Water

I am too tired to blog. So much has happened over the course of the last three weeks, I don't even know where to begin:

• Wonderful - The celebration of Jesus' birth; a vacation with family at the beach; a birthday for a super heroic eight year old boy. 
• Difficult - Christmas; being out of routine; the attempt to get home from our family vacation. 
• Traumatic - this week landed us smack in the middle of hard things. While I know there is healing at the end of this setback I don't yet know how God is going to work it out, and I don't have the words. Which is difficult for me, not having the words.

 So it's my husband's turn. Backstory - five months ago our church issued a challenge to step out of our comfort zone. If we were willing, we could accept the challenge and complete one of five tasks. From our time spent in Mexico and Africa, experiencing the real-life difficulty of water scarcity, Trent chose the challenge to drink only water for six months as a way to fast and pray for those around the world who lack clean water. For six months he has given up beer, Diet Coke and sweet tea to drink only tap water. The money he has saved (around $400) will be donated to Marion Medical Mission to install a shallow well in a water-deprived community. At the beginning of this fast he issued a challenge to friends and family - you all drink whatever you want, but if I make it, you commit to donating a well, too. When he ends the fast on February 14th, eleven wells at $400 each will be built and self-sustained in villages in sub-Sahara Africa.

With one month to go, this is Trent's letter to his supporters:

Well....no pun intended there, it's the last month of the "Well Challenge"!  I had one person say to me, "So my reward for listening to you complain about not drinking Diet Coke for the past five months is that I'm going to have to fork over $400?  You should have paid me to listen to your complaining, but hey, the Lord loves a cheerful giver!"

Oddly enough I get to begin this last month with a trip to Las Vegas, where everything is paid for, including the water.  Yummy!  I assume  I can survive since I have made it through holidays, vacations, family vacations, birthdays, New Year's Eve, and an 8 year old's birthday party.  There sure are a lot of reasons to drink more than water.  There will be one celebration at the end, on February 14th, Valentine's Day.  Mostly to thank my beautiful wife for all her support and encouragement.  I would invite all of you as well but that would be a little awkward.  I will say again how much I appreciate the support and prayers from each and every one of you.

I have watched the news about the people in WV where the water supply has been contaminated and thought how inconvenient that would be. But on the other hand, the majority of the world does not have trucks filled with water and bottles of water to help with this need. Together we can do a small part to come to their rescue.

I will send everyone the link to the Marion Medical Mission website in 4 weeks. In 1990 they installed 13 wells. In 2013 they installed 2,999 wells, providing clean drinking water to hundreds of thousands of men, woman and children.  

Trent

ps: I am so proud of him, his heart and his sacrifice.

pps: I did not take the drink-only-water challenge. I am no longer allowed to give up coffee. For the good of all mankind.

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  John 4: 13-14