I’ve always loved water. I love to drink it, bathe in it, swim in it, paddle on it or just stand under a waterfall with the mist flying about my face. I can still remember creek walking as a kid--it’s hard to imagine not being close to water. When I heard about Mozambican women walking for hours with 5-gallon buckets on their heads to retrieve enough water from some polluted watering hole to clean and feed their families, it became the tipping point for me to join a missions trip to dig wells in Africa.
That’s right, I actually thought I’d be digging the well myself. Turns out, that’s not what we are doing on this trip--probably a good thing for both the villagers and me. Today, our itinerary included attending a well dedication ceremony as ambassadors of 12Stone Church and World Hope International that paid to bring pure water closer to the village. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well, and the idea of bringing people closer to water--both the physical and the “living” kind—naturally appeals to me.
As this near photo shows, the open well is not sanitary—in fact, none of the women could remember how old it was. Most likely, it was a legacy of the Portuguese. We watched as one woman slowly filled up a 5-gallon plastic bucket and then with an assist from another hoisted it up on her head (total weight was at least 40 pounds). Then, off she walked at a measured pace—we asked how far, but she just pointed to where her village was. Dennis started to try to lift the bucket himself, and then thought better of it.
The two photos at the top of the page do not do justice to the experiences our team had at the well dedication ceremony in the “Nhaundzulene” community—don’t ask me how to say that name or what it means. There were between 200 and 300 men, women and children who greeted us when we came from the old well. The women came forward dancing and singing, and immediately took team member Kara with them as an addition to their dance troup. There were several men who greeted us and praised God for the well. Several others led the community in song and even the youth joined in with a skit that mimicked the adult preparation for the well construction, including party-loving “naysayers” who refused to join in the work.
We then joined in the dedication of the well, pumping out and filling several pitchers with clean water, which many in the crowd immediately drank. Team leader Dennis threw glass after glass of water into the air “baptizing” those standing around him. Jeremy and I then took the 100+ children off to a field to play soccer and Frisbee while the adults had a time for sharing and testimonies. We then came back to a feast of chicken, potatoes, cassava, pork, fish, corn-and-peanut casserole called “tihove” and rice.
When I asked why no one else in the community was eating with our team of dignitaries, I was told that they were waiting for our plates—the things we take for granted in our “developed” world! We quickly finished eating and gave up our ceramic dishes. We concluded with light conversation, photos, and some more games with the children.
Alive in Christ,
bill
That’s right, I actually thought I’d be digging the well myself. Turns out, that’s not what we are doing on this trip--probably a good thing for both the villagers and me. Today, our itinerary included attending a well dedication ceremony as ambassadors of 12Stone Church and World Hope International that paid to bring pure water closer to the village. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well, and the idea of bringing people closer to water--both the physical and the “living” kind—naturally appeals to me.
As this near photo shows, the open well is not sanitary—in fact, none of the women could remember how old it was. Most likely, it was a legacy of the Portuguese. We watched as one woman slowly filled up a 5-gallon plastic bucket and then with an assist from another hoisted it up on her head (total weight was at least 40 pounds). Then, off she walked at a measured pace—we asked how far, but she just pointed to where her village was. Dennis started to try to lift the bucket himself, and then thought better of it.
The two photos at the top of the page do not do justice to the experiences our team had at the well dedication ceremony in the “Nhaundzulene” community—don’t ask me how to say that name or what it means. There were between 200 and 300 men, women and children who greeted us when we came from the old well. The women came forward dancing and singing, and immediately took team member Kara with them as an addition to their dance troup. There were several men who greeted us and praised God for the well. Several others led the community in song and even the youth joined in with a skit that mimicked the adult preparation for the well construction, including party-loving “naysayers” who refused to join in the work.
We then joined in the dedication of the well, pumping out and filling several pitchers with clean water, which many in the crowd immediately drank. Team leader Dennis threw glass after glass of water into the air “baptizing” those standing around him. Jeremy and I then took the 100+ children off to a field to play soccer and Frisbee while the adults had a time for sharing and testimonies. We then came back to a feast of chicken, potatoes, cassava, pork, fish, corn-and-peanut casserole called “tihove” and rice.
When I asked why no one else in the community was eating with our team of dignitaries, I was told that they were waiting for our plates—the things we take for granted in our “developed” world! We quickly finished eating and gave up our ceramic dishes. We concluded with light conversation, photos, and some more games with the children.
Alive in Christ,
bill
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