Don’t Drink The Water! (Unless You Know What’s In It) — Part 2

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by KP Yohannan, issued the second part of a Special Report update on the ongoing global water crisis, highlighting tap water safety problems in the USA, and clean water challenges in Asia.

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While the U.S. Struggles with Contaminated Tap Water,
Millions in Asia Remain Without Access to Any Clean,
Safe Drinking Water

In Asia, when water is scarce and miles must be traversed in order to attain it, then carry or haul it, pure and clean community wells become nearly miraculous when they are engineered and maintained.

One organization helping with this situation is Gospel for Asia (GFA), which has installed more than 30,000 clean water borehole wells in villages across South Asia, including 4,856 in 2019 alone. Gospel for Asia (GFA) estimates that its clean water projects, consisting of wells in communities and BioSand water filters for families, are providing clean water to more than 37.5 million people to date. Yet the need is so great, much more has to be done.

Mother carrying water home with her children. — This mother in South Asia needed almost ten pots of water each day for domestic purposes, so she walked a two-mile round trip several times a day to fetch water from the only well close to this village. After school, her sons helped her fetch water too. This well was the only source of water for the entire village of more than 200 people, until a Jesus Well was built within their town.

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The Impact of a “Jesus Well” on One Community

Women drawing clean water from Jesus Well — This Jesus Well is in constant use, serving up to 300 people a day!

I love the story from the Gospel for Asia archives about the life-changing impact of the “Jesus Wells” they help provide. Jesus Wells are most often sponsored by donors and installed in communities where access to clean water is difficult or non-existent.

A group of villagers huddled around a large hole, peering into the darkness. Feathers. Again. They let out a groan—not in grief over the dead chicken, although it was a loss for someone’s flock, but because it meant their well was contaminated. They gathered buckets and emptied the well late into the night. All that precious water wasted because of one little hen.

This well and a small pond had the job of providing water for this village, but they frequently failed their task. In summertime, the well and pond dried up and had to be dug deeper. When the heavy rains came, water filled the pond again, but it was accompanied by leaves, garbage and cow manure. The families in this community needed water, but using dirty water exposed them to bouts of typhoid, diarrhea and other dangerous waterborne illnesses. Something had to change—but none of them could fix their deadly problem.

In Asia, when water is scarce, and miles must be traversed in order to attain it, then carry or haul it, pure and clean community wells become nearly miraculous when they are engineered and maintained.

The community’s water crisis began changing when Aarnav, one of the young men in the village, met a GFA-supported pastor, Saadhik, serving in a nearby area. Aarnav built a strong relationship with Pastor Saadhik and joined his congregation regularly to worship the Lord. Pastor Saadhik visited Aarnav’s family frequently to encourage them in the Lord. During one of those visits, the pastor learned of the village’s extreme need for water.

Although countless other communities in Aarnav’s nation face water shortages every year, Pastor Saadhik felt a special burden for Aarnav’s village. His compassion grew into a commitment to pray for the community’s need—for several years.

Little girls taking a bath using clean water from Jesus Wells. — Seeing the need for safe, clean water, Gospel for Asia (GFA) installed three Jesus Wells to supply this village in Asia with pure water for drinking, cleaning and washing their hands.

After four years of faithful intercession, Pastor Saadhik’s prayers were answered. Thanks to the generosity of people around the world, GFA-supported workers arranged for Aarnav’s village to receive a Jesus Well at no cost to the community. Sitting atop enclosed pipes that dive deep into the low water table, the bore well now gushes clean water all year long.

Aarnav’s community finally has the change they needed! Overjoyed, around 100 people fetch their water from the Jesus Well instead of the compromised pond or open well. It doesn’t matter how many chickens or cows gather around the Jesus Well; nothing can contaminate their water anymore.

Let’s support organizations like Gospel for Asia (GFA) that are bringing thousands of bore wells that supply life-giving water to people—water that is available in little villages and crowded slum communities and not miles down some dusty or muddy road. What a gift clean water is, and what a gift to make it available to thirsty people worldwide.

Give Towards Clean Water Projects

Learn how to provide life-saving water through Jesus Wells and BioSand water filters, and help support ongoing maintenance of these clean water projects.

Woman drawing clean water from Jesus Well. — Until a Jesus Well was installed in her village, this woman in South Asia often struggled to find safe, pure drinking water. Previously, she had to walk two kilometers round trip to the river near her village, to get unsafe, dirty water.

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Jesus Compares Himself to Fountains of Water

Perhaps, even more remarkable, Christ used water (let us assume it was pure, clean and healthy water) as a metaphor for His own life-giving capability.

“Jesus answered and said to her: ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life’” (John 4:13–14).

Little girl drinking clean water from Jesus Well — Even young children were happy to have a Jesus Well installed to get clean, safe water in their own village. Now they don’t have to walk to the distant well several times a day carrying heavy water pots.

Several summers back, my family attended the Iowa State Fair with my brother and his wife (who live in Des Moines). I’ve rarely bought tickets to popular music concerts—David and I are more the Chicago Symphony Orchestra types—but this summer, we did sit in the grandstands to hear a live concert featuring Carrie Underwood. Carrie, an avowed Christian, basically gave a gospel-music concert, with most of the people in the audience singing along to the lyrics they obviously knew by heart.

One of her songs that has stuck with me since that summer was “Something in the Water,” with water baptism being the theme:

No way out, no one to come and save me
Wasting a life that the Good Lord gave me
Then somebody said what I’m saying to you […] They said, “Just a little faith, it’ll all get better”
So I followed that preacher man down to the river
And now I’m changed
And now I’m stronger
There must’ve been something in the water
Oh, there must’ve been something in the water

Yep, even the orchids know what kind of water they need and flourish when it is supplied. Humans are the same.

How wonderful that local churches all across Asia use clean water to meet physical need and employ the powerful life-giving metaphor for the One who supplies those He loves with everything they need spiritually. “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst . . .” Believe me, there are no toxins or poisons, no arsenic or radium in this spiritual gift.

There is no lead in this Living Water. This, indeed, is the water we all need to thrive.