But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life. John 4:14


Water is life. Unfortunately, easy access to water is not a luxury that everyone enjoys. The average person in Uganda must walk six kilometers a day to get to drinkable water. Even then, it is hardly what you and I would consider to be clean. Their reality is often a long journey down to the dirty watering hole with their jerry can. Young children go to fetch water before school and are often punished for being late to class. Older girls can be raped as they fetch water late in the evening. Water borne diseases like typhoid, cholera and dysentery, and malaria carrying mosquitoes lurk in this dirty water. People get sick and then can't work, so the families go hungry. Some even die.


Mission4Water, a small Christian NGO, is working to change that reality for many communities and institutions throughout Uganda by installing simple and accessible boreholes and shallow wells. They employ local labor and utilize low cost materials These simple solutions bring the wonderful gift of clean drinking water, so helping whole communities to stay healthy, active and sustained.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Be Hospitable

1 Peter 4:9 Be hospitable with one another without complaint.

If God has intended to challenge me in new ways on this trip then my first challenge was delivered to me today.

This morning, day 2 of working, we began our day in Ephesians 4 discussing a life worthy of our calling.  Our devotional leader asked us, what gifts we thought we were brining to the trip. My immediate response was hospitality. My greatest joy is opening my home to friends and strangers. I live to provide people a comfortable space to build relationships and share in nice meals. Fortunately, God has provided me with the means to do so.  However, my response must have been one filled with pride rather than of service as only two hours I was confronted by God.

Yesterday, local villagers watched us work on the well and must have realized that we had no place to sit on breaks. So today they gifted us with four beautifully constructed chairs, chairs that according to our coordinator are not easy to come by. At that moment I felt challenged by God. The villagers who sometimes go without food or drink water from contaminated springs were able to care for us, for no reason other than to provide comfort.  I had to ask myself; if I had little or no resources to meet my basic needs or my family's needs, could I be or rather, would I be as hospitable as I am now? Would I be willing to open my home to friends and strangers if I couldn't provide for myself?

And just to drive the point home, God left his final statement for me in the form of a small boy and his great act of kindness. As we gathered our things to leave for the day we left a box behind with a single bottle of water. One bold little boy decided to see what we left behind and was elated to find the bottle of water. He immediately turned to a friend, smiled and gave the water the friend. 

 Challenge Accepted.


Written by Julianna
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