Living Water

Providing a cup of water in Jesus' name is the most powerful event to occur in my life.

I traveled to Nairobi, Kenya in March 2005 with my parents and a group of 20 individuals that were on a vision trip for Living Water International. My mom had been to Kenya with her dear friend and one of the founding members several years prior and wanted to return since the day she left!

The reason my family went to Kenya was to dedicate a water well at St. Mary's School (outside of Nairobi) in honor and memory of my grandparents on my mom and dad's side of the family. While in Kenya, our team designated 2 additional wells from US sponsors and meet with the US Ambassador in Kenya and President Kabaki and his staff and the State House in Kenya to discuss Senator Bill Frist's Clean Water Act for sub-Saharan Africa.

During the meeting with the President of Kenya, several Board members challenged the President to select a location for a peace well in his country. Many wars are fought in African countries over water, between tribes, and across borders. The reason: water is a scarce resource in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa and the art of drilling water wells is very difficult. Some wells are over 2000 feet deep in order to reach a water source, where as wells that we drilled in Nicaragua are only 200 feet deep.

During our time in Kenya, we visited orphanages, hospitals, and refugee camps. I met several friends that are still pen-pals from St. Mary's school which is extra special since my grandparents names are on their water well. The girls from this school had to walk 11 kilometers one way to bring a bucket of water back to the school. Women and children bear the brunt of responsibility for gathering water for the family and walk for miles in order to reach a water source that may or may not be clean.

The need is great, and water is the most essential element to sustain life.

At the very end of our trip we flew to the Great Rift Valley and had an opportunity to go on safari in the Masai Mara - one of the greatest life experiences I believe I will ever be blessed with.

I hope to go back to Kenya one day - the people we met exemplify what being a servant to the Lord is all about.

Thoughts on a rainy day

This evening, I waded to my car in the expansive Lockheed parking lot under my umbrella that nearly snapped in two with the wind gusts. I believe it was like this all day, but there are no windows in our secured area at work, so I'm really not sure. :)

I stopped at the barn to be sure Scout had his warm blanket on and closed his stall windows in preparation for the possible snow tomorrow. For one reason or another, I began to reflect upon the fact that my horse has much more than thousands of people in Haiti right now. He has a roof over his head, 2 buckets full of water, a warm blanket, a heat lamp, and 2 flakes of freshly cut coastal hay. I occasionally question the amount of time and money that goes into hobbies...

I learned about an organization 6 months ago called Women for Women International. The non-profit received lots of attention since Oprah began to highlight their efforts last year. I encourage you to take a look at their website:
Women For Women


After completing my due diligence about the organization, I felt compelled to sponsor a woman and confident that I could put money towards something meaningful that would truly help someone else. The organization allows you to pick your top 4 country preferences. There is a special place in my heart for Africa. I spent 2 weeks in Kenya in 2005 with Living Water International Living Water International and wish that Oprah would highlight LWI this year!! :) Therefore, I selected Rwanda, Sudan, Congo, and Nigeria as my top choices. I received a letter in the mail last week (after 4 months of waiting) with a picture, name, and brief biography of a woman in Sudan who I hope will benefit from our donations and prayers.

Her name is Alak Nguee Ayol and she is 22 years old. I look forward to sitting down with a hot cup of chai tea (in memory of all our Kenyan friends) to write her a note tonight. I may or may not hear back from Alak, but regardless, I am excited with the hope of a better life for her.