Muddy Water & Answered Prayers
Think of how easily accessible water is to us. If we are thirsty, we just go to the kitchen and get a drink. However, in the villages here in Ghana, the young girls of the house have to get up early and go fetch water at the bore-hole. Sometimes, the borehole is some distance from their home; however, that doesn’t seem to faze them. It’s just a way of life. When they get to the borehole, they then have to wait in line for their turn.
Village church
But what happens when the borehole isn’t working in the community? That was the case in one of our villages. Both of their boreholes were no longer working properly, leaving the people no choice but to fetch water from the murky streams. Eventually, these streams dry up, leaving them to strain water from the mud, a very long process. But, considering how important water is to their family’s survival, they would take time to squeeze the water out of the mud. However, the water from the streams and mud contains many deadly organisms that were causing the people to suffer from constant illness.
Drilling rig
Answered Prayers
Thankfully, God heard the prayers for clean drinking water. When I heard the news that the Kirksville church and other generous donors had decided to raise funds for this project, I was so thankful for God answering my prayers in a powerful way.
I waited until the money was in my hand before telling the people about our desire to drill a borehole in the community. George and I went to one village chief, asking if we could call a community meeting for the next morning to discuss an important matter. That night in church, I couldn’t wait any longer; I had kept this secret for months, and now that it was finally happening, I couldn’t contain my excitement. So, George and I decided to tell the church people what the meeting was about the following morning. The excitement of the people was like a child on Christmas morning. The way their eye lit up, you could see their overwhelming joy. One guy said, “Are you serious? Please don’t joke with us.”
Road Work
There was still one big problem that could delay us drilling the borehole. The road that leads back to the village, about a three-mile stretch, is bad. During the rainy season the road becomes impassable for vehicles. During the past rainy season, the rains had really done some major damage to the already rough road. When I was driving into the village, I knew we still had a big problem and God was going to have to work another miracle.
The next morning, I figured most everyone knew about our intentions, but, surprisingly the chief was completely unaware. I guess his wife didn’t bother to let him in on our secret. After sharing our news and explaining that the borehole was for the community and would be their responsibility to care for it in the future (and not the church’s responsibility), I brought up my concerns about the drilling truck being able to make it back into the community because of the road. Quickly, the chief got up, and they all started talking and making plans to fix the road. They agreed on Monday they would go out and work on the road. When I came the following Wednesday, the road was completely different. I’m not sure how they did it, but everyone from the community must have come out to work on that three-mile stretch of road.
Water gushing from the new hole
Clean Water!
Every time I went out to the community with the men to work on the bore-hole, several of the men and women from the village would come out and take part in the work. I really enjoyed seeing the whole community coming together and working on this project. We were able to drill one new borehole and fix two broken boreholes in this community, as well as provide a second borehole in another village.
It is my prayer that the boreholes will be able to provide water to the community for a long time. However, my greater prayer is that the people will be able to learn more about the everlasting water that God freely gives us that will forever quench the thirst of our souls.
Thank you to all those that donated for the borehole project. Because of your generous giving, you have changed the lives of people these two villages. Please, continue to pray that God will direct us in using the rest of the money. Water is so important that I want to make sure we use it wisely.
