far would I go to help? I think I would do all I could to provide assistance to help them through their sufferings.
Then the Lord showed me strangers and asked me the same question: how far would I go to help? And I could not answer. I then saw a picture of Jesus on the cross and was reminded of the Scripture:
For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
– Romans 5:10
Christ didn’t just lay his life down for his closest friends, he didn’t die for just His relatives – He died for His ENEMIES. Honestly, I don’t think we are at a place where we willingly lay our life down for enemies. But I do believe that God is challenging and testing what we have been preaching: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind – this is the first and greatest commandment – the second is like it, love your neighbour as yourself.
God showed us what the true definition of love is when He went to the cross for His enemies. He taught that there is no greater love than to lay your life down for one another and He Himself laid down His life.
There are people in this world crying out for help – they desperately need water. Will Lifespring answer the call for help even if they are complete strangers? There is no tangible benefit in sowing wells for people we may never meet – but will we move a little bit closer in the way God loves?
We donated 7 wells through GAIN for a total of $75,250 in 2022 – not for praise, not as a good deed – but For His Name’s Sake.
We did not budget this or have funds set aside for this – we simply felt God’s guidance and moved forward. I truly believe that was a test of our finances back in 2022 – would we give what is the Lord’s? Or would we keep to ourselves?
As an eldership, we seek the Lord with one question in terms of finances – “how do we steward the funds?” As we came together to pray, the Lord guided us in 2 ways.
First, we were to continue to steward the funds wisely. Store the funds, not for our own gain, but rather store for when this can be released for God’s purpose. Wait patiently while continue to be good stewards by investing wisely. We continue to actively look for opportunities (building, marketplace, etc.), but we must be patient in waiting for direction.
Second, we are to be generous.
We will give our surplus from 2024 (TBD) and sow it into the Kingdom of God. We will look to sponsor another family ($40,000) and will actively seek the Lord on how to sow the rest of the finances.
Missions and Hope is part of who we are as a Kingdom Family. As the Lord leads, I believe our missions and hope ministries will continue to grow, because love always overflows.