1,000 Water Partnerships, 1,000 Thanks
On a beautiful sunny day in October, 25 dignitaries and long-time volunteers joined 60 students and instructors at Clean Water U (CWU) outside Oxford, Mississippi to celebrate 1,000 Living Waters for the World (LWW) water partnerships. The event saw people from four nations come together to express gratitude to God and all the volunteers who made this possible!
A toast with clean water to celebrate the week of CWU and 1,000 partnerships!
After opening comments from several dignitaries, Ancy Fils-Aime, LWW’s in-country director in Haiti, addressed the gathering and, dropping a stone into a bowl of water, said, “Do you see the rings that move from the center all the way to the edge of the bowl? Change often happens in an organized and predictable way. The stone represents the founding members of Living Waters for the World. You had an innovative idea to help people in need, to develop a water filtration system that can be installed in village after village. You learned what works and what does not, and you have kept improving your system. Now, your positive solution reaches thousands of people in many villages around the world.”
LWW started out as a dream of the Rev. Wil Howie when he was in seminary in 1989 and became a water system installed in Empalme, Mexico, seven years later. Since then, LWW has trained over 2,300 volunteers, and through the grace of God and hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours, there are now over 1,000 partnerships in 26 countries.
Ancy and Rubenia show that heart is a big part of a water partnership.
Rubenia Sanchez, one of LWW’s in-country coordinators from Guatemala, was attending CWU and told the crowd, “Living Waters for the World is an integral ministry and that’s why it is the best I have worked with. It’s based on relationships, people trying to help and not harm our countries – we need more of those! I have seen thousands of people changed because of Living Waters.”
The change that Rubenia talks about happens not only in communities in far away places, but also in the communities that produce and support the mission teams who travel abroad to fulfill this important call. LWW, as a ministry, can be as transformational for the people providing the means for a water project as it is for the people receiving the purified water.
Living Waters for the World is a modern-day loaves and fishes story according to LWW’s executive director Steve Young. The feeding is not done. God is calling us onward, to join where our brothers and sisters continue to hope for better lives, sharing together Living Water for our bodies and our souls. While we are celebrating 1,000 partnerships today, we are already looking forward to the next 1,000!
Let us know how you'll play a role in supporting the next 1,000 water partnerships at livingwatersfortheworld.org/1000.
