Go Beyond

La Balastrera and San Lucas, El Salvador

Yesterday afternoon we went to an area called La Balastrera to begin the process of repairing their water well. The people have patiently waited for fifteen days for their well to be repaired. Some men and children from the community met us at the site and watched us work under the heat of the mid-afternoon sun. Once we determined the problem we assured them that we would return the following day with the proper parts to complete the repairs. Before we left, I spoke with one man who was seated in a shady spot across the road from the well. He told me that there is an elderly woman in the community who comes to the well every morning at 5:00 AM to fetch water. He said that on the day the well stopped working the woman wept. His words reminded me of how important these water wells are to the people who live in these small villages and communities. Nobody here is asking for indoor plumbing, just access to clean water. And when that water is no longer available it has a huge impact on the people.

This morning we completed repairs on the water well at La Balastrera. It was a community event. Moms and kids showed up. One man brought a couple of liters of Pepsi for the team. Bystanders watched as we replaced the pump, lowered it into the ground, and then reassembled the pump mechanism and handle. When we finished, one of the men started pumping the handle and within seconds clean water began to flow again. He “whooped and hollered” in delight and, along with the others present, expressed his gratitude. This well will again provide clean drinking and cooking water for the people of La Balastrera. Over the years I have had to call a plumber on a few occasions but I have never “whooped and hollered” in delight when he completed his repairs. However, I suppose that if I had to live without convenient access to water for two weeks, then I too might whoop and holler over a simple repair. All of the rejoicing at La Balastrera reminded me of how important these water wells are to the people who depend on them.

The people of San Lucas, El Salvador.

This afternoon we returned to San Lucas to dedicate their new water well. This too was a community event. Norma, one of the Agua Viva El Salvador staffers, talked to the crowd about how to care for their new well and reminded them of what she had taught them in the hygiene classes. Jim Coleman and I shared a brief word with the people and then folks from the crowd came forward to express their gratitude. One woman said that they have been praying and longing for this day for quite some time. She thanked us on behalf of the entire community. We concluded the celebration by hanging a piñata from a big tree and inviting the kids to break it open — which they did in short order. We had fun watching the kids have fun. Today, the people of San Lucas rejoiced and thanked God for their new water well. I will miss the people of San Lucas and remember their joy.

San Lucas, El Salvador

One of the most rewarding things about leading short-term teams to serve around the world is the opportunity to meet people. I have especially enjoyed the kindness and hospitality of people all over the world. This trip is no different. The people of El Salvador are among the kindest and most hospitable people I have ever met. Every day, one of the families that live near the site where we are drilling the water well invites our team to eat lunch in their home. These are people of humble means who live in homes constructed with a hodgepodge of materials. Every home we have visited has a dirt floor, no running water, no indoor plumbing, and some or no electricity. And yet, they do not hesitate to invite us into their homes and to share with us what little they have. This is one way in which they express their gratitude for what we are doing for their community. We have enjoyed our meals with the people this week. Every dish has been delicious and has been served with a smile.

Everybody in the village of San Lucas is excited about the water well and the fact that it will give them access to a clean source of water. You can sense gratitude in the air. Our hygiene training team has spent additional time with moms and kids talking about why it’s important to wash hands, brush teeth, and guard against the things that can pollute water sources and spread disease. These are the kinds of things we take for granted and that we teach to our children from the time they are very young. But, for kids in San Lucas it is all new information. Our hygiene team members have also been the beneficiaries of sweet expressions of gratitude, including gifts of mangos and other goodies.

Perhaps the most touching expression of gratitude came to us in the middle of the afternoon. After inserting the casing into the well we started the process of blowing out the muddy water in the well with compressed air. This is a process that takes a little time. As we sat under an awning waiting for the water to clear up, an elderly man approached us. Smiling, he took my hand and kissed it. He did the same to each of the men on the drilling team and then quietly went on his way. We were deeply touched and humbled by this man’s humble expression of gratitude. He did not come to us with fine speech or lots of words, only silence. The only thing he had go offer us was a simple kiss on the hand. That was his Hallmark card to each of us. This man’s kiss on the hand encouraged us, blessed us, affirmed us in our work, and spurred us on. Although we do not know this man’s name, we will never forget his kiss on the hand.

San Lucas, El Salvador

This morning we drove our equipment-laden vehicles from Playa Salinitas on the Pacific coast to San Lucas. This small and nondescript village is nestled beside a dusty road that winds through the hills in an area called Cuisnahuat. There are no signs to tell you when you have arrived. Unless you know where you are going you can easily miss this place that ten poor El Salvadoran families call home. After we off-loaded our drilling equipment, we spent the morning going from house to house to meet the people. The folks in San Lucas don’t have much money but they do have something better. They have family. As many as two or three generations live in each home. Kids grow up here under the watchful eyes of parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. Life in San Lucas is simple but also hard because of a lack of access to safe water.

As we walked along the stream that bisects the village, we met several women who were doing the family laundry. Folks here do their laundry, bathe, and wash their food all in the same stream. The water in this stream is not safe to drink. Our host and guide told us that diarrhea is a big problem, especially among the children, because of the poor water quality. At one home, an elderly woman asked me if we are the folks who have come to drill a well for them. She was thrilled when I told her that we were here to do exactly that — to provide the community with safe and clean water. I could not help but wonder how many hours she has spent in her lifetime performing water-related tasks like fetching water and doing her laundry at the river. The gift of a water well will be a gift of time to all of the women who devote as many as five or more hours each day fetching water for daily needs.

After eating lunch with one of the local families, we started the process of drilling the well. Unlike the well that we drilled last year for the people of Monte Rico, the Living Water staff decided that we would use a drilling process that uses compressed air. In areas like San Lucas, where they do not expect to drill through rock, it is a much faster process. They were right. After three hours and ten minutes of drilling we found water at a depth of one-hundred and five feet. It was a beautiful sight to see water shooting out of the hole and spraying into the air. We were all a muddy mess but happy to find water so quickly. Folks applauded and audibly praised God at the sight. Tomorrow we will take the next steps to complete the well.

We concluded the day by praying with the local families. We said our good-byes and then made our way back to Playa Salinitas in our wet and mud-caked clothing — happy for the privilege of providing this community with safe water in the name of the One who alone can satisfy our deepest thirsts with living water. Today, the future of San Lucas changed in three hours and ten minutes.

Playa Salinitas, El Salvador

I first became aware of the scope of the human toll exacted by lack of water while in Darfur, Sudan in the winter of 2004. While there, I visited the Abu Shouk and Zamzam camps for internally displaced peoples. The United Nations guys working in the area told our team that one of the greatest needs in this arid and unforgiving region is water. Each water well located near these camps serviced two to four hundred people per day. Simple math revealed that there were not enough wells to provide sufficient water for the tens of thousands of people struggling to survive the extreme heat under scant shade. What shocked me most was learning that diarrhea was the number one cause of death in the camps. People died because they did not have enough water to rehydrate. The second leading cause of death was man-made malaria. Water stored in open containers became a breeding ground for mosquitos.

Those of us who have access to clean water are fortunate and blessed indeed. Today, 844 million people on the planet lack access to clean and safe water. Of these, infants and children are the most vulnerable. Almost two million children die from diarrhea every year. To put this number into perspective, one child dies every fifteen seconds because of a water-related disease. 5000 children under the age of five will die today because they lacked access to safe drinking water, because they lived in places that had inadequate sanitation, and because of poor hygiene — all water-related issues. Access to clean water would change everything for these children and their families.

I have returned to El Salvador with my friend Jim Coleman and a team from Kingsland. We are going to spend the next few days drilling a water well in partnership with our friends at Living Water International. Last year, our missions ministry sponsored the drilling of two water wells in El Salvador. These wells are providing safe water for hundreds of poor El Salvadorans. We are sponsoring two additional wells this year. I appreciate the work of Living Water. They mobilize thousands of volunteers every year to drill water wells in countries around the world. Living Water International states that they exist “to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water, and to experience ‘living water’ — the gospel of Jesus Christ — which alone satisfies the deepest thirst.” And, without question, Living Water is living up to that purpose every day in big ways all over the world.

Our missions ministry is committed to partnering with Living Water to be a part of the solution and to work toward the day when children no longer die every fifteen seconds because of water-related issues. And, we are also committed to helping people taste the living water that alone can satisfy our deepest thirst. We believe that demonstrating God’s love in such practical ways will help hasten the day when “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). The next time you enjoy a hot shower or a cool and refreshing drink of water, remember those whose lives are at risk because they lack water. You can be a part of the solution by supporting initiatives that make water accessible to those who need it most.