Summer 2017 Update
Summer is upon us, and so is the heat for many in the United States. As the busy season of vacations and travel is in full swing, I wanted to provide an update on what has been happening with Living Water for the Thirsty in the last three months.
Urgent physical and spiritual needs are our focus, with clean water as the key initiative. Our work is currently in the country of Nepal, where many people still lack consistent access to a clean water source. As I write this, our first mountain well project is completed and will soon be dedicated. This project has been much more difficult than previous wells, and the community is so excited to finally have a well of their own. We estimate that this project will reach over 650 people with clean water.
Other projects are ongoing throughout Nepal, as we are projecting to complete our 100th water well project in the 3rd quarter. God is doing some amazing things among these people, and the love of Jesus is on full display when a local pastor completes the well dedication ceremony after the project is complete. We have seen lives changed physically, but also spiritually as people hear a clear presentation of the Gospel. We ask for your continued prayers for this work, that the people would be impacted not only physically, but spiritually as well.
The second key component to our work is discipleship training. We believe the local church is the hope of the world. Our mission is to train and equip the local to church to understand what it means to follow Jesus, how to share their faith, make disciplines, and plant a healthy church. We recently completed this training with over 155 pastors and church leaders in attendance. The impact that is being made as these leaders go and live out what they have learned is truly amazing, and we are so excited to see what God has in store next.
The next step is to multiply this training, with each church hosting their own sessions. We are now beginning leadership training with all the pastors we have relationships with, to equip them to lead their churches through it on their own. As these trainings continue, we have seen requests from more churches and leaders to receive this training as word spreads.
Campaigns are a fun and exciting way to share a passion about this work with friends, family, and co-workers. Joel, and wonderful friend of the ministry, ran the Boston Marathon in April and combined this race with a campaign to sponsor wells in Nepal. The campaign was a wild success, with over $3,000 raised - which will provide three wells to people in need in Nepal. We are also launching another campaign through three young men from O'Connor High School in Phoenix, AZ. Miles, Josh, and Nick are on fire for the Lord, and excited about making a Kingdom impact through their lives both now and into the future.
God is certainly at work both here in the United States, and more importantly half way around the world in Nepal. We continue to covet your prayers, that we would follow God where He leads, and more people would come to a relationship with Him through this work. For those of you who have donated and supported us, thank you! Your generosity is making a huge difference in the lives of people with great physical and spiritual needs. If you have not yet decided to support us financially, we invite you to join us on this journey. Thank you and God Bless!
Matt MacLean, Executive Director