Clean Water

A few minutes ago I went and filled my water bottle with ice and water from the tap. It is something I do regularly. I don't stop to wonder if the water is safe. I don't boil it before drinking. While I like putting it through a water filter, it is for taste, not to remove dangerous parasites amoebas. When I brush my teeth, I don't have to worry that just putting my toothbrush under the faucet could mean getting sick for days or even weeks.

I have visited many other countries where I could not drink the water. Some of the time it was just because I was not adjusted to the microorganisms in their water supply. But other times it was because the water was dangerous. Yet I never understood how deeply this impacted the lives of over a billion people around the world. Here are just a few facts you can find on the website of Living Water International:

At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease.

Nearly 90 percent of all diseases in the world are caused by unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene. Every year, there are 4 billion cases of diarrhea as a direct result of drinking contaminated water; this results in more than 2.2 million deaths each year—the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing every day.

The weakest members of communities are the most vulnerable; every day water-related diseases claim the lives of 5000 children under the age of five. That’s roughly one every 15 seconds.

This year we at New Covenant are considering how to approach Christmas in a way that focuses less on ourselves and more on our Savior. As we enter into the story of Christmas, we are drawn to worship our Savior who left the comfort and splendor of Heaven to come and provide living water for all who are willing to accept it (see John 4:7-15). But the story does not stop there. His example was to not only meet the spiritual needs but the physical as well (one example: John 6:1-13).

As we follow His example, we should do the same -- meet both the physical and the spiritual needs of those in need. But in order to do that, it takes spending less on ourselves, giving more of our presence to others, and loving all -- especially those who are most in need (see Luke 10:25-37). One tangible way is to provide clean water, which is probably the most basic physical need in our world today.

That is the focus of our special Advent offering this year at New Covenant. On Sunday, December 20, we will take a special Advent offering to care for needs both locally and globally. We will send 90% of the offering to Compassion International to help up to nine projects in East India. We have chosen Compassion because they work through a local church, which means there is opportunity to help with both the spiritual and the physical needs in that community. Each church partner location will use $5,000 to supply clean water by drilling and/or rain water catchment and storage infrastructure. We will fund as many of these projects as God provides money. The remaining 10% of the offering will be divided among our local ministry partners such as Aid to Women, His Hands Free Medical Clinic, and House of Hope.

If you don't attend New Covenant, you can still make a difference. Go to the website for Living Water International for one option. And check out the website for the Advent Conspiracy and this article at Missions Network News to learn more about how we spend far, far more just on Christmas presents than it would cost to provide clean drinking water to those who need it around the world.