The Water of Life

It's hard, at this moment, to imagine where we will be in two days, or even how it will be to return home on June 20. Our hope is to be successful in producing a flowing water well, but more than that, to be successful in presenting the hope that is in Christ, and His living water, from which we are eternally sated.

We extremely excited to go see a new part of God's world, meet new people, and mostly to leave something tangible behind, a water well. We don't know the details, or the mechanics of what we will be doing. Living Water typically sends out teams of 10, with about 3 staff traveling along with them. We will be switching back and forth between the drilling team, and a hygiene team which travels into the city and teaches people about clean water and well maintenance. We are excited to be going with our good friends Hannah Wiest and Barb Martin from our home chuch, First Baptist in Douglas, and also to meet up with an old friend, John Nadolski. John is on staff with Living Water, and although he usually travels with teams to Africa, he will be travelling with us to El Salvador as it has been his hope for some time to see a team go from his sending church, also FBC. And yes, many of you from FBC and Douglas do know John! He and his family attended FBC and lived in Douglas for many years before devoting theirs lives to full time missions.

On a more personal level, for Dave and I the seeds for ministry were planted many years ago. We met while involved in mission type work at Intervarsity Christian Fellowship's Bear Trap Ranch in 2001. Dave worked there for several years as well as serving on staff with IV at CSU. We both have a huge heart for missions, and this feels like the right first step to begin heading our lives in that direction.

In preparing for this trip, we've been going through our concordenanace looking up verses about water! I was shocked to see how many there were, from Genisis to Revalations! I've been reminded of how much water is used by God to both bless and discipline His people. It is so fitting to see the use of water both literally and as a metaphor in His word. Below are some verses that we found paticularly fitting and will be holding onto as we travel to El Salvador.

Matthew 10:40-42 (New King James Version)

⁴⁰ “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. ⁴¹ He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴² And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

John 4:7-14 (New King James Version)

⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
⁹ Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
¹¹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹² Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Revelation 21:6
And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

Revelation 22:17
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

We will post pictures and thoughts here upon our return! Thank you so much for your support, whether financially or prayful or both! It has been an incredible blessing for us, and we were incredibly touched by the notes and money that we received from friends and famly. Our prayer is this, that we not love the people of El Salvador because they are like Jesus, but because they are Jesus.