We Bought a Well

One reason we decided to start this new adventure was because we felt that God wants us to reach beyond ourselves more, to give more, to spend ourselves and our money on the needs of other people.

One of the biggest pulls on our hearts is for the children around the world who live in perilous poverty. The facts about poverty are devastating. Just look at these. (based on information from the United Nations).

1.4 billion people in developing countries live on $1.25 a day or less.

870 million people do not have enough to eat — more than the populations of USA and the European Union combined.

Malnutrition is the key factor contributing to more than one-third of all global child deaths resulting in 2.6 million deaths per year.

22,000 children die each day due to conditions of poverty

Every five seconds, a child dies from hunger-related diseases.

1.7 billion people lack access to clean water.

2.3 billion people suffer from water-borne diseases each year.

Every day more than 4,000 children die of water-and sanitation-related diseases.

There are many organizations that work hard to fight poverty and hunger and help the poorest of the world meet their basic needs. One of these is World Vision. We sponsor two children through World Vision, and give to help meet special needs during the year. A few years ago, I read The Hole in Our Gospel by Rich Stearnes, the President of World Vision United States. We were both very moved by the story and the realization that we live in a world of 160 million orphans, a world where 22,000 children die each day from poverty related diseases, a world where 1.4 billion people struggle just to find food to eat each day.
(If you are interested in this topic, two other books that had a huge impact on us are Radical by David Platt and Crazy Love by Francis Chan).

After reading The Hole in Our Gospel, we immediately knew we had to do something, and the simplest thing was to sponsor a child. I love knowing that the small amount of money that we give truly makes a difference in the lives of two children; Charles from Zambia, and Junett from the Congo.

Every year, WV sends out a gift catalog with gifts that we can buy to give to people and communities in developing countries. This year, when we looked through the catalog, we decided to give a well to a community that needs it.

According to the World Vision website;
In countries like Malawi, a well just 60 feet deep can bring new health and life to a community of 150 people. The well your gift provides will be capable of supplying more than 600 gallons of safe water a day for drinking, bathing, irrigating crops, and watering livestock.

Check out the gift catalog at worldvisiongifts.org.

A small prayer group I am part of bought a goat and two chickens for a family instead of buying gifts for each other (well, that was the idea anyway). What joy to know that a small amount of our income can impact lives to such an extent.