Water and Age

I learned two things today, 1) I'm not as young as I used to be and 2) you CAN put in two wells in one day! I'm more excited about the second than the first. We spent the entire day in the village as wells were dug and fixed, a medical team saw 215 patients, our soccer team almost beat the locals (I pulled my hamstring and my groin...hence the me getting old part) and our eyes were opened in more ways than one.

Tonight I'm exhausted. It's nearly 9:30 and I've just now arrived in my room, taken a shower and sat down to reflect on the day. At 7:30 this morning the drilling company called and said that they were ready to dig, so we quickly finished up breakfast and drove out to the village as fast as we could. For the rest of the day the company drilled the new well as the locals and our team checked in on them from time to time. Finally, around 4:30 water began to shoot in the air and everyone yelled, it was a pretty amazing and fulfilling feeling. Now I've been to a lot of third world countries and very rarely do things come together like this. On one side of the village a well is spouting water, ready to have a pump installed, and on the other side a brand new pump sits where for the past 2+ years the broken one has sat dry. Later in the day, each chief took a turn pumping clean water from the new well and smiles were on all of their faces.

And now...my body is done, but my spirit is pretty full. I'm ready to go home and see my wife and kids and recover both mentally and physically. But it is in weeks like this that I know why I have been placed here on this earth. Often the paths that God leads us on are scary or confusing, but when we step into them we see Him do amazing things. Wherever you are, know that God can do more with your life if you let Him.

The last thing I did in the village was give Chief Chimpapha (the main village chief) my Live Love bracelet. I told him that sometimes we Christians talk to much and don't live out Christ's love enough. I told him that I hoped he saw Jesus in our actions and words this week and that for me Christ gives me purpose. I told him that I hoped he found the same because it's an amazing way to live. I then told him that I would be back soon, but to know that we would be praying for all of the people in his village. He smiled, thanked me and then said "Khalani Chikondi" which means "Live Love".

Speak Love, Act Love, Live Love.
Change the World.

Paul


- Posted from the other side of the world