Archive for 2008
All I want for Christmas is $25K
Monday, December 22nd, 2008
Don’t we all especially a couple of days before Christmas? Really, $25,000 is, was and I guess continues to be, my prayer. For me? Of course not, for Wells for Life®.
$25k is the cost to bring safe water to 15 rural villages in India. 15 villages made up of low caste laborers, agriculture workers, school children and those considered untouchable. These 15 villages represent 7500 men, women and children all of whom right now are suffering because they lack safe water in their village.
I received this proposal in November and after examining our financial situation again, (giving is down 52%) I thought there is no way I can fund these projects. Several weeks passed and then something stirred within me. I got in touch with my board and shared with them the need and explained our options and told them to pray. In the interim, this stirring stirred some more and a little voice said, “Why haven’t you asked me specifically for these villages and for this money?”
Some of you may be familiar with this voice and others may not. I attribute this voice to the whisper of God. This stirring brought boldness and so every day I have been praying that God would grant me the $25k so that I can bring water to 15 new places and thus positively change the course of 7500 people. While waiting for the check do you know what I am going to do? With the blessing and encouragement from my board, I am going to send a check to India and tell them to start drilling. After all, I have to visit in February and I want 15 new places to visit and gain the opportunity to tell all of these folks why I am doing this and who is responsible for bringing them water.
Is it me? No, it’s God. I am just the vessel, just an instrument doing His work and believing in faith that He is going to meet me along the path and supply the funds. Do I actually have the money in the bank for which the check can be cashed? In reserves and some may think I am foolish and some may say this isn’t faith because faith would do it even if there wasn’t money.
Regardless, it’s faith in my book when you do something crazy knowing that the security isn’t there and the action is in response to a prompting from God. That’s faith; doing what God said to go and do even if it looks crazy, dumb, short sided or not very professional.
Well I say, screw that. It’s high time we stopped looking at the obstacles and started looking at God and the opportunities. After all the Greek word ex nihilo implies out of nothing God can create; so I give Him my nothing and look forward to seeing His creation!
Will you join me?
Michael
Water … by Jen Decker
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
I asked my friend Jennifer to give me an article for my Wells for Life newsletter and here it is, in its entirety. If you are coming into this entry from the newsletter then scroll down to the paragraph with the big N.
Each day I mindlessly flush my toilet, wash my hands, wash dishes, and take my shower all while thinking about other stuff. Perhaps I think about my to-do list that day or a person I need to call or the blessings in my life. I don’t HAVE to think about water…it is a constant…it is always there for the taking. Can you imagine for 1 minute if you had to plan your day around water? Instead of mindlessly going about your life…each moment is now consumed by thoughts like…
- Which nearby town has well?
- I need to get Water for cooking and washing for the next 3 days which means I need to walk 10 miles and I have no shoes and that spot on my foot really hurts.
- The baby is sick, its 100 degrees and I know she needs water and I can’t carry her all that way and carry enough water back. So I’ll just get water here in the canal. Not knowing that this water is the very thing that is making her sick.
Water is life. I’ve heard this phrase many times but I now know that sometimes water is death. Death to a mother, who sacrifices her own well being by walking dangerous roads and paths to get water for her family, risking injury, attack or even rape. Death to a village when the water supply is full of disease. Death to the future of a child who has no access to education because his village lacks even have the infrastructure to provide water for its people.
These aren’t just dark-skinned people in a far off land who worship strange gods, eat strange foods and dress differently. These are moms and dads who want the best for their kids, just like us. These are children who dream of being doctors, nurses and teachers. These are call center workers who ride a bike into the city and work crazy hours talking to ungrateful Americans who can’t get their computer working, just so they can buy enough rice to feed their family. In fact, given some time, we might find that we that we are more alike than we were different.
Now imagine that one day a crew arrives with the priest or pastor (our ministry partner) and they talk to your village leader about putting in a well at no cost to you. The news spreads like wild fire. Everyone is talking. A few weeks later the crew is back and drilling the well getting it all ready. People gather around and watch with wide smiles in eager anticipation. That night as you are eating dinner on the dirt floor of your home your children ask questions about the well, how it works, and wonder if water will really come out of the ground. You, as parents smile at one another cautiously embracing the hope that you can provide a better life for your children. You finally get the news that the team will arrive to start the well on Tuesday sometime between 8 a.m. and Noon. You begin planning this historical day in your village keeping in mind that your children will remember this day for the rest of their lives.
The day is almost here, you and the kids could hardly sleep and you lie awake in your one room hut wondering what it will be like. Will they be white? Will they be kind? Will they be like the government who shows up, does their duty, and leaves? Will they appreciate our town? Will the children mind their manners? You can’t lie there any longer so you arise before the sun and begin putting out the best outfits you have for the children, though without water you haven’t been able to wash them properly. Your neighbors are also up; they too could not sleep due to the same excitement. Slowly the whole village makes their way to the “main” road (which is not likely to be found on any map). Never mind the fact that it is 7 a.m. and you were told that the team wouldn’t arrive until sometime between 8 a.m. and Noon, you want to be ready because it would be terrible for them to arrive and have no one there to welcome them.
It is now ten after noon, and you have waited all morning. You have answered the “Are they here yet?” question from the children at least 50 times. Then you hear a car, and shortly after you see it approaching. The men start beating their drums in celebration, the women prepare the spices for the blessing and the team is finally here. They get out of their cars and they are excited to see you too. They smile and greet each person with a wave and a kind touch or embrace. Together you walk through the village towards the well. There are drums, dancing and fireworks. This is an amazing day. They begin to pump, and finally gushing out of the spout is water. Pure, clean water. The children splash and you can’t stop smiling. You present the each person with the best you have, a coconut and a straw for milk, and a scarf for each person. Then the team shares a message of hope, salvation and love like you have never heard before. They speak of a living God and you listen knowing that it is THIS LOVE that sent water to your village and that with hope like this anything is possible.
I think Jen captured nicely the impact our water projects have from the perspective of a village mom. Thanks Jen!
Rested
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
It has been over a week since returning to Kansas and believe it or not I am planning my next trip. Thankfully I have help this time around, a good travel agent, a finance person and a smaller team to take.
For whatever reason the recovery time physically has been more challenging and the adjustment period a little tough; thank the Lord for drugs as they certainly have helped me sleep through the night. I hate waking up at 2am, then 3:30am, then 5:00 – why can’t I just sleep like everyone else? The price to be paid for traveling to India.
December 7 is going to be a big day in Tuni, unfortunately I won’t be there to enjoy it. Many people have asked me about events happening in Orissa and Madaya Pradesh, states north of Andhra Pradesh where violence is erupting and national Christians are being killed and yes those things are taking place and yet I want to report that the opposite is also taking place. Christian leaders/pastors are coming together and enjoying the freedom of worship and religion that does exist within India and on December 7 it is anticipated that over 10,000 people will gather and celebrate their faith and its freedom as well as pray for those in their country that need a touch from God. It’s too bad that there won’t be any media attention but hopefully I will be able to see the video of this event when I return in February.
I just saw a post that the airport in Bangkok has been swarmed and taken over and that flights are disrupted and order has yet to be restored; just another instance of the possible perils that exist when one leaves the country but in my mind just creates all the more excitment for international travel – Oh how I love it!!!!
So what’s on the horizon for Wells for Life? More projects. I need more funding to drill more water wells. Right now people are waiting for me to come and bring water and I can’t because I don’t have the money, your help though can make it possible to change lives – hundres and thousands all with the stroke of a pen and a check. Go to my website to give at www.wellsforlife.org and visit the How to Give page.
More later…..
Flying home
Sunday, November 16th, 2008
The trip back to the US officially began almost 24 hours ago (its morning in Bangkok and evening in the US as I write) when we loaded up the car and started driving for the airport. Before reaching Visak airport, (their building a new one which should be open in January 09 and if it is anything like the new airport in Hyderabad, it will be awesome) we stopped at New Life and said our good bye’s to the children and it was amazing what makes you get choked up – I said good bye to one of the fellows who always drives Dr. Premdas around until I show up, then I take over the driving duties, anyway, I hugged him, slipped him 500 RS and started crying; man this place grows on you.
The children at New Life are so loving and caring and hungry for love. Looking in their eyes and seeing them smile and say I love you in sign language was enough to convince me that this was the real deal and not just some response to a white guy. These kids, all 164 of them are truly grateful for the place they have been given and are thriving in this new environment.
I write from the EVA airline lounge and thankfully we had 4 hours of precious sleep in a day room here at the airport. Traveling with Betsy and Katie has been a lot of fun, they are flexible, reliable and like a sponge – taking everything in and most importantly enjoying most things they are experiencing. I think if the food was a little better they would have begged me to not take them home. These ladies remind me of my friend Bob who always comes to India with syrup, picante sauce, an assortment of M&M’s and peanut butter crackers. He dislikes the food so much but loves the people tremendously so his stash keeps him going. When I mentioned this to Betsy and Katie they lit up and were lamenting that Bob wasn’t with us. Maybe next time.
I have asked both Betsy and Katie to write some things for me concerning the trip from their perspective and I hope to have a newsletter out before year’s end with their insights.
So what’s it like flying home you might wonder; not bad provided there isn’t a screaming baby who seemingly can’t be quieted (1am this takes place), full flights on airplanes which aren’t the most comfortable, and yet there is alwasy the occasional opportunity to spring for an upgrade provided the space is available and the price economical which suprisingly can take place on international airlines. Then there is the airport time; 8 hours in Hyderabad between flights, 7 in Bangkok, almost 3 in Taipei and 1.5 in Los Angeles, so a grueling schdule if you aren’t prone to sleeping on planes. The good news is that it will be over soon and I will be back home in cold Kansas which is somewhat refreshing as it has been rather warm in India.
I better close as the flight is going to be called soon…….sleep tight everyone.
Today is Saturday…
Saturday, November 15th, 2008
Today is Saturday, I think, it must be because we start the long journey home. As I type my laptop is saying its Friday but that’s because it is set to Kansas time so it’s really Saturday and I am waiting for the roosters to start crowing and the boys to start making noise. I am sleeping in Dr. Premdas’ office here at Light of Love and in the adjoining room are Betsy and Katie, sacked out and most likely will only awaken if I go in there and rouse them from their slumber. I am jealous of them as I certainly can’t sleep like they can even with Ambien.
I don’t know how many hours of flight time and airport layover time we have but it is a bunch, probably 2 days worth. My foot is swelling again thanks to the stress and air travel and according to Dr. Sonya I need to keep my foot elevated; who knows maybe I will score an upgrade on the trip home. Friday was our final day of work; we visited the New Life Children’s Home property and dedicated the Leesa cottage which is appropriately named after Leesa Endicott the wife of my good friend Gary. The two of them are wonderful people and supportive of the work here in India and of Wells for Life. Unfortunately Leesa is struggling with cancer and with every gain it seems there is a setback but she is a fighter and keeps going despite the pain from the disease and the treatment. Saying cancer sucks doesn’t do it justice, it more than sucks, it’s downright nasty or whatever other adjective you want to use but just make sure it implies misery because that is what her body feels like to her, miserable. Anyway, not to dwell on the bad, Leesa has tremendous fortitude and Dr. Premdas felt this would be a wonderful way to honor her by naming the 1st constructed building on the New Life property in her honor and as a point for everyone to remember her in their prayers.
In addition to dedicating Leesa’s cottage, around 600 women from the nearby areas assembled under a tent, don’t think camping, but a rickety metal platform with steep shallow stairs to ascend and descend upon and moves and sways with every step. Now picture large and I mean large sheets of cloth which are multi colored and numerous patterns. These are the roof and are supported by long polls which are somehow tied off to a tree or branch. On the ground are tarps or more of the same sheet material and when I say sheet don’t think of your bed sheets as that is certainly not what it is, think some old movie like Lawrence of Arabia or The Ten Commandments and you would see these tent structures well that is what it is here in India but in a larger scale. Back to the women, there were a lot and they were there as part of our micro finance work. Several women shared how a small loan of less than $100 enabled them to get the start in business that they needed to end the cycle of poverty.
One amazing story was a woman who with her loan was able to have an auto rickshaw and now some 10 plus years later has an entire fleet of them for which drivers pay her a lease payment. There were many other stories, too many to list, but the end result is micro finance works. Capital is the only thing these women lack. We want to end that lack and so were going to start raising awareness and funds and see a micro finance program started in the Visak district.
If you want to read more about this, purchase A Billion Bootstraps: Microcredit, Barefoot Banking, and The Business Solution for Ending Poverty. Of all the books out now on this subject, for the purposes of India, this is the best, practical work and is easy to understand.
My next trip to India will be in February sometime, exact dates to be revealed later but in the interim I promise more entries and hopefully it will be great content!