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 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. As I was reading 2 Corinthians 1, 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:
Romans 5:10
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!
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 will donate 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 recognize that giving a considerable amount of our finances is a big step, but we also know that finances will be the first thing God asks of us and not the last. The idea is to provide relief by giving strangers water to live. But it must not end there. We must give water that will cause them to never go thirsty again, Jesus Christ. Just like our 2 current water projects (Uganda & Thailand), we have sent teams to also provide spiritual care and love. With the 1 well we donated in 2021 and the anticipated 7 wells we will donate in 2022 our goal will be to send small missions teams to each well site to bless the community. We will also be asked to give of our time, talent, treasures.
We are blessed to be a blessing. For His Name’s Sake.