Saturday, July 16, 2011

WELL. DONE.

(This video was part of the presentation we watched on October 31, 2010. This was when God placed on our hearts and minds the urgency of the world-wide water crisis. If you have not viewed it before, please take a few moments to better understand this monumental problem facing much of the world. )

In less than seven months God has moved in a mighty way and we have achieved our goal of raising $5,000 to provide a clean water well to a village in Sudan. We hoped to complete the goal of raising $5,000 in one year, but God had even greater plans for this project. Through God’s grace, gifts from many people, and the generosity of a matching donor, we have raised double our goal in nearly half the time. Neverthirst now has $10,000 that was raised through this project, which is enough to complete two clean water wells in the country of Sudan that needs them so desperately. Praise be to God!
Leslie and I visited with Natalie from Neverthirst this week and she gave us some information on what happens next. I will try to be as brief as possible while being as informative as possible.
In short, we can expect the project to be completed in 8-12 months from now. As you may or may not know, the southern part of Sudan has seceded and is now its own country known as South Sudan. There is a possibility that there will be some complications that arise in dealing with a new government, so it could be more than 12 months. The general process of the next several months will be:
Scheduling-Schedule this drilling project along with others that are being funded in Sudan.
Drill Location-Work with the community to choose the ideal place for the well so that the most people can benefit from the location.
Permits-Obtain permits from the region and village. Time to receive the permits varies depending on the local government.
Training-Work with local pastors and churches to help train the community to maintain and care for this new water source.  This helps ensure the sustainability of the water project for years to come.
It sounds a bit complicated, but this is a good thing. By insisting that the project is done right, it increases the chances of longevity and gives the church a greater opportunity to reach the community for Christ and care for the poor.
Once the project is complete, we will receive a finalized report that will include: images of the new well, images of the beneficiaries, testimonies from the community, the technical information of the well, general community information, and how the gospel component was integrated. Unfortunately we will probably not know the name of our community until we receive this report in 8-12 months.
Again, thank you to all of you that have participated in this project through donations and prayer. For these two wells, all that is left to do is pray. We pray for all the components and work that needs to be done to bring these wells to fruition, but more than anything that the Holy Spirit would be at work in these communities stirring the hearts of these people so that they would be receptive to the gospel message when it is presented to them.
While the fundraising aspect of this project is done, we believe that the severity of the clean water crisis throughout the world dictates that we must continue to sacrifice our resources to bring clean and living water to people around the globe. In the next few weeks we will begin another project to raise funds for another well to be placed somewhere around the world. The physical and spiritual needs around the globe are simply too urgent for us to turn away. I hope you will continue along with us as we begin this new journey soon, and join us in praising our Father for what he will do through these efforts.