"Dying for Water" CONTEST #4 - WINNERS HERE NOW

[mikeedwards]

FaithWriters and The Water4 Foundation thanks everyone for participating. Together we labor to save lives now and for eternity.

The Winners are Here


First place and two paid writing assignments worth $150.00 goes to - Lori Othouse

JUST ONE MORE DAY

The scene plays out like one from a dramatic film or a gripping novel…

Hot wind whips across the flat, dry land, blowing dust into the eyes of a frail young mother. She tries to blink it away, along with her tears. Sitting in the shade of a scrawny tree, she holds her only son - ten months old, thirsty and weak. The dehydration was taking its grim toll.

Their water supply now used up, her husband had set out to look for another water source - that was two days ago. It was the third time this year he had left on such a journey, not knowing what he would find, nor what he would come back to. But there was no choice, because there was no water. All she could do now was wait.

The young mother’s tears fell onto her son’s dry, chapped skin. She bowed her head and whispered, “Just one more day…please let me have him just one more day.” She knew not to whom she was praying or that she even was praying. No one had told her of a God who heard her, loved her and wept with her. She held her child close, not knowing how much longer she would have with him…

It’s a nightmare that makes us want to change the channel or close the book, but sadly, it is the cruel reality for millions of people in developing countries. People with no access to clean water, or any water for that matter and who are, quite literally, dying for it - 4100 children die from unclean water every day.

Every day.

Every.

Day.

It’s easy to turn away thinking the need is too vast, too great for me to help. What hope is there? But there is help. There is hope…

The Water4 Foundation is an organization that exists to bring life-saving water to nations plagued by water scarcity. But its mission doesn’t end there. Using cost-effective hand-drilling technology, they are able to provide water wells for communities in need at a fraction of the cost of a machine-drilled well. And because the process utilizes materials that are locally available and manpower over machine power, the people there are able to duplicate these methods on their own, thus providing even more wells along with much-needed employment opportunities.

By partnering with Water4, we can help give this mother not just one more, but many more days with her son. We can help fulfill the Biblical mandate found in Proverbs 31: 8-9 - “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute…defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

Yes, the need is great. Our compassion must be greater. Their hope rests in our hands; how can we not extend them?

Discover how you can make a life-saving difference today.

Lori Othouse
Member # 8826
Platinum

http://infyouz.wordpress.com/2012/09/16 ... -more-day/

http://www.facebook.com/notes/lori-lull ... 0475131273

http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... ?id=152020




Second Place and one paid writing assignment worth $75.00 goes to – Helen Curtis
The Cost of the Cure



Once upon a time there was a kingdom. It was a very large kingdom, made up of millions of people from many different lands.

Regardless of its size, the people living in it were overcome with sadness. Every day tens of thousands of men, women and children succumbed to a malevolent sickness that ravaged the land. Cries of anguish filled the air as families and friends mourned yet another father or mother, sibling or friend.

The agony of the deaths was heightened by the fact that there was a cure for the scourge. Many a missionary had visited the vast regions of the kingdom offering a cure, but the cost always put it out of reach. To be so near salvation, yet denied it because of their poverty was a cruel blow. In agony they cried out to their God for freedom from their accursed lives.

One day a missionary visited a certain village; full of excitement he ran through the streets, his shouts drawing a large crowd, “Listen to me, dear people, for I bring you great news! I can bring you the cure to the scourge!”

The villagers were sceptical of this peddler; why would he be any different to the others they had met? One of the leaders came forth and addressed the man. “How dare you come here and offer these people hope, knowing full well that they cannot afford it. Be gone from here and let us grieve in peace.”

The missionary knelt down humbly before the leader, hat in his hand, and spoke quietly, “I know only too well the pain of losing someone to this sickness and being offered false hope. I would not do that to you. What I offer you is the cure, but it will be made available for all.”

The village was set free that night. Sick children slowly recovered, crops grew again and the sickness was replaced with renewed health and strength – physical and spiritual.

In the developing world, tens of thousands of people are dying every single day, because they cannot access clean drinking water.

Water is the basis of our existence; without water we simply cannot live. We take it for granted. Around the world, millions of people are dying for water.

Many organisations have worked tirelessly in these countries to provide drilled wells for villages; we thank God for them, but the truth is they are very costly to set up and maintain.

Water4 is changing that! For a fraction of the cost of other wells, Water4 can supply the wells and train nationals to install them. This is a winning solution for millions of people in the worst drought-affected countries on the globe. Not only are the villagers being given access to clean water, many are also being given a vocation. And that has to be a win-win result.

To learn more visit their website via this link.

Will you help deliver the cure to a dying world?

Helen Curtis
Member ID 51870 - Gold

http://hjcurtis.wordpress.com/2012/09/1 ... -the-cure/
http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... ?id=152027
http://www.facebook.com/helen.curtis2?ref=tn_tnmn






Third Place and $25.00 goes to Amber Leggette Aldrich
Don’t Cry Me A River, Help Me Dig A Well!

The haunting images of eyes glazing over with death as a child dies in your arms; the shrieking and wailing of mourning announcing the death of another family member; the sickening stench of contaminated living areas; this and much more is a daily way of life for too many.

The main culprit of this devastation is the lack of access to safe, clean water and sanitation. 1.1 billion people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water. And 2.2 million people, most of them children, die each year from diseases related to unsafe water and unsanitary living conditions. This is a global water crisis , but there is a remedy.

There’s an old saying, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for lifetime”. What if that same principle was applied to the need for clean water? What if in the process of helping to provide the water, we could also provide skills to provide employment? This process could then be duplicated by the very people being helped, which in turn could be used to help others.

There have been technological advances that have created the means to install safe water well and pumps, in a very affordable and feasible fashion. The materials used to build these wells and pumps are available nearly everywhere at a very reasonable cost. Once the local people are shown how to dig the wells properly and install the simple pumps, they not only have the means to provide fresh, clean water for themselves, but they can use the skills they have learned to help provide the same for others. This increases the rate at which this water crisis can be resolved.

If you could save a child from the agony of slow death, wouldn’t you try?

All too often the general response to this issue is “Well what can I do about it” or “What difference can I make”? Believe me, there is so much that can be done! It all begins with having the heart to care enough to want to help.

Many Christians consider the phrase “What would Jesus do?” when seeking guidance and direction. I think it’s fairly obvious what He would do here. I imagine He might also say, “Don’t cry me a river, help me dig a well”. While it may not be possible to go and help physically dig, you could sponsor a well with only a small donation. Be a hero, save a life.

For more information and to find out how you can help, please visit Water4
http://faithhopeandmiracles.com/2012/08 ... ig-a-well/
http://amberleaofalaska.wordpress.com/
http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... ?id=151477
59068 Amber Leggette Aldrich Gold

SILVER MEMBERS IT PAYS TO ENTER IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

And our Silver Member Winner is -----------Janna Kelley from Southeast Asia who receives a One year Gold membership.

One Thing Makes Us Different


You don’t know me, but we are more alike than you think. I am a son or a daughter, just like you. I am a mother or a father. I have a sister and a brother. I dream of a better future for my children. I laugh and I cry. Just like you. If you take the time to reach out, you can touch my hand and feel my warm skin. We are the same. But there is something that makes us different, you and I. There is something that is as big as life and death. If we are sad, our hearts will ache. If we are cut, our skin will bleed. But if we are thirsty, my friend, you will reach for a cup and fill it with cool, refreshing water and I will just be thirsty. If we are dirty, you will run your hands, your face, your body under a warm shower and I will just be dirty. You see, my family has no access to clean water. Do not think that I am unusual; there are 1.2 billion people just like me. When you feel the strain of a drought in your country, you water your lawn only once a week. When I feel the strain of a drought, I grieve over a family member who dies from the lack of clean water. This common, you understand. Every 22 seconds a child dies from a preventable water-related disease. Dear Friend, do not throw your hands up in despair. The problem is real, but the solution is possible. For $600-$2,000 a low cost well can be dug for my village. When you reach to turn on your water faucet, please consider reaching out to touch me. Feel my warm skin, close your eyes and see my smile. Hear my laugh. With the help of people like you, people like me can reach for a drink when we are thirsty! I dream of a life without the needless diseases, a life where my children don’t have to cry for the most basic need: water. Will you join the people at water4 to reach out and hold my hand and dream with me?

Jana Kelley
id # 40401 Silver

http://kelleykhronicle.blogspot.com/201 ... e-not.html
http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... ?id=151935





Contest rules below here

Hello FaithWriters,

"And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded." Matt 10:42

All members are invited to enter these contests.

You must be a member to enter. You can join now for free if you are not a member http://www.faithwriters.com/finish-signup.php

You also need to register in these forums after you join as a member. Click the register button to the right above the "Dying for Water" title on this page.

In this contest you are to write an article about the drinking water problem in the world. How many people die each day. The immense need for clean water.

To get as much participation as possible we are making this information available now. If you do not think you are qualified to enter this contest, you are wrong. Every article and every link have the potential to lead a generous donor to Water4. We encourage all to enter. If you want to enter but are not interested in prizes. Just write and if you win you can pass the paid writing assignments on to the next writer in the contest.

The Ministry we are promoting -

http://www.water4.org

Watch this 1 minute video http://vimeo.com/14000616 and 5 min video http://vimeo.com/29739390

and this 4 minute video and others on Vimeo for Water4.

http://vimeo.com/12317384

Read this update from Water4 - http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=151037

Objective - Catch and keep the interest of the web surfer getting them to click through on the links in your article so they donate and support the mission of Water4. We are looking for gripping, a title to catch a person's eye and attention and an article that does the same so they want to click through to the ministry and donate. Use your imagination as a writer and write from the eyes of a dying child, or parents who have lost a child to lack of clean water. People should not die because they do not have clean water.

The word count will be 500 words maximum.

There must be a title.

Post article in 2 locations plus this forum.

Links must work in all posts.

You must include your name and member number at the bottom of your submission in this forum only. You must also include the URL's in your post in this forum for the other two places you posted your article.

Deadline 9-17-12 at 10 am.

The Keywords in their contextual link format that you must use

ONLY ADD 3 TO 5 LINKS PER ARTICLE IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE DOING LINKS REVIEW THE OTHER AREAS IN THE BLOGGING FORUM THAT EXPLAIN EXACTLY HOW TO DO IT.

Here are the links formatted for our regular articles submission area.

1) <a href=" http://water4.org/simple-solution/"TARGET="_blank">water well </a>

2) <a href="https://water4.org/" TARGET="_blank" > clean water </a>

3) <a href=" https://water4.org/"TARGET="_blank"> donate a well </a>

4)<a href=" http://water4.org/projects/"TARGET="_blank"> drilled wells </a>

5)<a href=" https://water4.org/how-to-help/"TARGET="_blank"> sponsor a well </a>

6 )<a href=" http://water4.org/about-us/"TARGET="_blank"> global water crisis</a>

7) <a href=" http://water4.org/complex-need/ "TARGET="_blank" > dying for water</a>

<a href=" http://water4.org/simple-solution/"TARGET="_blank"> low cost well</a>


9)<a href="https://water4.org/how-to-help/"TARGET="_blank"> clean drinking water</a>

10) <a href="http://water4.org/complex-need/ "TARGET="_blank">access to clean water</a>

11) <a href=" http://water4.org/complex-need/"TARGET="_blank" >water pollution </a>

12) <a href=" http://water4.org/complex-need/"TARGET="_blank" > water scarcity </a>

13) <a href=" http://water4.org/simple-solution/"TARGET="_blank" > Hand drilling technology </a>

14) <a href=" https://water4.org/"TARGET="_blank"> Water4 </a>

15) <a href=" http://water4.org/complex-need/"TARGET="_blank"> water and sanitation </a>

16) <a href=" https://water4.org/"TARGET="_blank"> world water</a>

17) <a href=" https://water4.org/"TARGET="_blank"> water shortage </a>

18) <a href=" https://water4.org/"TARGET="_blank"> africa water wells </a>

19) <a href=" http://water4.org/complex-need/ "TARGET="_blank" > save a child</a>

More advanced and know how to make your own links?-You can also take other keywords from pages on water4's website and link the page they are on to them.


Prizes for Gold and Platinum members -

1st place gets two paid writing assignments that pay $75 each

2nd place gets one assignment for $75

Winners get the chance to earn more writing assignments from the Water4

Winners get writing exposure

3rd place gets $25 and on the ministries approved writer list for a possible future
assignment

The winning entry will also be posted on 100 Chrisitan Blogs. This will give the winner
more exposure and the ministry we are promoting hundreds of more links to their site.

Prize for Silver members -

Best Silver entry gets a one year free gold membership

Writing exposure

All members are building treasure in heaven as Jesus said we should.


You have a lot of time on this but do not put it off. Get some ideas on paper now and write something that will attract readers and make them click your links.

If you are a silver member I encourage you to enter. I promised the best silver entry would win a Gold membership in the FaithWriters blog contest but not one silver entered. I am making the same offer this time to our silver members. If you win a free Gold membership on this one you would be eligible to win a writing assignment on future ones over the next 12 months.

If you are new to these contests we encourage you to go here to learn more - http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=35283

More about creating links here -
http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=35422

Ask questions here -
http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=35289

To get a better idea of what we are looking for in articles go here and read the past winners -
http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=35372
http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=35527

Replies below this post are reserved for contest entries. Ask questions here -
http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=35289


God Bless, Mike

[tomoral]

Six Thousand Angels

Elizabeth is a twelve year old girl living in the slum of Kibera in Africa, where over a half of a million people live in poverty. There is no electricity or running water. Her mother is deceased and her father works odd jobs to make a few shillings. She is fortunate to be alive, as many children die here before the age of six.

The house she lives in is a mud shack. The ground is used for a toilet, bringing stench and diseases. Sewage runs like rivers of water through the village during the rainy season.

Elizabeth can’t go to school because she must stay home and care for her younger brothers and fetch water. She walks quite a distance and must carry heavy containers. She sometimes has to pay for water, so she gets very little. The family goes without washing their hands or bodies because water must be used for drinking.

Due to the sanitary conditions, diseases like malaria and dysentery are rampant in the village. Both children and adults get sick and die. Medical help comes from outside and is scarce.

Elizabeth’s four year old brother Dominick is dying. She hears a new clinic on the edge of Kibera has opened, so she literally carries him there. He has severe stomach trouble and is dehydrated. The child moans in agony as the doctor does all she can, but it is too late. God mercifully takes another angel home.

Elizabeth sobs as she steps out of the clinic with her brother’s lifeless body in her arms, and sees a golf course with water sprinklers running over a lush, green lawn. A high fence separates the rich from the slums of Kibera. Children, dying for water, stand outside the fence watching men play golf, and eyeing the water as it quenches the thirst of the grass. They do not understand.

The characters in the above story are fictionalized, the events are not. A child like Dominick is just one of the 6000 children dying in Africa every day. 6000 a day! There is a global water crisis in this world many people are either unaware of or simply choose not to think about. We must do something to help!

In 2008, Dick and Terri Greenly (co owners of Pumps of Oklahoma) founded a public charity called The Water4 Foundation to provide water to impoverished areas such as Kenya, Ghana, Haiti and many others. They not only drill wells at a small fraction of the cost of others, they also teach the Gospel of Christ and get the natives involved by providing them employment opportunities and allowing them to become a part of a solution to their own water shortage problem.

Please go to Water4 to learn more, and then, give! Even the smallest donation will help save a child by providing clean, safe, water. These children are God’s most precious angels, and they need your help. You will be blessed many times over!

Lynn Gipson--id #57394


http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... ?id=150748

http://www.thekingstranz4mdscribe.com/t ... s-1819271/

http://www.faithwriters.com/websites/my ... p?id=57394

http://www.christian-news-today.com/six ... nd-angels/ (no links)

https://www.facebook.com/#!/lynn.gipson.90 (link to regular articles)



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

[gracelikerain]

Dirty Dishes Reveal God's Heart

I threw my hands up in surrender. How is it possible that the four people living in this house could generate so many dishes? I sighed, pulled out a dishtowel and set to work. On the counter were seven plastic cups of varying colors, lined up like a dirty rainbow. Muttering under my breath, I grabbed the first glass, took a step to the sink and dumped the contents into the disposal with a splash. As I touched the second glass, though, I was hit with this realization: I just threw out perfectly clean water like it was nothing more than trash. I stopped. My spirit suddenly ached and I knew that God was ready to speak. I needed to be ready to listen.

In the quiet a voice, not an audible voice, but a Voice nonetheless said to me:

Do you remember that photo shared through Facebook this morning? He is one of my precious children, dying for water, yet you glanced at it and moved on as if it was no concern of yours.

Do you remember reading that book where you were so disturbed by the statistics of how many children die every day from lack of clean drinking water that you decided you needed to do something, but too soon you became distracted with your own life and forgot?

Do you remember when you told me you were willing to give up everything--everything--to follow Me?.

I was broken. I sank to my knees in hurt and conviction. So many people spend their lives trying to gain access to clean water so that they and their children can live. And not just survive, but thrive. How can you build a business, go to school or bless others, when you don’t have the most basic of human needs?

Through my tears came a strengthening resolve: How can I help? How do I keep my children and myself from taking our water for granted? Can I somehow give someone clean water and a chance to hear the Gospel? Is there some ministry loving people today like Jesus did through wells and water? I sat down and searched the internet using phrases like donate a well and global water crisis. In no time, I was directed to the ministry of Water4.org...exactly what I was looking for!

Father, please forgive my apathy. Remind me that all good things come from You and You alone. I live in a wealthy nation and have a comfortable life. Help me to be mindful that I have been given these blessings, so that I can be a blessing to others--at home, in my neighborhood and around the world. Make my affluence a sweet fragrance and sacrifice as I share with others, so that those who need it most would be taken care of. Break my heart as Your heart breaks and help me fulfill Your purposes here on earth. Thy will be done. Amen.


http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... ?id=150784
http://glynisb.blogspot.com/2012/08/dir ... heart.html
http://www.facebook.com/glynis.becker

[jennafernandez91]

The Waters Cry Out

“Death is coming for the child. We can delay no longer.” Tau looked toward the village and unsheathed his sword.

Ajani lifted his eyes to the heavens. “But we were told to await the sign. We cannot move until it comes.”

“I believe the sign has come.” With wings unfurled, Tau motioned toward the banks of the river. “The waters cry out in anguish; they plead with their Maker—longing to be made useful once again. The Enemy has tainted with death that which was meant to bring life and health, refreshing and healing.”

“Yes, but I expected…”

“You expected a sign from heaven. But maybe it is here before us.” The golden sun illuminated Tau’s brown eyes and glowed against his dark skin. “The child is dying for water. His grandmother has travailed in prayer. The entire village has sought relief. Even creation groans in agony.”

Lowering his head, Ajani gazed upon the waters. “You speak truth. Our Commander told us to see with His eyes, hear with His ears and feel with His heart. Now I understand. God has heard the cries for help…and it is time for man to hear.”

“Then we must depart.” Lifting his sword heavenward, Tau set his face like a flint toward battle. Ajani followed without hesitation.

Fighting through thick clouds of fierce enemies, the warriors reached their destination. Before them was a land of great abundance, but Tau sensed something greater was lacking.

Standing in the city square, Tau observed the people. “The land from which we came had so little, but the people have great faith. This new land has abundance, yet it overflows with apathy and complacency. Faith is scarce.”

“Remember what the Commander has spoken: ‘A little child shall lead them.’” Ajani’s voice was infused with passion. “We left a child dying, but will find a child praying.” As he spoke these words, they came to a room where a child was on his knees.

“This is the one. He will be an Ambassador, convincing his people to build the well. The people of our land will find healing; the people of his land will find the joy that comes from sacrifice.” Tau’s wings arched over the praying boy with great strength and magnificence.

“And what will become of the dying child?” Ajani knew the answer he wished to hear.

“He will be strengthened by the new water. He will grow and learn—and live abundantly. The two boys will become friends. And one day, they will lead multitudes to the Water of Life.”



A wise proverb states: “Children are a living message we send to a time we will never see.” Sadly, millions of children will not survive to deliver their message because they lack access to clean water. The Water4 Foundation has heard the cry for help, and you can partner with them in responding to the global water crisis. The cry has gone forth. You can be part of the solution.

Jenna Fernandez | id#58438

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eternal- ... 7906261326
http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... ?id=150810
http://thenightlightblog.wordpress.com/ ... s-cry-out/
https://twitter.com/EternalEncountr

[yahuliani]

Wells of Salvation

Push, pull, push pull.  Hands cupped and ready.  Push, pull, pump, pump.  Children surrounded him and watched anxiously.  Up and down, up and down, pump, pump.  The young boy pushed and pulled on the pump handle with one goal in mind - WATER!

Suddenly, a rush of the cold water shot out from a hole in the handle.  With shouts and screams of joy, the children jumped up and down as they tried to catch the fresh, clean water in their hands.   Water overflowed their little palms and splashed onto the ground splattering their clothes with moisture and making puddles in the parched dirt.  

Pure, clean water continued to pour out of the well pump.   Water, which we take for granted on a daily basis, the village children of Uganda caught in their hands and threw into the air spraying and refreshing everyone around them.  

The prophet Isaiah says, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3).   These village children know the reality of receiving the salvation of living water.  Unfortunately, many villages around the world like the one in Uganda don’t have the ability to draw water from a well and they are thirsty for pure, clean drinking water.   

Water4Foundation is a life-saving ministry that “Empowers Communities One Well at a Time”.  They drill wells and bring water to villages that have no access to clean water.  Their simple low-cost drilling technique allows them to pump underground water to the people who need it.   The average cost of drilling one well is between $5000-$10,000, but Water4Foundation drills one well for only $1000.  Additionally, they teach and equip communities to drill their own wells -  $5000 enables a community to drill 50 wells!  

Bring a well of salvation to thirsty children worldwide in places like Kenya, India, Brazil, and Haiti.   Through your donations to Water4Foundation, you can give the gift of living water to communities who are thirsty.   “Indeed, whoever gives you even a cup of water to drink because you come in the name of the Messiah — yes! I tell you that he will certainly not lose his reward"  (Mark 9:41).

Villagers heard the shouts and screams from the children. They rushed to the well.  They saw boys and girls dancing in the water gushing from the pump.   They reached out their own hands and cupped the water. They sipped and quenched their inner thirst.   They rubbed the cool water on their faces and their heads.  The Source of Living Water had come to their village. They would no longer be thirsty. With joy they drank from the well of salvation. Up and down, pump, pump. GUSH!

[emjmac]

My name was Massani. I would have been four years old, but I died today. I was playing the Ugandan game of kakopi with my friends when I began to feel sick and I didn’t want to play anymore. I ran to my mama and said, “Mama, mimi ni mgonjwa” which means, Mama, I feel sick.

She felt my forehead and tried her remedy, but it did not help. Nothing helped to cool down my warming body. Then the diarrhea came. I felt so weak. I could tell that my mama was worried. Mama always knew how to make me feel better. Not this time. She carried me to the nearest clinic which was three hours away and waited hours in line with my limp body, glad I was asleep. She did not want to see me cry, but after five hours in line, the doctor told her I was asleep forever. The doctor explained that my use of unclean water caused typhoid fever which caused my death. He sees hundreds of cases such as these.

In fact, according to the World Health Organization over 2 million children die yearly because they do not have access to clean drinking water.

Massani symbolizes the massive problem of contaminated drinking water affecting poor countries around the world: Kenya, Ghana, India, Equador, Haiti and so many more countries throughout the world
.
The doctor could not help Massani, but there are many people around the world who have decided to get involved. Dick and Terri Greenly of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma are working hard to prevent deaths like Massani’s from happening again. They have seen the impact of the [url]global water crisis[/url]and refused to stand idly by. Instead they formed the [url]Water4 Foundation[/url], which developed an affordable approach to reverse this catastrophe and provide access to [url]clean water[/url] for all by producing [url]hand drilling technology[/url], so villagers can dig their own wells.

Your generous donation can sponsor a well , and children like Massani will have access to clean, life-giving water and pursue a productive life.

It’s scandalous to think that anyone can enjoy the comfort of a hot cup of coffee or a cool glass of water knowing families around the globe drink from waters that are not fit for dogs. Millions are crying out, “I am dying for lack of clean water.” Can you hear their plaintive voices?

Extend a compassionate hand across the globe to offer a cup of cold water to a child in need. Go to [url]Water4[/url] and make a donation today. One well can cost $600-$2000.00, and it can save an entire village. You can help defray costs so more mothers, fathers and children can quench their thirst.

Margo McKenzie: id=54907
http://www.giftofletters.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/margo.mckenzie.7

[jostrick]

Abandoned to Die

Despair lurks near. I must keep my guard up. My children need me. When I was a child, I thought this could never happen to me. To my children. How naïve I was.

I thought there would be somewhere to run, somewhere to go, someone to help. But my friends, my neighbors…their children are dying too. I wonder if my eyes show my story as their eyes show theirs.

Each day, as I go to the pool I see her there, my friend Sasha. We don’t speak, but we linger as we wait.

For what we wait, I do not know. There is no one to stop us. We want, we pray, for someone to stop us. There’s no clean water here and praying did not stop Sasha’s babies from dying. She is mostly silent now. I miss her laugh.

With a quiet sigh, I take the first step. She follows, knowing that we must provide water for our families. She doesn’t know how sick my children, whom she loves dearly, really are. I don’t have the heart to tell her. Instead I must believe, no matter how hopeless, that there is someone out there, up there, to hear my prayers.

The preceding story is fictional, but the need for clean water is universal. Each year, if safe drinking water were available, 2.2 million children’s deaths could be prevented. The Water4 foundation is dedicated to help by digging wells—using hand-drilling technology, low-tech drill kits, and training. They also desire to produce jobs for nationals by training them to dig wells. When a well is dug, the equipment can be moved to the next location. Thus, they can reach remote, rural areas with water.

God created us to have need for water. When it is absent, or polluted, we suffer. Those are the facts. He also called us to share His living water—the water that never fails. How can we share that spiritual water with those who are dying and those whose children are dying from lack of safe drinking water? By first providing for physical needs, we open the door to sharing about the spiritual well that never runs dry.

Water4 shows God’s love by providing water, which prepares hearts for the Gospel message. They have partnered with World Vision, which has a strong evangelistic emphasis. Together they meet mankind’s need for physical and spiritual water.

There are many who, as in the above story, suffer silently—with only God to hear their cries. But He does hear. Like the story’s narrator, I want to hear Sasha laugh again. That can only happen if families have access to clean drinking water. Prayerfully consider supporting Water4, a foundation that understands that eternal life can spring from a simple cup of water.

“For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” Mark 9:41 (NKJV)


http://joannasword.wordpress.com/2012/0 ... ed-to-die/
http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... ?id=151060
https://www.facebook.com/joanna.stricke ... 4603257393

[hletto2]

So Very Thirsty!

Oh the joy of an icy mug of water on a hot summer day! Close your eyes and feel it on your lips. Let it touch your inflamed tongue and sooth your raspy throat. A shiver runs down your spine as your body is gripped with immediate pleasure. Yes, cool, clear, crisp life-giving water. Essential, pleasurable and satisfying. Ahhhhh…

A few months ago I posted on the joys of thirst—both physical thirst and spiritual thirst. In summary, physical thirst is the mechanism that a loving God implanted within us as a reminder to consume what our body needs to thrive and survive. In that same vein, spiritual thirst is what drives us to seek the very God who renews our spirit and gives eternal life.

Psalm 63:1[/b]
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

But, what if you had to sustain a thirst that couldn’t be quenched? What if your cracked lips, inflamed tongue and raspy throat simply had to suffer? What if your head pounded and it became painful just to blink because there was no fluid to coat your sensitive eyes? What if the very response God implanted within your body to keep you alive yielded no relief? Would you dive into murky, disease-ridden waters for a sweet reprieve?

I think I would. And I know they have.
[img][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y4RHryXYXE][/img]
It seems impossible doesn’t it? And after I watch the video and then turn on my faucet to load up my water purifier with high-quality, sparkling-clean municipal water as it gushes from the tap, I must admit my face reddens with shame because they are dying for water [url]http://water4.org/complex-need[url]

Matthew 10:42[b]
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

I thank God for an organization I found: Water4. This organization is truly acting as the hands and feet of Jesus. Look at what they’ve done! It’s affordable. It’s teachable. It’s a life-saver. Low cost wells... http://water4.org/simple-solutionthe idea is too simple, don’t you think? Yet, just as simple as our everlasting life is to Jesus Christ, sometimes the answers to world problems can be obtained with simple logic as well. I want to be a part of this, do you? If the spirit moves you… sponsor a well!https://water4.org/how-to-help/

Now, do you want to get those shivers again? The kind that take your breath away when the Spirit of the Lord comes crashing into your life? Ready for a full-faced smile and to be touched with the Spirit of Truth as life-giving waters gush forth? Have a look...
[img]vimeo http://vimeo.com/14000616]
[/img]

Proverbs 27:19
As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.

lhttp://noapologiesonlyfaith.com/
http://www.carlamcdougal.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/#!/heather.letto
posting.php?mode=reply&f=92&t=35645

[4carnie2]

Well Wishers


Appraised an aimless trek of a nomad
Staking a claim on arid land
Entrenched in fallowed, drifting sand.

As the children chant from afar.
“Water, water, divine provider
Without a doubt we cannot live without.”

In quest for sole sustaining terrain
His prevailing plea - to remain free.

As motherless children plead.
“Water, pure water, we are in dire need
Don't turn your back to our pleas!

Nomad given in to be reflective
By the gravity of transient flight.

As the wind conveys – apparent to their cries
“Clean water, clean water – do not deny!
Without our portion – we will surely die.”

Purged within those fiery dunes of affliction.
As his blistered lips part – without utterance.

As the innocents petition
“If you continue not to hear us
What is so different about your Jesus?”

: http://www.faithwriters.com/websites/my ... p?id=26395
Keyword - clean water

[billiejoyoumans]

TITLE: Health and Hope

The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, penned in 1797, eloquently speaks a tragic modern truth.
“Water, water everywhere and nary a drop to drink.” While the Mariner spoke of an ocean-bound person, current estimates indicate that 1.2 billion land-dwelling people face a similar crisis. In one of death’s most cruel masquerades, what appears as life-giving water in many regions of the world is actually disease ridden poison. Dirty water negatively affects human lives to a greater degree than HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis combined. Over 4000 children die each year from water-borne illnesses. Nearly 200 years before the Mariner’s rhyme, Leonardo DaVinci envisioned a technology that offers an effective solution to today’s tragic situation.

PVC Access 1.2 (for the 1.2 billion who need water), a project of the Water4Foundation, incorporates the DaVinci design in a low-tech, hand-drilling technology that provides clean drinking water in remote areas. The Rhyme of the Mariner recognized the death that is in 97.5% of earth’s water. The salt-water oceans comprise most of the planet’s water; ocean voyagers lost at sea who give into the temptation of drinking salt water die an excruciating death. The polar ice caps hold most of the remaining 2.5% of earth’s water captive. The water that is left is drinkable. Astoundingly, less than 1% of our planet’s water is accessible without drilling. PVC Access 1.2 aims to bring pure, clean water to the lips of a million people in 2014. Would you consider being a part of this life-saving mission?

Literally, the Water4Foundation is organizing a rescue mission. In regions with dirty water, average life expectancies end in the mid-30s. The goal of PVC Access 1.2 is reducing the death toll from water-borne disease by 2.2 million. A mission of such magnitude needs many partners. The prohibitive costs of traditional drilling hold remote areas hostage to dirty water. Rescue is possible by applying the plunger technology designed by DaVinci with the miracle of PVC pipe. With this pairing, Water4 creates life-giving wells at a fraction of the cost of a traditional rig-dug well. Averaging 600 to 1000 dollars, low-tech, hand-drilling technology bring life--and hope for the future into dying communities.

In the construction of each Water4 well, community residents are involved in the process. Members of the community are taught the technology so they can help other communities in the region... Essentially, each well is a vocational employment program that creates local entrepreneurs! Trainees obtain marketable skills for a sustainable business that offers health and hope to others. Water4 wells bring refreshment and life to the present and the future! Learn more about how you can be a part of creating this lasting legacy of life around the world.


Billie Jo Youmans, 8850
Also posted on: http://ramblingsfrombilliejo.blogspot.c ... ption.html

http://billiejoyoumans.blogspot.com/201 ... -hope.html

[lish1936]

PASS the WATER, PLEASE

Our response to Pastor Claude’s, “Water, anyone?” is a unanimous, Yes!

The three hour trip from the Mission station to the remote outpatient clinic, located among the mountains north of Port au Prince, the capital of Haiti, had left those of us on the truck as thirsty and dry as the long, dusty road that carries us towards our destination.

Pastor Claude reaches into the portable cooler near him, pulls out several bottles of water and hands them back to us. With foreign missionaries on board, uncontaminated bottled water was a must bring item on the list. As we make our way up the treacherous mountain road, our truck pitches precariously leftward and comes upon a scene, which after thirty years, I still remember. It made me even more grateful for the cold, refreshing water I had just consumed.

A large, muddy pond spreads out on the side of the road. I could only imagine what lay below the thick, clay colored surface. From where I sit, I can tell this polluted, stagnant body of water serves as the neighborhood swimming hole, a place to do laundry, and a place where one comes to bathe; and that includes several goats that wade in.

Our truck continues to slowly mount the steep incline towards our destination, but the scene plays repeatedly with my thoughts…Men, women, naked children, animals, wading, washing , bathing, mud, filth… How could one survive the ravages of disease in such primitive conditions?
I think of the unimaginable hardships that result from the scarcity ofclean water, and my eyes moisten in sympathy.

“Where do the villagers go for drinking water?” I ask Pastor Claude. His reply makes me blink harder to hold back the tears.

“Children as little as six-years old often walk several miles carrying water cans to find the nearest stream. And even then, the water may not be up to standard.”

Twenty minutes later, the truck stops in front of a one story building with makeshift benches filled with patients, some hardly able to remain upright, after walking or being carried for several miles.

How could one survive the ravages of disease in such primitive conditions?

At the end of eight grueling hours of non-stop evaluation and treatment of more than one hundred patients, I have the answer.

Some don’t!

My experience with the unimaginable hardships that results from the scarcity of clean water occurred years ago. Yet, 42% of Haiti’s population still lack clean water to drink.

At our house, “Pass the water, please” comes with a guarantee that the water is safe to drink. If only communities throughout the world could count on drinking uncontaminated water.Water 4 Foundation knows the problem first hand and is doing much to address the problem in Haiti and elsewhere; but there’s much more to do. Don’t let their effort to supply safe water stagnate due to lack of funds. Donate Today!

The answer to, "Water, anyone?" YES! Clean water for anyone and EVERYONE

Lillian I.D.# 4828
http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... ?id=151291
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?
Fortunate 500

[dtippit]

Life in the Pipe

Cassandra raises her two younger sisters, Patricia and Leila. Cassandra’s sisters are ten and seven years of age. Cassandra is a day laborer on a nearby farm struggling to care for her sisters and herself. Cassandra is sixteen years old. She never knew her father and it has been six months since her maman died. Maman is Haitian for mother. Cassandra has lost two aunts and a cousin also. Cassandra’s maman gave birth to a baby boy just prior to her passing. He was five months old when he died. The spirit of death is Cholera.

Cassandra has had to grow up quickly. She is the father, the mother, and the sister of her family. Her family is one of scores of families that have been directly affected by this terrible disease. Cholera has always been a concern for villages outside of Port-Au-Prince – particularly since the earthquake - but never on such a large scale. The cause is pollutants from collapsed and rubbled buildings, and a poor sanitation system due to the destruction of innumerable homes causing a massive spread of homelessness and transients throughout the city. The decaying remains of bodies yet to be found also seeped contaminates into the clean watersources that flowed from the big city.

What was once a moderately <a href="https://water4.org/" TARGET="_blank" > clean water </a> source in the form of a creek behind Cassandra’s hovel is now ripe with foul, tainted poisonous water. Now Cassandra must walk almost a full days journey to a somewhat ingestible water source while carrying five one-gallon jugs. It is killing her physically to take on such a task, but her fear of losing another family member is the motivation to abuse her small framed body every week.

Then, in the matter of one day hope drove into town. An organization calling themselves Water4 brought an more optimistic and brighter future. The <a href=" https://water4.org/"TARGET="_blank"> Water4 </a> Foundation did not just bring help, they brought life. Cassandra and the villagers experienced the impact of clean and dirty water. Water can either bring life or death. The miracle of the <a href=" https://water4.org/"TARGET="_blank"> Water4 </a> Foundation arriving brought more than physical water, it also brought the Water that births life.

<a href=" https://water4.org/"TARGET="_blank"> Water4 </a> carried life in their tool boxes and trucks. They delivered life through the pipes and knobs they installed. The also spoke life into the village by sharing why they serve these needy places. <a href=" https://water4.org/"TARGET="_blank"> Water4 </a> not only helps villages like Cassandra’s to find a clean water supply, they also have a message.

Cassandra’s story may be fictional, but it is a fact that thousands of people die every day because of <a href=" http://water4.org/complex-need/"TARGET="_blank" >water pollution </a>. The <a href=" https://water4.org/"TARGET="_blank"> Water4 </a> Foundation has taken Jesus’ call seriously in the physical and spiritual sense. <a href="https://water4.org/" TARGET="_blank" > Clean water </a> is a symbol of virility and life. Jesus’ water quenches our thirst and fills us full of life to which we will thirst no more. Partner with Water4 and witness how clean water can change lives.

Danny Tippit #59286

http://jfministries3.wordpress.com

http://dktippitiii.tumblr.com

[mikeedwards]

We have decided to relax the rules and say that it is okay if the links do not work in this forum. If you can get it great. If not just use the unlinked keyword in that space. For everyone who has struggled and got it done, great job. I wish we would have made this decision before you labored intensively.

Please make sure that it is posted in at least 2 other locations where the links work. Our regular articles and your blog will work. If you want to post it additional places. Please do and make sure to list all of them at the bottom of your submission here.

For those of you who won't give up on getting the links to work here. Take a deep breath and ask God to help this time. Here is how you insert them in this forum.

[url=THEURLHERE]Water4 Foundation[/url]


Thanks to everyone who has entered and will be entering. We are praying for a landslide of entries. These ads could generate a lot of donations for Water4. Think about it. God Bless, Mike

[Shaleen]

One Boy’s Story

I am so tired. I have to walk down this path several times a day for water. I’m not the only one who has to draw water from the hole, but today seems harder. The bucket though empty, seems heavier. I must do this for my family.

I hope it won’t be long before our little village gets the new well. I understand that’s what they call it. Never heard of one before. I heard someone talking the other day, and they said this well will provide good clean water. I hope so for my family’s sake.

You see, my mother is real sick. My father took her to town several miles away to see the local doctor. He gave my mother some medicine but she won’t get better unless we get clean water. I don’t want to see mother die. And my little sister is sick also with the same illness. My best friend’s little brother died from this sickness too. There have been so many people in our village who have died from this sickness.

My father tries to raise some vegetables for us to eat. But most of the time the plants die because there’s little water. Maybe there will be some news about the well when I get home.

I haven’t felt well either. I hope i’m not getting sick. What will my father do if mother, sister, and i die? Who will take care of him? This bucket of water is even heavier now. And the path home is uphill. My grandmother is old. She told me one time that it was a shame that a nine year old had to carry heavy buckets of water for his family.

This bucket will have to be used to fix supper, and drink before going to bed tonight. Many times, I don’t drink very much so as to save the water for my family. They need it more than me. I’m almost home now.

I see our neighbor. Hope he has good news. I think I’ll listen a while before taking the bucket inside. Did he really say what I though I heard? We really are getting a new well? And they’ll begin building it tomorrow? Wow! I hope mother will be able to drink from it.

It really is true! Our neighbor said yesterday they would begin making the well today. And my father is helping the men from the village. Someone said the strangers are telling the village how to build the well. The village is hoping it’ll be done by tonight. It sure will be great to not have to carry the bucket to far. The well is being built in the middle of the village.

There’s just a little bit left to do tomorrow. It's almost done. Mother is getting weaker. And I am so thirsty. But if I can hold out a little longer, I’ll be able to drink all the water I want tomorrow.

I have gone with a friend today to draw water from the hole. We’re helping each other as we both need water for our families. As we get closer home, my heart jumps. The men have finished building the well. We begin to run as we notice that most of the village is standing around the well. We push our way through the crowd to watch. They're trying to pump the well. I’m holding my breath as I watch.

There is is! Water is coming out of the well. Everyone is rushing to get some water. And the water is clean. It really is clean. And oh it tastes so good. I have to take some to mother. I run in the house to get a cup. Fathers is leaning over mother. What’s wrong? No! It can’t be. Mother can’t be dead.

Why couldn’t you wait a little longer mother? We have clean water now. You don’t have to be sick anymore. You can’t leave now. The men are coming to take mother to bury her. Father says I’ll have to look after little sister and grandmother. The doctor says that little sister will get better now that we have clean water.

I didn’t cry when mother died. I had to be strong. But now, when everyone is asleep, I cry. I miss mother so much. But I am so happy my village has clean water to drink.

[Amber Lea]

Don’t Cry Me A River, Help Me Dig A Well!

The haunting images of eyes glazing over with death as a child dies in your arms; the shrieking and wailing of mourning announcing the death of another family member; the sickening stench of contaminated living areas; this and much more is a daily way of life for too many.

The main culprit of this devastation is the lack of access to safe, clean water and sanitation. 1.1 billion people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water. And 2.2 million people, most of them children, die each year from diseases related to unsafe water and unsanitary living conditions. This is a <a href=" http://water4.org/about-us/"TARGET="_blank"> global water crisis</a> , but there is a remedy.

There’s an old saying, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for lifetime”. What if that same principle was applied to the need for clean water? What if in the process of helping to provide the water, we could also provide skills to provide employment? This process could then be duplicated by the very people being helped, which in turn could be used to help others.

There have been technological advances that have created the means to install safe <a href=" http://water4.org/simple-solution/"TARGET="_blank">water well </a> and pumps, in a very affordable and feasible fashion. The materials used to build these wells and pumps are available nearly everywhere at a very reasonable cost. Once the local people are shown how to dig the wells properly and install the simple pumps, they not only have the means to provide fresh, clean water for themselves, but they can use the skills they have learned to help provide the same for others. This increases the rate at which this water crisis can be resolved.

If you could <a href=" http://water4.org/complex-need/ "TARGET="_blank" > save a child</a> from the agony of slow death, wouldn’t you try?

All too often the general response to this issue is “Well what can I do about it” or “What difference can I make”? Believe me, there is so much that can be done! It all begins with having the heart to care enough to want to help.

Many Christians consider the phrase “What would Jesus do?” when seeking guidance and direction. I think it’s fairly obvious what He would do here. I imagine He might also say, “Don’t cry me a river, help me dig a well”. While it may not be possible to go and help physically dig, you could <a href=" https://water4.org/how-to-help/"TARGET="_blank"> sponsor a well </a> with only a small donation. Be a hero, save a life.

For more information and to find out how you can help, please visit <a href=" https://water4.org/"TARGET="_blank"> Water4 </a>

Amber Leggette-Aldrich


Posted at:
http://faithhopeandmiracles.com/2012/08 ... ig-a-well/
http://amberleaofalaska.wordpress.com/
http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... ?id=151477