Physical Goal:  Rehabiliate 3-4 broken wells.

Each well will cost approx $400 to rehabilitate.  We are THRILLED that two families have already sponsored the first two wells.  Thank you for your love and support!  Your donations mean so much. If you or a small group would be interested in sponsoring a well rehab, this is a great opportunity to get involved, and see exactly how your support makes a difference.  We need support for at least two more wells.

Spiritual Goal:  Souls saved. Long term: Partnership and training.

Please pray for the villages that will be receiving repaired water wells this week.  These villages have already been identified and targeted.  Join us in fasting and praying for tender hearts.  We pray that villages receiving these wells will see the love of Jesus and respond with overwhelming acceptance to the Gospel. 

Our long-term goal is to follow the outline of the book of Acts in working with local believers to expand and share the Gospel.  This week, our team members will be doing very basic and practical studies of church-planting and evangelism training.  We pray that the villages receiving wells will be the spring-board for others to learn, grow, and go out to other villages and share and multiply the Good News. 

 What’s already been done:  Last year we took a vision trip to Gambia, to scope out the need and meet potential partners.  We have partnered with other churches and organizations to scope the spiritual and physical needs, build relationships with indigeonous believers, and brainstorm on the most effective way to win Gambia for the Gospel.  We have already identied two men that will be able to begin this work and will doing much training this week, both in well-rehabilitaion and church-planting.  God has been so gracious in leading us and bringing people into our path that are able and willing to be a part of this ministry.

We actually purchased 12 pumps earlier this year in preparation for our current trip and future ministry. We are working to establish partnership that will continue doing the work once the team returns. 

See for yourself:  During the 2009 trip to Gambia, our friend Peter Hansen captured the precious glimpses into the lives of our Gambian friends.  This link will direct you to his pictures on our facebook photo album.  If you are not already a ‘fan’ of Water of Life, please follow our page for regular updates and photos.   It would also be VERY cool if you linked or shared this blogpost on your facebook or twitter account. 

Thank you for your prayers!

January 24 – Feb 4: Sierra Leone (open)

Feb 7 – Feb 18: Sierra Leone (open)

March 6 -12: Nicaragua – Grace Church

April 6 – 17: Gambia – Brevard Community Church

April 30 – May 9: Liberia (open)

Mid-June: India? Please pray with us.

August 13-22: Liberia (open)

October 10 -20: Sierra Leone (open)

October 19 – 30: Gambia – Brevard Community Church

Nov 5 – Nov 14: Liberia – Southside Fellowship

Want to know more?

To find out  more about joining a trip, please click the ‘Get Involved’ tab at the top of the page for a list of requirements and other application documents.

The award-winning documentary series Dispatches from the Front offers a front-row seat in witnessing the radical rescue work of the Gospel in forgotten, difficult areas of the world. The third, newly-released episode, “I Once Was Blind” highlights the dramatic expansion of the Kingdom in the West African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.

This film captures exactly what Water of Life is doing in West Africa, and how providing safe drinking water continues to open the door for us to share the Gospel of Jesus. Anyone that has been on a trip, or wants to join us for a trip, or is curious about why we are so passionate about West Africa should make plans to attend. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Bring kleenex.

Also, we are THRILLED to announce that Dennis and Vania Aggrey will be joining us for this event! Dennis and Vania are spearheading a dynamic church-planting movement in Liberia and are featured in the film, along with Roland Bergeron and other ministry partners.

To see and RSVP to the event on Facebook, please CLICK HERE

However, you do NOT need to RSVP to attend the premier.  We would love to fill the auditorium with friends and fans of Water of Life.  There is open seating.

Sunday, August 8th 5:30 p.m at Heritage Bible Church

2005 Old Spartanburg Rd.,   Greer, SC 29650

**Copies of the DVD will be available for purchase at the event and can also ordered directly from Dispatches from the Front.  All proceeds of the sales go to Frontline Missions.  Want to know more about Dispatches?  Check out their website to order the DVD and see below their heart for the Kingdom of God:

Believers everywhere desperately need a renewed vision of Christ and the unstoppable advance of His saving work in all the earth. Often our view of God’s Kingdom is too small and limited to what we have experienced. Dispatches from the Front highlights the marvelous extent, diversity, and unity of Christ’s Kingdom in our world. The journal format of each episode underscores the daily unfolding of God’s activity on the “frontlines,” bringing viewers up-close with sights and sounds from distant corners of the Kingdom.

We continue to receive updates from Alphonso Barry with updates on how God is working in Sierra Leone. We received this update today. “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.” John 4:35

The story of Hassan and Halima Thorlly                             

Missionaries: This story was told by Hassan about how he and his wife got saved after been witnessed to by pastor.

Hassan:  Me and my wife were Muslims living a very difficult and hard-to-explain life, while we were still Muslims.

We thank God for his grace. Our struggle for having children came to an end when we accepted Jesus secretly as our personal lord and savior. We got married 6 years ago without a child.  We both come from a very fanatic Muslim background; my father is an imam in our village, Maferi Di, in the northern of Guinea bordering Sierra Leone. My wife is from the same village.   We have become a laughing stock by many people. At first it was not easy for us when we were forsaken by our parents for accepting the Christian faith. For almost a whole year we were mocked, until it happened miraculously that my wife became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy. 

Missionaries: To show how they appreciated God’s goodness in their lives, Hassan and Halima willingly dedicated their only child to God with many more testimonies in their little home. They secretly promised to follow the teachings and doctrines of Jesus Christ who and will remain their lord forever. Baby Samuel was dedicated to Jesus by Missionary Alphonso Barry, and was the first Child dedicated to Jesus in the entire village in more than 100 years.

Missionaries: Alusine Koroma and Sulaiman Kamara

Location: Maferiah Di, Sierra Leone

Note from Roland:  The story of Hassan and Halima is simply amazing. We simply cannot be silent when we get these reports! For these families to continue to stand up and claim Jesus Christ as Savior is not simple.  It often results in persecution, violence, and death.   The enormous pressure on Hassan, who is the son of the Imam (pronounced ee-mom) cannot be overlooked. He’s almost like a preacher’s son that has been promised to a life of service to the Muslim life. Muslims in this area typically place a curse on anyone that defies their religion, which results in secret poisoning and a slow, painful death.  Alphonso Barry, the pastor that is forwarding these updates and performed the child dedication, was poisoned by his aunt when he gave his life to Jesus Christ.  He was incredibly ill for six months, but survived by the grace of God.  Pray for Hassan and Halima as they continue to trust God.  Pray for their new little one to grow up in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Pray that the Light would continue to thrust out the Darkness in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.  “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Desperation is what often causes people to throw away what they know about the odds and take a chance.  And not all lotteries are equal.  People will ‘risk it all’ emotionally, spiritually or physically. Sometimes it’s for love or a broken relationship.  Sometimes it’s for a career move, political cause, or championship game.  Sometimes it’s for our family.

As Americans, we rarely play the lottery with our drinking water.  We’ll pay more, invest more, and do whatever it takes to provide our families with safe drinking water.   We expect water to be free with our meal, ice to be available, and the container to be sanitary.  We pay $1.00 for a liter of Smart Water at Publix and turn up our noses at the slightly funky smell of well water. Even the most basic of us are water snobs, simply because we have the luxury of demanding clean water.  We’ve never known the real desperation of intense thirst. 

Because people in America do not die of thirst.

Men, women, and especially children die of thirst in West Africa every day.  But quite frankly, it’s hard to grasp that over a billion people are in desperate need of drinking water.  So, think of the other risks you take…and substitute water. If you couldn’t demand clean water – if you were dying – what would you do? In scorching heat, with crying children, with a dry and swollen tongue…what would you do?  I’m not talking about an unusually hot day.  This is LIFE.  It’s every day.  Your cousin died of dehydration last week.  Your baby is unresponsive.  Your mother has continual diarrhea and cannot stand.  What would you DO?  Would you drink from the bucket of water possibly contaminated with roaches and unknown parasites?    Would you risk it?  I would.  College degree and all, I would take a chance and risk (inevitable) death for a drink of water.   I would dip my finger in the water and try to give my baby a drink.  I would pray that the billion-to-one odds of contracting a waterborne illness somehow pass by me and my family as we struggled to survive one more day.    

The image below is from an actual well that was repaired by Water of Life in 2008.  How many died or suffered excruciating pain drinking from this water?  I don’t know.  But I do know that donations – big and small – helped us clean the well, fix problem, and provide this village with clean water.   Your donations save lives.  Thank you for donating, thank you for tweeting, thank you for linking to us on your facebook page.  We need your donations and support more than ever.  We are growing and finding new villages, new faces, and overwhelming evidence that God is working in the hearts of our friends in West Africa.

actual drinking water

Clean water provides intense relief.  It eliminates unnecessary risk, but it’s only temporary.   Our prevailing message of love is that Jesus is the TRUE Water of Life…His Gospel quenches eternal thirst. 

Help us by donating, tweeting, and sharing this on your facebook page. 

Jesus is the Water of Life!

 For the first time since anyone can remember, the south-western border of Guinea is opening to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   There are still outbreaks of persecution for those that speak out against the Muslim tradition, but no one can deny that Light is taking over the Darkness.  Sierra Leone-native missionary Alphonso Barry sent two native-Guinea missionaries to share God’s Word to people of the Pamlap Border Village.  We received the following email from Alphonso which recounts (in sometimes-modified African-English) a story from missionaries Abraham Bangura and Felix Soumah:

“When we started Evangelism in the Pamlap Village Guinea, people were saying that we were here. Great grandfathers were Muslims, so they don’t know about Christianity. We do not listen to them and or stop them, but continue to tell the good news in any given opportunity, in any gathering, or market place.

“One day a man called Morlai Bangura came to my place very early in the morning, saying he want to have a word with me. When I met him, he told me that he had a dream that he was standing at the foot of a mountain and heard a call. He stood quietly to know where the voice was coming from. He saw somebody dressed in white robe standing and the person said to him “Come here.”  Morlie said, “I stepped forward, he then asked me to kneel down and he touched my head and said to me, ‘God has called you in to his kingdom, as from now on you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, body and soul, and you should love your neighbor as your self.’”

“After he finished explaining this dream to me, I said to Morlai, “This is what I was telling you in my teaching.” Morlie  then told me “As  from  now on, I have decided to give my life to the lord Jesus Christ  so that  he can be my Lord and savior.”  Since that time Morlie has being dedicated to the service of God.

“By the grace of God we now have a membership of twenty people whom have received the lord Jesus as their personal savior. And Morlie Bangura has been a strong Evangelist amongst his Susu People in Pamlap Guinea.”

Missionaries  Abraham Bangura and Felix Soumah

This January, Water of Life was thrilled to take Dr. Tim Keesee and Pete Hansen to West Africa.  Here is a small excerpt of Dr. Keesee’s experience during this trip, which was published in their Winter 2010 newsletter.   Look for Episode 3: I Once Was Blind – coming out on DVD this summer.

Recently I traveled to West Africa –Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea –on a scouting mission, pursuing openings to lands long under the chains of Islam and spirit-worship and going in with the first wave of those God is raising up to take the Gospel to people who have never heard it. What a blessing to peer over the sill in this lower corner of the 10/40 window and see Christ building His Church! Here is my journal from just one day there.

Among the Loma people in Konia, northern Liberia                               Tuesday, January 19

             Nearly midnight. Just finished my bucket bath, washing off the dust of this long day. This afternoon the village girls were good enough to bring water from the well and fill up the barrel for washing. I’ve seen so much today that I feel I’ve been drinking from a barrel—well, more like a fire hydrant!

            Went out this morning and walked around Konia village. At the edge of town is a thick stand of old trees. It’s called “the Devil’s Forest” because it is dedicated to the devil. Most villages in this region practice demon worship and have these stands of trees. It’s the place where men and boys go to learn the arts and sciences of Satan. Literally, it’s where they are taught curses and offer sacrifices to demon spirits. It’s a place of unspeakable darkness and evil, but when demon-worshippers become Christ-followers, the darkness is swept away at light speed! I met such a new man this morning. His name is Washington, and he is a skilled carpenter who has a little shop along the main road of Konia. His power tools are hard hands and a sharp blade. Washington believed on the Lord and forsook the religion and company of demon worshippers. However, a “committee” of his old crowd came to beat and kidnap him, but he escaped their trap. When the plot was known, Pastor Dennis confronted the men and declared that if they struck Washington, they were lifting their hands against Washington’s God. The message was clear: Don’t mess with God! Conscious that they faced a Greater One, they shrank back into their shadowy forest.

            Washington spoke to me of the life and freedom He now has in Christ. He has learned to read his tribal dialect so he was eager to read the Scripture to me in Loma. Knowing of the dark dungeon of his past, I asked Washington to read about light and deliverance; so he read from John 9 of the man born blind who never saw Light until Christ opened his eyes. The blind man’s testimony to Jesus’ power was as simple and clear as his sight, and Washington now can say with him, “I once was blind, but now I see!”         

           Washington has helped build churches in village after village as the Gospel has swept through Loma country. The Gospel is setting people free, and in some of those towns the high places (the Devil’s Forests) are coming down. There is now talk in Konia of cutting down the Devil’s Forest. Perhaps one day the old trees that supposedly housed the demons will bend beneath Washington’s blade and be fashioned into something beautiful.

            Departed Konia late afternoon for Zagadeh, an unreached village up toward the border of Guinea. Winston led the way on his motorbike loaded down with his usual compact cargo: a projector, a screen, and even a small generator to power the showing of the Jesus film. The narrow road snaked through ragged slash-and-burn fields and into an old cocoa forest darkened by the descending night. For the villagers the day was drawing down and men with machetes were returning from the fields, but for us our work was just beginning. Winston quickly assembled volunteers, mostly villagers curious and eager to help.         

           Winston chose the place for the showing—a perfect location on a hillside between the mosque and the Devil’s Forest of Zagadeh. They hacked holes in the hard clay and planted the poles and hoisted the screen—like raising the flag on Iwo Jima. The battle lines were drawn up. Dennis, Winston, and the evangelists gathered in a circle and prayed. They prayed forcefully like they were in a fight—which they were, for showing the Jesus film, the Gospel of Luke in living color, was a direct assault on Hell’s gate here. Hundreds gathered around the two-sided screen to see and hear the Gospel of Luke told in their tongue. At one point people in the crowd turned to one another and said, “Jesus is speaking Loma!”

            At the crucifixion scene, Winston paused the film and Dennis preached, and then the film continued and the Gospel story unfolded from the Cross to the Empty Tomb. Then Pastor Dennis invited people to receive the One who died for their sins, and the gates of Hell did give way! About 200 responded to the invitation, and the different evangelists that came for this evening’s outreach gathered people in groups of 30 to 40 and further explained the Gospel to them. I thought of the words of Isaiah, “Behold, the nation that did not know you shall run to you.”

            Some of the evangelists stayed in Zagadeh for the night for more follow-up in the morning. We returned to Konia late, with laughter and light hearts.

 Used with permission from Frontline Missions International. Original article in Winter 2010 Dispatches. For more information: www.frontlinemissions.info

• First, thank you for the tremendous response to World Water Day last month! We are in the process of arranging a trip to the village and will send updates to each of you who participated. It was incredible to see so many people pull together $22 (or more!) and provide a village with access to safe water.
• We’ve had several mission trips already this year, and next week Roland Bergeron is headed out again!  In January, Water of Life joined with Dr. Tim Keesee and Pete Hansen from Front Line Missions to document what God is doing through Water of Life in West Africa.  This amazing trip revealed that God is not only knocking down Satan’s strongholds in Liberia, but also in neighboring Sierra Leone and Guinea.  In March, Roland led a group of men from Grace Church in Greenville on a follow-up trip to Nicaragua.  The group was able to minister with local churches as the water systems were repaired in each community.  One of the electrical pump systems had been hit by lightening, and as a result water could not be accessed.  Women and children had to hike down to a river for access to water, and during the dry season were forced to dig in the riverbed to unearth the precious resource.   On May 1st, Roland leaves for Liberia, West Africa to install a water pump system to Malawu.  Fans will remember Malawu as the village on top of a hill that was a dedicated center of Satanic activity and sacrifices.  This village has ripped down fences, destroyed the Satanic altar, and built a church in it’s place.  A place of darkness has become a beacon of Light! 
• Are you a local that enjoys current events?  The BMW Charity Pro-Am is coming up this May, and if you’re a fan of golf or celebrities, this is the event for you.  Patron Credentials ($25 each) purchased through Water of Life go 100% to our ministry, and provide access to all courses throughout the tournament.  Or, you can volunteer to help at any of the tournament locations (which includes special access,  an after-party, a shirt and visor, and maybe even the opportunity to drive around in a BMW all day) and proceeds go to Water of Life.  Just be sure to select our charity when you sign up online.  The link above gives helpful information for volunteers, as well as a list of celebrities that have committed to participate. 
• And finally, we’ve moved! Our office is now located in the quaint, historic section downtown Greer.  Our office is within walking distance of  locally-owned coffee shop and cafes, and close enough to hear church bells and feel the pulse of the trains.   Our P.O. Box will remain the same, but our phone number has changed to 864.469.9500.  

“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply” — Hudson Taylor

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. 

God is good, all the time.

Our Spring 2010 Newsletter is here!  Check out pictures from our most recent trips before they hit mailboxes across America.  Want a printed copy? Email us at info@givefreshwater.org to be added to the snail mail list….or click the “Get the Newsletter” icon at the bottom of this page to receive email updates.

Click here to view the newsletter

Here’s a preview: 

“The problem is enormous, yet simple.  We’ve hiked to remote villages , and seen first hand the frustration of sickness and sorrow of death caused by unclean water. We get up close and personal, and partner with local, national churches  in West Africa to make a difference in lives and souls…one village at a time.  It’s more than water, but  the need for clean water opens the door for the need of the Water of Life.”

Roland,

I haven’t had a chance to formally thank you for guiding me through my first trip to Liberia last November. I cannot express how appreciative I am to you.

For me, the trip was a culmination of me giving in to the Holy Spirit’s tug on my heart to do missions. I had used every excuse in the book not to get involved…not enough time, not enough money, I don’t feel comfortable witnessing, I don’t have the skills needed (not a doctor or carpenter), and so on.

Can you relate to Mark’s fears? He outlined four reasons not to go. Many people have a secret arsenal of answers for NOT joining a mission trip. The answers are logical and comfortable…and they stick. As a result of putting off or ignoring the Spirit’s tug, other people are sent to do God’s work in a foreign land; others leave with their ‘super-human’ missionary talents. And when others return with stories of answered prayer, changed lives, tears, and difficulties, the Spirit tugs again. And the Spirit continued to tug at Mark’s heart.

“Go.”

And Mark went. Instead of trusting ‘self’, he followed the Spirit’s prompting, and trusted God to provide…money, time, confidence, and a purpose for him to be a part of the team headed to Africa. His letter continues,

“Now I’m hooked! The folks at Southside Fellowship have asked me to go back to Liberia this coming November, and I’ve agreed to go. I cannot wait to see how God has affected the lives of those in Liberia.” – Mark Preddy

What about your reasons? It’s always fascinating for us at Water of Life to see what God has in store for our trips. We never know what He has planned or who He will send. But we have seen – over and over – that those who give up their excuses and trust God’s prompting have never regretted it.

Water of Life/a.a.gray