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Johanna - Part I

 

 

 

Johanna is one of Josphina's six children that we featured on our May 3 Post. We hung out together on free water day at Las Palmas and became friends. A special bond was established between us on this day. My heart hurt because I doubted I would ever see her again.

Johanna - Part II

 

 

On May 19 we were back in Las Palmas and decided to take our guests to Josephina's shack even though she was not there. We also knew the children were probably in school. As we approached the house, guess who came running with arms outstretched? Yes, those are tears of joy! Johanna and I hugged and hugged! What a privilege! What a blessing!

Empowering the Church

Often I am quizzed about the challenges of working with churches in developing countries. Most people see the potential problems but lose sight of the blessing.

Recently we received three letters from church partners in Chiapas, Mexico letting us know how much they value their water system. Here is one of them:

Iglesia Del Nazareno "Adonai" A.R.
Potinaspak
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico

Healing Waters International
Denver, Colorado, USA

Affectionate Greetings to All:

The Comite de Enlace of ADU system #5 in Tuxtla Guitierrez, Chiapas, is conscious of your good social work in our community; reflecting specifically on the economic, physical and social impact of the water system. Your help is very laudable and praiseworthy, of this we are sure.

From the percentage of net revenue that has stayed with the church to help the greater community, we use 100% of that each month: to buy medicine, to buy shoes for children in single family homes, to help run a medical dispensary for senior citizens and sick people, to provide materials to help build simple houses, to pay for funerals for poor people, to buy food for street children and for other projects.

We are very appreciative to the sponsors/donors of the water system. Their investment and donation is being very well used. We will continue praying for you so that God rewards you richly.

With much gratitude and love,
The Comite de Enlace
Pbro. Eustacio Gonzalez Ramirez

DR Trip - May 14 - 20, 2009

We arrived safely in the Dominican Republic late last night. We are looking forward to great week with our guests, our HWI staff, and our ministry partners.

Wheelbarrow Man - Los Ramirez

 

 

 

Click on photos to enlarge.

Lugging bottles of water that weigh forty pounds up and down the canyon of Los Ramirez is extemely difficult for the thousands of women and children who live in the shacks of this community.

Enter Jose, a homeless, unemployed man that views delivering water as a business oppoortunity. He attends Pastor Mary's church and became very excited when the new Healing Waters system was installed. He scavenged this wheel barrow with a wobbly front wheel and asked Pastor Mary if he could help others and himself by delivering water. Pastor Mary said "Go for it, Jose!" Jose loads six - count them- bottles of water into his wheel barrow and literally runs up and down the canyon delivering water. This is 240 pounds of water in each load! The day we visited the system and met Jose, he had all ready made ten trips and had delivered 60 bottles! He gets $.15 U.S. for each bottle. That is $9.00 for the day! Jose has zero body fat supported by a strong heart and physique! He loves his job, has a great smile, and is an icon in the community. Is this physical and social transformation? What do you think? In addition, Jose is at the church every morning when the system opens. Who knows what spiritual transformation may take place hanging out at the church! I love this job!

Compassion International Blog Post

Believe me when I say there is no connection with our post on May 4, 2009, regarding our partnership with Compassion International and the attached link to the Compassion post of May 6, 2009. This is just God at work! We encourage you to visit this link and read this compelling story.

This story also validates the value and impact of authentic ministry partnerships. As you review the Compassion post, we hope it is blatantly obvious how physical, social, and spiritual transformation is being achieved.

We are so grateful to be partners in ministry with Pastor Ventura Taylor, Comunidad Cristiana El Santuario Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal church, and Compassion International.

Compassion International Partnership

 

 

Our partnership with Compassion International has been an enormous blessing and enabler for our work at HWI. For some time we have been working on ways that we can give back a portion of the value that CI has provided us. Here's the deal....

Our two newest systems in the Dominican Republic are located at churches with Compassion projects. Photo #1 is of the recent inauguration of Villas Agricolas. This church has a Compassion project that regularly serves 200 children.

The second is Las Palmas, the system featured in recent posts in this blog. This is either the largest, or one of the largest Compassion projects in the Dominican Republic regularly serving 300 children. Photo #2 is of two Compassion kids holding a very special water bottle. This two litre container is given to every Compassion child at these two projects. Free water is provided to each child in this bottle for as long as they participate in the project.

Bottom line, 500 Compassion children are now receiving free water! We hope this proves to be an opportunity that can be provided to many other Compassion projects moving forward. Our hope and prayer is that this strategy provides incremental value to these children and these projects. We also want to thank the donors that made these systems and this strategy a reality.

To all our friends at Compassion International we want to say thank you for all you have done and continue to do for Healing Waters International. We hope this strategy further enables your commitment to "Releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name".

Lunch with Josephina

 

 

 

Lunch with one of our church partner families is always memorable. People who have little give their very best. Such was the case at Josephina's. Because of the danger in her drug-infested neighborhood, our church leaders spread the word that guests were coming for lunch.

Josephina is a single mom with six children. She is the small woman on the left in the photo with two of her children. This is a one-room house about five feet wide by eight feet long. Yes, there are seven people living in this space. There is one light bulb and no running water. Their clothes hang from the ceiling. We sat outside for lunch. Josphina provided a beautiful Dominican meal of chicken, Morro (Rice and beans), and fried plantains. Everything was delicious. The house was spotless with happy polite children nurtured by their incredible mom. We were deeply touched by their gracious and generous hospitality. You would have been touched as well.

Free Water Day

 

 

 

 

On this free water day we gave away 325 botellons in four hours - a new record! What a privilege! What a blessing! The lines were three blocks long for the first two hours. Despite hard rains everyone hung in. This was a fantastic response concluding three days of inauguration activities. This is a great beggining for the Hebrews 11 church and the Las Palmas community!

Ribbon Cutting - Inauguration Event

 

 

 

 

The party continues! We move to the street for the ribbon cutting. The pastor and the donors cut the ribbon! There are cheers, tears, and applause from the street. The first botellon is presented to a needy family in the community. More cheers, tears and applause. The water flows. Hugs for everyone! What a party!

More Water Carriers

 

 

 

 

Water Carriers

 

 

 

 

There is no end to the creativity or commitment when it comes to carrying water. We see it all: Mopeds, wheelbarrows, infant strollers, hand trucks, and those who heft the forty pound bottle onto their head or shoulders. This is an indication of how much they value the water. They will do whatever it takes to get the water home. In many cases today delivery is available for a few extra pesos.

Dominican Downpour

 

 

You never know when you might get dumped on! There were several downpours on this afternoon. Everyone takes it in stride. Few if any gave up their places in line because of the rain. Getting drinking water is a higher priority.

Inauguration Event

 

 

 

 

The inauguration event marks the official opening of the water system. Months of hard work by the HWI staff and the church partner culminate in this event. It is a time of worship and thanksgiving that lools back and looks forward. There is music, dancing, and prayer. National Director, Juan Jose Gomez challenges the church to serve their community every day. Pastor Julio Cesar Pena recognizes the donors, thanks Healing Waters, and challenges his leaders and people to make the most of this opportunity. It is during this time that you begin to see the physical, social, and spritual transformation that God will bring through the water system and the church partner. What a privilege it is to empower the church with this opportunity!

Health Talk and Botellon Raffle

 

 

 

The health talk and raffle kick off inauguration day. A physician, known to the community, talks to the people about water-related diseases and how they can be prevented through disciplined hygiene and keeping their bottle clean. The lady doctor shown here did an outstanding job educating the crowd. This is an important first step in promoting the water system. Next comes the raffle. Raffle tickets have been distributed throughout the church community. Following the health talk tickets are drawn and awarded. If you don't think water is precious to these people, you should experience the excitement when they win a sparkling new botellon. This is great fun. The difficult part is that not everyone wins. We would love to give everyone a new bottle for a new start.