Water, what a precious commodity

Water is such an amazing element. It can bring misery and death in the form of floods, droughts or disease. Or it can be a life-giving force. Through out the developing world clean drinking water is often scarce. Worldwide, over 1 billion people do not have access to clean water which ultimately results in approximately 3.5 million deaths per year.

Our friend Dan is currently in Sierra Leone helping their situation. He arrived in February with a well drilling rig with the goal of staying a few months and digging a few wells. This is what he is trying to remedy: The first picture is

just a small example of where many people in the world get their water. This picture was taken in Moribatown, Sierra Leone, a village about 20 miles south of Mokanji hospital (where we hope to be next year). The first well was dug in Moribatown on the grounds of one of the schools that Global Outreach Missions helps support. You can see the radiant smiles full of hope on the school children enjoying the flow of clean water. Dan is in the process of digging a well at the hospital site.

In addition to helping deliver clean water to Sierra Leone the goal is also to tell them of the living water.

John 4:13-15 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

How do they do it?

How do the moms and dads in Sierra Leone do it? How to they cope when their kids are sick?

This past weekend Josiah was sick with a fever and stomach flu and Lydia is getting multiple teeth in which makes her cranky and gives her rank diarrhea (i.e. both her mouth and butt hurt). Thankfully with our medical background and a Walgreens on every corner we knew what to do for them and had no problem getting Tylenol, Motrin, diaper cream, pedialyte and whatever food Josiah would try to eat. Yet, still the way that Josiah just quietly laid around (far from his usual energizer bunny talkative self) and Lydia's pitiful cry when her teeth started to hurt or when you changed her diaper was just heartbreaking. While I'm sure that the Mom's in Sierra Leone are quite resourceful with natural remedies there must be times when they feel completely helpless.

This is where faith in Christ and Mokanji hospital can make a difference. While us going to Sierra Leone is not going to cure every illness and ailment, we CAN make a difference. We can show and share the love of Christ and the knowledge that He is the great physician. The radical transformation that Christ can make in their lives. That He can work miracles and that He has also sent us to share with the people of Sierra Leone our medical knowledge and medicines.

Just a little thought from this weekend.