(Submitted)
Editor’s note: This article was first published in a newsletter from Arkansas Baptist International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Due to security issues, no names are included.
In the village of a mostly unreached people group in the far north of our country, believers were able to deliver the good news that money had been given to hand-dig a water well in the village.
The village elder, a 105-year-old man to whom almost everyone in the village of 400 was related (including 20 who are Christians), was carried to the newly dug well. As he tasted his first drink of water, he cried. He said, “I never believed I would ever drink water from my own well.”
The people of the village showered the men who provided the well with blessings, as well as asking them to pass on their blessings to the people who gave the money. Before this well was dug, the nearest well was over four kilometers away. During the week that the well was being dug, believers were visiting others and sharing – resulting in 30 new believers in that area.
Thirty kilometers away from this village was an area which had several different unreached people groups living together. The nearest well was very far so they had to load up donkeys with water containers to be able to get water and bring it back to the village. A mullah (Muslim leader/teacher) had gone to the dedication of a well that had been given by our group and he asked how he could get one – how much did it cost?
The men we had sent said that we do this because we are Christians and if we can, we will come back and dig a well for you. The money was provided, and a well was dug right in front of the mullah’s house. He invited our believers to address the school where he was the teacher to tell them about Christianity. Four of them became believers. Because our guys visited and shared in the area while the well was being dug, 23 more people became believers.
What an exciting time it’s been for these well projects to have such fruit, as well as supplying clean water to people who really need it.
This project also helps Christians in the area, especially those belonging to the unreached people groups, to have an increased value in the eyes of the local people who are predominantly Muslim.
Ministries like this are made possible thanks to the generous giving of Baptists to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering and the Cooperative Program. “Thank you for the gifts that help us to be able to do these kinds of ministries!”
World Water Day 2025 is coming up on Saturday, March 22. The day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It’s about taking action to tackle the global water crisis.
The Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) promotes World Water Day and always highlights the Pure Water, Pure Love WMU ministry, specifically for water well projects around the world. For more information, click here.
Additionally, a Clean Water Prayer Guide can be found on the Send Relief website.