It’s More Than a Water Project… It’s a People Project!

“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” – Jesus, as quoted in John 4:14

When you take a drink of water, it feels very normal & ordinary, doesn’t it? Having access to clean drinking water is normal to us. And that is a good thing! Staying hydrated is one of the best things we can do for our health. However, the quality of water plays a huge role in it. If we are drinking “unclean” water, we might be introducing our body to harmful bacteria and parasites! According to the World Health Organization, nearly a million people die each year from drinking unclean water. Hence, the rise of “clean water projects,” which are intervening to eradicate this tragedy.

We may not be able to solve all the world’s problems, but we do have a solution for this one right now, by providing clean drinking water we can literally save hundreds of thousands of lives.

For years we, Newbreak Church, have been doing something about this. In fact, because of generous giving from people like you we were participants in bringing clean, sustainable, drinking water to every person and tribe in Liberia!

We cannot emphasize enough how amazing a feat this is. Pastor Darrel Larson, Newbreak’s International Outreach Pastor and a staff member with Sawyer water filters was one of the boots on the ground during these projects. He recalls what he saw.

“With great anticipation, the team from Sawyer and The Last Well, our partner organizations, headed out to the villages in Liberia where the last well would be dedicated, and the last Sawyer water filters would be dedicated. We were met by a giant gathering of people! It had the feeling of being in a stadium for a championship game. There was dancing, singing and lots of food for the celebration.”

And what a celebration it would be! Imagine drinking water that resembled closer to the color of mud than of clean water. To see the crystal clear stream of healthy drinking water would be an overwhelming symbol of hope! Pastor Darrel continued to tell us what happened.
“As we stood around the last well, one of the pastors dedicated the well and gave one of the clearest messages of the gospel I’d ever seen. He explained to the village that this well was a gift from God and tied in the message of clean water and the Living Water of Jesus. This village had never drank clean water in their village before this day! Many people gave their lives to Christ that day. The next stop was the filter village. A crowd of people gathered to see a demonstration of the filter. They were shocked that their dirty water was turned into clear, bacteria-free water right before their eyes. Again, a pastor prayed over the ceremony and the villagers were dismissed back to their homes to be trained on their own personal water filter system.”
That is the heart of Christ.

Jesus did not simply announce the hope of the gospel with the futuristic benefits of it, He accompanied the good news with something tangibly good that met people’s practical needs. When we do the same, in this case, by providing clean drinking water, we are modeling the way the gospel of Jesus is announced, by word and deed.

Heralding the coming water wells and filters, Liberians would run and shout: “Clean water is coming! And Jesus is bringing it!” The gospel was flowing through Liberia like a rushing river, and water was the tool. Pastor Darrel reflected one last time on the journey thus far.

“Thinking back to July of 2015, my first trip to Liberia, the thought of bringing clean water to the entire country seemed daunting, and a long way off! We were all following the path that God had called us to, but in so many ways, we didn’t know how we’d get to the finish line. Through God’s blessing, guidance, and provision, 5 years passed by so quickly. We often felt like we were ‘building the plane as we were flying it.’ But that is the way it always feels when we step out into the great unknown of God’s plans for our lives. We just needed to trust God, and go for it! 5 years later, on November 12th 2020, we were celebrating what everyone said would be impossible. We brought thousands of hand pump wells, and 130,000 Sawyer filters to ‘the forgotten ones’ of Liberia. For the first time in a developing nation, the UN sustainability goal #6 of basic clean water access had been met! Not only that, but the gospel of Jesus was shared in every village along the way.”

Evidently, giving clean water is not just a water project, it’s a people project—it’s a gospel project.

We want to take a moment to celebrate this incredible accomplishment! And we want to thank each of you for your participation. Surely, we hit the finish line and now all of Liberia has access to clean drinking water. Every single person.
But as one finish line is crossed, another one begins!  So, what’s next? Well, how about solving 3 countries in the next 3 years? Fiji, The Solomon Islands, and the Marshall Islands are full of people who need what we did in Liberia to be done for them. Darrel says: “We’ll take all of our lessons learned in Liberia and change the world!”
Indeed we will. And being someone who gave, no matter how big or how small, means that you get to say you were a part of it!

If you are a giver to Kingdom Builders water projects, we ask that you would continue to partner with us, and even pray how God might want you to increase your generosity! And if you are not yet, we ask that you would prayerfully consider following this link to financially support our mission to bring clean water to Fiji, The Solomon Islands, and the Marshall Islands.

It is an immensely rewarding experience to see lives changed and knowing that your faithful giving was a vital component. Let’s continue to bring the gospel through give clean water!
“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” – Isaiah 12:3

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