An Act of Kindness is Never Wasted

Nicaragua was hit greatly by two major hurricanes last November, 2020. The aftermath was massive in the entire country - families lost loved ones, people were left without homes and with just the clothes on their backs, crops were destroyed, and Living Waters for the World (LWW) systems were destroyed. Erosions and huge floods happened throughout the country, and wells were destroyed and contaminated.

We were impacted with Covid-19 and two hurricanes, fear filled our homes and the lack of water and food had increased immensely. The Pearl Lagoon LWW water system was no exception, the well (water source) was affected badly and the water was not safe to process. The operators and I tried many things to restore the well to be able to continue to serve our community but we were out of options; nevertheless, “God says that with Him all things are possible”; and a good Samaritan stepped up and offered to lend us their water system to produce water.

The good Samaritan was Pastor Mary Thyne (pictured on left), pastor of the Moravian Church in Haulover. She is also the coordinator for the water committee there. She approached us after speaking with the water committee, and they agreed that we could use their water system until we found a solution to our problem. We saw the light again, this neighboring system gave us hope and showed that we are an LWW family and they have our backs in times of need. The work for the operators would be doubled but worth the effort.

Later that same day, Wavel Taylor, Operator of the Pearl Lagoon water system and In-Country Technician, went to provide maintenance before they started using the system that would be doing a double function. We made an agreement with the Haulover water committee that we would carry our own filters, cleaning supplies, and help pay the light bill.

However, the operators had to do double work - one operator would pick up the empty bottles in Pearl Lagoon from the distributors, while the other operator would fill both tanks and process the water until his partner came with the empty bottles to wash and fill. Later that same day, they would hire a pickup truck to go back to Pearl Lagoon and distribute water to the business people.

This story has many heroes - an operator from the Haulover system, Karon Gutierrez, watched for many days and saw the hard work of the operators, so she went during the night and filled both tanks, processed the water, and also filled the empty bottles that they left behind to fill for the next day. This was complete team work, where we experienced the bond that LWW created between the operating partners. Stories like this give us HOPE, that we are not alone.

Haulover water system

Let water flow so that ALL GOD’S CHILDREN CAN HAVE CLEAN WATER.

About the author: Yobeth Hebbert is the In-Country Coordinator for LWW's Nicaragua Network. She attended Clean Water U and is a health education graduate (102) and a water system installation graduate (103).