I am amazed at the ways the need for clean water unites
people from widely different backgrounds. I have yet to find anyone who is
against clean water for all of God’s children, the mission statement of Living
Waters for the World, a project of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Our local
church, First Presbyterian, Temple, Texas, has covenanted with the tiny
community of Las Lajas, Nicaragua, to help them install a water purification
system early next year. We are raising money for that project now.
This particular mission project has caught fire in our
congregation like no other in my time at this church. Our choir director’s wife
was especially excited. She teaches at a local elementary school and invited us
to come and talk to the students about our partnership with Las Lajas. The
students were involved in a weeks-long study of the ways human beings affect
their environment. Our Pastor’s wife and I spent a wonderful hour with these
kids talking about why clean water matters, and our hopes for the people of Las
Lajas.
Last night at choir practice, I received a pile of thank you
notes from the students that surprised and delighted me. They had been surprised to learn there are
people who lack clean water and sometimes must walk long distances to obtain
any water. They were saddened to learn about children who die from drinking
contaminated water. These students too have been fired by the vision of clean
water for students like themselves in far away Las Lajas, Nicaragua. In spite
of their own poverty by this country’s standards, they decided to do something.
They began making rubber band bracelets to sell to raise money for our water
project. So far they have raised $33, an offering God will use to provide water
for the students of Las Lajas. Blessed are the children, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
Grace and Peace,
Donna
