“How Sweet the Living Water from the Hills of God”
“How Sweet the Living Water from the Hills of God”
Water. It’s one of the basic requirements of human existence. It’s so vital to our everyday existence that Jesus used it as a metaphor for our relationship to God. “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink,” He says in John 7: 37-39. “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” Yet, in Nigeria and much of Africa, 70 percent of the rivers and streams that provide the literal water for daily needs are polluted and unsafe to drink. Instead of being life-giving, they are more often the source of sickness and disease. Vision Africa wants to help change that—one well at a time.
Three current wells drilled by VA near the village of Okai Item already provide life-changing clean water to more than 10,000 people in surrounding villages. In addition, the wells will serve the needs of the Agnes Onuoha Memorial Hospital when its doors are opened to patients next year. But so many more people are still walking for hours just to draw water that is not clean or safe. Children miss school to make long and treacherous treks for water for their families. Women who might otherwise hold jobs to help support families are searching for water sources instead.
Clean, safe, available water leads to better health, better nutrition (from gardens and animals), better education, better productivity—and a better future. “It might seem like nothing to those who have water,” VA Waves football team member Yugo said, “but to those of us who have lived with a scarcity of water, it’s a BIG deal!”
Watch Elizabeth’s story in the video below to understand more about how water changes lives. Then, if you enjoy fresh water today simply by turning on a faucet, give thanks to God, and consider how He might be calling you to be a vessel for life-giving water by donating today to a clean-water well.