LIVING WATERS HISTORY
Background & History
Shenandoah Forms Living Waters Team
An idea that began as a single venture for a mission trip grew into Shenandoah Presbytery’s own Living Waters Team. Members of three different churches combined their interests and talents to form the first Living Waters Team and were lead by Mac Sterrett of Augusta Stone Church who serves as the Team leader.
By combining their shared vision with the vision of the Living Waters for the World mission resources, Shenandoah’s Living Waters Team was formed. For information about how to be a part of this exciting new ministry of Shenandoah Presbytery, contact Mac Sterrett at macsterrett@comcast.net or call the presbytery office at (540)433-2556.
The First Living Waters System Installation
The first Shenandoah Living Waters for the World water purification installation was sponsored by the Highland-Augusta Mission Community. It was installed on the Baja California peninsula of Mexico during the week of July 19-23, 2004. The system was to provide clean water for the Oaxacan Indian community of Las Missiones, located just outside of the town of Vicente Guerrero. Las Missiones and other nearby colonias support a population of some 6,000 – 8,000 villagers primarily employed as seasonal agricultural field workers. The municipal water system is sporadic and unreliable, and though bottled water is available for purchase in the community, many do not have the financial means to purchase clean drinking water. The presbytery’s ecumenical partner is an established local mission group known as International Disciple Training (IDT).
The installation trip was combined with a previously scheduled Baja Mission Trip to build four houses in the community. The three Clean Water U graduates trained others to help with the installation and the health & hygiene training. The system was installed at The Dome, the central presence of IDT in the community. The Dome serves as a house of worship, community center and fellowship hall. Located within a small walled compound which also includes the minister’s home and a day care center currently under construction, The Dome also served as the classroom for health & hygiene training.
Consider These Facts!
•97 % of the water on this planet is salty.
•Of the remaining 3%, 2% is locked in the polar ice caps.
•That leaves 1% of water of earth for human consumption, agricultural and industrial use.
•And, half of water available for drinking and cooking is contaminated.
•The effect of this alarming fact is that 3 million people each year die of water-related illness, and most are children.
Water-related illnesses are the leading cause of death among children throughout the world, and dirty water is the number one health crisis in our world, and will be for the foreseeable future. Living Waters for the World is meeting this crisis head on, with a water purification system and a learning process that is ideal for use in health clinics, churches, schools and orphanages. By providing a system that’s simple, sustainable and affordable, and by teaching local leaders to lead health, hygiene and spiritual education among the community, Living Waters for the World and its partners have been able to help those in communities with contaminated water take ownership of making their own water clean again.
