Living Waters International is a faith based organization from Houston, Texas. They are currently drilling wells in 26 countries.
Their mission statement is:
Living Waters International (LWI) exists to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water and experience "living water"- the gospel of Jesus Christ, which alone satisfies the deepest thirst.
LWI strives to create life-changing environments for everyone that comes in contact with them, volunteers, workers, and people in the community. They not only bring the word of God and clean water to the impoverished people in other countries, they renew and strengthen your faith in our Lord. Clean safe drinking water is necessary for life on earth, spreading the word of God is necessary for eternal life - Living Waters International does both.
We left for XNA airport with 2 large suitcases completely stuffed with wonderful donations --Thanks friends from Northwest Community Church! After getting checked in at the airport, Craig, Nichole, and baby Owen sent us off with a prayer. We were so excited to finally be headed to El Salvador!
Once we landed and got to our quarters in El Salvador, we had a briefing and settled in. Each morning we shared a devotion, sang songs, and prayed as a team. We then headed to our village we'd be serving for the week called Mira Mar (about 130 people). We prayed with the villagers before the drillers started, then began the process of searching for water.
The moms and their children attended Bible and hygiene classes each day. It was amazing to see how excited the kids were to receive coloring books with crayons! Even the essentials like soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes were like priceless treasures to the people. The kids could not believe that they actually got to keep the soccer balls and footballs we gave them. Everyone was so appreciative and overjoyed with everything they were given.
We were able to give a Bible to each family. They were so happy and waited patiently as our team leader Norma passed them out. We prayed with everyone each day before we left the village, after a long day of hard work. Each evening back at the quarters we shared supper as a group, along with prayer and stories of our day.
The men in the village pitched in to help the drillers. They always smiled as they worked, just wanting to take some type of ownership in the building of the well. Finally hitting water encouraged them - they laughed when the water spray came out of the ground. Language barriers cannot hide joy, and these people were overflowing with it.
The women of the village cooked the best meals for us. They worked together in a make-shift outdoor kitchen and gave us the best they had. They would peak around the corner to make sure we were enjoying our food. On the last day they were each presented their own bible and a towel/potholder set. You would have thought they won the lottery!! Such joy and gratitude!!
God surprised us with the love that we could share with people that we have never met, and could not even speak the same language! We felt a closeness, a friendship, and in God a kinship. Parting was bittersweet. We left them with clean water and some Bible lessons. They let us go with such gratitude - they had so little but gave us so much. As the van pulled away, an elderly man in the village chased us down the street pounding on the window of our van and handed Gary a single pink hibiscus flower, all he had. A small flower and a smile said it all.
If you ask yourself if going on trips like this are worth it:
---Ask a village that now drinks clean water.
---Ask two hearts renewed and strengthened in the Lord.
---Ask the man with the flower.
Christ met physical and spiritual needs during our time in El Salvador. He called us to go, and we followed. The blessing we receive by following Christ's call, is something truly amazing and life-altering. If anyone is interested in more information or hearing more about why we go on trips like this, we are happy to share our experiences and pictures. We plan on going again next year. Thank you all so much for the gifts for the villagers and the prayers.
Bendiciones (Blessings),
Gary and Becky Jaworski
Gary and Becky thank you so much for serving and sharing your experiences with us. Northwest is strengthened by your steps of obedience!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great trip used by God for eternal change and His Kingdom. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things! Thanks for your encouraging story.
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