More coming, but this is what I have right now!
The Tanzanian program... Door of our truck
At a well...one of the few kids who let me hold her
MMM African staff--field officers from Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Finished!!!
2,578 wells have been installed this year!! That means 38,600 people now have access to clean, protected water! (Calculations based on about 150 people served per well)
We met with the whole team in Mzuzu on Friday night (long drive down from TZ). Roughly 24 volunteers and 40 Field Officers and 6 Support Staff come for dinner and sharing time. After a feast (salad, veggies, chips, rice, chicken, beef, and desserts) we each stand and tell where we saw God in this year's trip. Stories from first time volunteers who can't believe what was accomplished to those who have been coming for years who still find we are doing the impossible. As far as we know, this is the only organization to succeed or even attempt to install 2500 wells in 8 weeks. And we can only do it by coming together as people of God. With the support of so many back home, with the leadership of our African team, with the knowledge that what we are doing is making a difference...we push and we are successful! Utukufu kwa Mungu!! Glory to God!!
PS. There are still about 800 wells that have been built but have yet to be funded...be a part of the miracle! Www.MMMwater.com
We met with the whole team in Mzuzu on Friday night (long drive down from TZ). Roughly 24 volunteers and 40 Field Officers and 6 Support Staff come for dinner and sharing time. After a feast (salad, veggies, chips, rice, chicken, beef, and desserts) we each stand and tell where we saw God in this year's trip. Stories from first time volunteers who can't believe what was accomplished to those who have been coming for years who still find we are doing the impossible. As far as we know, this is the only organization to succeed or even attempt to install 2500 wells in 8 weeks. And we can only do it by coming together as people of God. With the support of so many back home, with the leadership of our African team, with the knowledge that what we are doing is making a difference...we push and we are successful! Utukufu kwa Mungu!! Glory to God!!
PS. There are still about 800 wells that have been built but have yet to be funded...be a part of the miracle! Www.MMMwater.com
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Dedication
I "helped" install 83 wells this year! (I don't do the installations, i drive to the wells) What a blessing! In Tanzania the villages seem to be larger and the need for multiple wells is great. Many times on the way to the well we were to install we would pass one that had been installed in previous years and a couple that were put in by Team 1. I love seeing past wells that are still being used!
As we dedicate the well to the glory of God, there is clapping and ululations. Sometimes I have to start these (though not often) and other times someone from the village gets onto them. We begin with a prayer by a church person usually from the village. As it is in Swahili I pray on my own for the village, the women who don't have so far to walk anymore, the children who won't get sick as often, the water that it blesses all who use it, and the other volunteers and MMM workers who are working all over Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia, traveling over "roads"and paths to the remote places.
Then Woody or I talk about the well: how Christians in America heard about their need for clean water and wanted to help. That they donated money to finish the well built by the villagers. That the well represents the love of God and it is written on the top to be remembered and used as a reminder to pray and give God the glory for all the blessings in our lives. We speak of the ownership of the well, that it does not belong to me, or to MMM but to the village (I try to instigated some cheering here). And with that ownership comes the responsibility to take care of the well and the water beneath it by keeping the area clean and the animals away from it. By keeping up with the maintenance plan and calling the maintenance man promptly if it breaks. We ask that they share with others what they have seen and heard about the well and about the goodness of God. Time is given to them to add words. Many thanks are proffered to God, to MMM, to us, to the donors back in America. They tell us that this well is very needed and please can we help their neighbors with this blessing. They assure us that they will take care of the well (and some start lecturing their fellow villagers right away). Their thanks are often prefaced with, " we have no words." And the gifts we were given (chickens, bananas, ground nuts, and onions) with "we have no gift." They feel the inadequacy of trying to repay one of God's blessings. But the lights shining in their eyes and the smiles in their lips are more than enough for me.
If it is a new village, a demonstration on correct usage of the well follows and then we make our way back to the truck to head to the next miracle!
As we dedicate the well to the glory of God, there is clapping and ululations. Sometimes I have to start these (though not often) and other times someone from the village gets onto them. We begin with a prayer by a church person usually from the village. As it is in Swahili I pray on my own for the village, the women who don't have so far to walk anymore, the children who won't get sick as often, the water that it blesses all who use it, and the other volunteers and MMM workers who are working all over Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia, traveling over "roads"and paths to the remote places.
Then Woody or I talk about the well: how Christians in America heard about their need for clean water and wanted to help. That they donated money to finish the well built by the villagers. That the well represents the love of God and it is written on the top to be remembered and used as a reminder to pray and give God the glory for all the blessings in our lives. We speak of the ownership of the well, that it does not belong to me, or to MMM but to the village (I try to instigated some cheering here). And with that ownership comes the responsibility to take care of the well and the water beneath it by keeping the area clean and the animals away from it. By keeping up with the maintenance plan and calling the maintenance man promptly if it breaks. We ask that they share with others what they have seen and heard about the well and about the goodness of God. Time is given to them to add words. Many thanks are proffered to God, to MMM, to us, to the donors back in America. They tell us that this well is very needed and please can we help their neighbors with this blessing. They assure us that they will take care of the well (and some start lecturing their fellow villagers right away). Their thanks are often prefaced with, " we have no words." And the gifts we were given (chickens, bananas, ground nuts, and onions) with "we have no gift." They feel the inadequacy of trying to repay one of God's blessings. But the lights shining in their eyes and the smiles in their lips are more than enough for me.
If it is a new village, a demonstration on correct usage of the well follows and then we make our way back to the truck to head to the next miracle!
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