Loving what Jesus, the Living Water, does for those in need of life-giving water...

The Moment EVERYthing Changes!!!



Steve and the Pastor dancing the moment water gushed out!
 

 



In Thornwood, Zimbabwe we started the drilling later in the day... we had come from another site 3 hours away, where we had hit no water. Our heads were low as the drilling began, praying for success, though fearful of another dry well.  All of the sudden, just before sunset, the drilling rig began to shake. The air-drill tip stuck an abundant supply of water that shot out high into the evening skyline! 

As the sun set and the water spilled onto the ground, the people of the village gathered to worship & rejoice. They no longer had to walk hours to get water! They could now come to the church for their water! In one moment, everything had changed for the people in Thornwood, Zimbabwe. 

"We Have Hit A RIVER!"

Water shot high into the air. The people danced for joy as the water gush out of the ground. In Zimbabwe the drilling rig foreman announced, “WE HAVE HIT A RIVER!”
The article below is featured in the Long Africa Day video that you can order by clicking on the following link http://thelongafricanday.com/ You can also a view the video trailer.
Earlier, the foreman didn’t think they would find water. The last few drills in the same area had been unsuccessful, but he didn’t know the powerful prayers of the church people as they asked the Lord to give them water. When the drilling rig hit the water, it was a happy day in Overspill, Zimbabwe.
Water was “Spilling Over” at the Overspill Worship Centre, where Tsungai Chinyama is the pastor & also the General Superintendent for the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God. He & his wife, Constance started the church in one of the poorest suburbs of Harare.
Pastor Chinyama like all Zimbabweans, knows about challanging situations. Steve & Glenda remember when he accepted the Lord as his Savior over 20 years ago, choosing to go to Bible School over the objection of his family. The church has experienced much growth meeting only under a steel structure.
The local conditions had deteriorated. The people were becoming desperate for clean water. People in Overspill were only getting water from the city every 7 days, so they started digging hand-dug wells, lining the wells with old tires.

These wells were shallow & unclean, causing severe illnesses. The Overspill church wanted to make a difference & help the people in their community. A request was made to The Africa Oasis Project (AOP) for funds to drill a deep well.
When Steve & Glenda Evans visited with the local leadership, it was decided that a well, producing clean water was desperately needed in Overspill. The church was encouraged to pray that enough funds would be raised to pay for the drilling. The site for the well was marked right beside the church. Some months later, the wonderful news came from BGMC, saying that the Boys & Girls in the USA had raised the funds for the well.
On the dedication day, it was an emotional moment as Constance (in the blue dress) prayed over the well. With tears in her eyes she said, “The boys & girls in the USA, (BGMC) have given the money for this well, so that our boys & girls in Overspill can drink clean water & grow up to be healthy.” Dean Galyen, Zimbabwe missionary & moderator, enjoyed pumping the well while Steve filled the container & gave the clean water to Constance to drink. From the place near the church that was marked with bricks, there is now a well that is pumping water from the underground “River”.
Water & Jesus are now “Spilling Over” to the people in the community of Overspill. YES, with the Lord’s help, BGMC, AOP & the Overspill Worship Centre have made a huge difference in Zimbabwe!!

Water In the Desert - One Phone Call Away

One phone call was made from a drought stricken village in Northwest Kenya. The need was expressed. Funds were gathered from undesignated offerings sent in monthly by friends & churches. The well was drilled beside the church. Now the entire village comes to church daily to get clean water.

If you could catch a tiny glimpse of the dusty kids in the village of Tiya, in NW Kenya… If your feet could walk on the dry crusty land that had no rain for over 3 years… If you could grasp the reality of how far the people have to walk through the hot desert to get water… You would begin to see what Steve saw when he arrived in the village of Tiya & why he made the phone call.

It took 2 days of driving on rough dirt roads to reach Tiya from Nairobi. AOP was doing water projects in the region. Steve, with the Kenya missionaries & National Church leaders went to see the completion of the wells. Tiya was not on the list to get a well, but concern was expressed about going to view the situation in Tiya & word was sent to the pastor that the church leaders were coming to visit him.

The pastor was not in Tiya when Steve & the group arrived at noon. The village explained that he left at dawn, on his bicycle, to collect water for his family from the nearest river. His wife, too weak from delivering their 3rd child, was not able to make the long journey. Steve describes how he saw the pastor coming into the village, sweating from the long journey & pushing his bicycle with the heavy containers of water strapped to both sides. Watching this touching scene, Steve decided that funds just had to be transferred to Kenya to pay for one more well. Steve called the Africa Office in Springfield & was told enough offerings had come in that month to total the amount needed to drill the well in Tiya.

The miracles of water coming to Tiya are amazing. Steve was able to call from a desert place in Africa. Funds were available in the USA from donors. The drilling rig was in the area & could drill immediately. Enough water was found to provide for the entire village. The well & pump was installed right beside the church. The pastor has people coming to the church everyday for… CLEAN & LIVING WATER!!!!

Isaiah 41:17 & 18 reminds us of the Tiya Water Miracle in the desert…

"The poor & needy search for water, & there is none.
But I, the Lord will answer them.
I will open rivers for them & fill the desert with water" (NLT)

"Bad Water" becomes "Jesus Water"

The northwest region of Kenya, Turkana, is known for the extremely dry terrain & the brightly beaded women...

These women spend most of their day, walking many hours to find water for their families. In some places of Turkana it has not rained for 5 years. One village was getting their meager water supply from a river, but the water was bitter & polluted. The people called the village Lochoromoit, which means "the place where I met my enemy," because it was a place of "bad water." Africa Oasis funded the drilling of a well in Lochoromoit, where they hit an abundant supply of water.

Steve visited Lochoromoit the day after the pump was installed on the new well by the church. He traveled there with missionaries for 2 full days on rough, dusty roads.

The first person to greet them was a very joyful pastor. The people of his village were gathered around the well, pumping water. Yellow water containers were everywhere, waiting to be filled.

"We are no longer calling this village Lochoromoit, the place of bad water," said the pastor. "It is now called Lochoro-Yesu, the place of Jesus-water!" Once again, donors giving to AOP have helped impact an entire village in Africa!

And the brightly beaded women of "Lochoro-Yesu" are rejoicing to have the well by the church, right in the middle of their village!

WATER AT MIDNIGHT

Imagine getting your drinking water from a smelly disease infested hole in the ground...
This is the image in many places in Africa of young girls spending their day scooping water out of holes.

Funds from donors have changed this situation for the people in the Mahobong village of Lesotho. Recently, Africa Oasis Project drilled a well & installed a pump, giving the people clean water to drink.

High in the Lesotho mountains, people live in simple huts, wear heavy blankets to keep warm from the snow, have shepherds caring for sheep & water is a huge challenge.The only water available came from a small mountain spring. With so many people trying to collect the water during the day, the spring could not produce enough water for the village.

“The people in the mountain village of Mahobong are getting water only at midnight," was the report sent to us by Alan Pettenger, AGWM missionary to Lesotho. "Even in the below freezing temperatures, they are wrapping blankets around themselves & walking down the mountain trails, hoping to find & collect water."

When Steve & Glenda visited Mahobong & viewed the people’s source of water from the mountain spring, it was sobering. Young girls were crawling into the small hole at the spring to collect water, one cupful at a time. The cattle were also trying to drink from the same spring & dung was seen & smelled everywhere. Cholera could be the result of such conditions.

Appeals were made for funds to drill a well in Mahobong, beside the church. Additional support funds coming in monthly, enabled Steve & Glenda to travel to Lesotho twice to organize the drilling of the well. The drilling rig struck water at 80 meters. The supply of water was enough for the village.

Mrs. Mafalesi, the pastor’s wife expressed the delight of the people, as she pumped water from the newly installed well.

“Our people were waking up at midnight to find water. Now we have clean water, right beside the church & the people in the village are coming to the church for water. Yes, our church is also growing….the people are flowing into the church like water!!”

Steve & Glenda ministered at the church in Mahobong. They saw the completed well & rejoiced with the people. BGMC Buddy Buckets were distributed & the women sang & danced around the well. They also carried their new buckets back to their home, full of water. Once again, this was an incredible witness for Jesus, as Living & Running Water was flowing from the church well in the Lesotho village of Mahobong.

WAITING for the WATER in VENDA

The children came & watched all day.
Steve paused under the shade of his STL Vehicle & Glenda sat on a blanket.
We were in the tribal area of Venda, South Africa, drilling a well, constructing a church & caring for widows & orphans at the HIV/AIDS Home-Based Care Centers. Earlier, Wayne & Delight Peercy invited us to Venda, to hear the request from Pastor Jeremiah Mathelemusa. We knew Pastor Jeremiah very well. We had helped him build a church, 9 years ago, with our son, Todd. Since then, Pastor Jeremiah had started 5 more churches & 15 HIV/AIDS centers, caring for over 500 orphans/vulnerable children. Now the care-givers were needing a well, so they could grow vegetables, to feed the orphans.
We also knew Venda, from all the stories told by Glenda’s Dad, Vernon Pettenger, who lived in Venda, 84 years ago, as a missionary kid with his parents. For Glenda, it was a special week, because 2 miles away, in the same valley, was the abandoned mission house, where her Dad had lived.
5 Hours after the rig started drilling, water gushed out of the ground, 3 stories high!
You just HAD to be there to see how excited Steve got!

This was our 1st time to actually be on site, when the drilling rig hit water. YES, Steve danced in Africa!! Steve hugged the local care-givers. He called friends from his cell.

Steve & missionary/builder, Charles Hasselbring thanked Jesus for the water! The village people came to see the action. Many hands helped to to lift up the water tower.

School supplies & food were given to the children. BGMC buckets were
filled with food for the care-givers. Pastor Jeremiah enjoyed tasting the clean water from the well.


A night service was held under the new church structure, to celebrate the new well & to tell people about Jesus, the Lving Water. Even the men from the drilling company & the chief's son attended the service. In ONE week, a difference was made in ONE village... a church steel structure was built, a well was dug & widows & orphans were cared for. To those supporting The Africa Oasis Project, you too helped us make a difference!!

At the end of an incredible day, water could be seen coming from the drilling rig & flowing down the hill. Yes, it was worth the wait! There were streams of Running & Living water for ALL to Drink!!