India (MNN) — Water scarcity currently affects four out of every 10 people in the world, and it's expected to escalate in the coming years. With this tremendous need for clean water, Gospel for Asia is drilling Jesus Wells in areas with no source of fresh water.
Shriya is one who was helped through the installation of a Jesus Well.
The struggle to find water in her village was great. The rich in the community had private wells drilled near their homes; the poor and needy had to walk long distances to collect water from brooks or small rivers tucked away in the jungle. But 60-year-old Shriya couldn't go. She found it difficult to haul buckets of water from far off streams to her house, and being a childless widow, she had no one to help her.
When Gospel for Asia drilled a Jesus Well near her home, Shriya rejoiced knowing that all of her water needs would be taken care of.
"When the church constructed a Jesus Well near my house, I was so happy and was comforted," she said. "I thank Gospel for Asia for providing us this Jesus Well free of cost. It seems like this well was installed just for me."
No one is barred access to clean water from a Jesus Well. Whether high or low caste, rich or poor, the well is open to the entire community — and even passersby, like Lanal, who discovered a Jesus Well during a thirsty walk home.
Lanal had just finished a hard day of work selling his handmade bamboo baskets in the market when he became extremely thirsty. Fortunately for him, he stumbled upon a Jesus Well on his way home and went to get a drink.
As he drank the clear, refreshing water, his eyes spotted a plaque near the well, and he began to read John 4:14: "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."
These words penetrated deep into Lanal's heart, and he quietly began to wonder what they meant. He saw that the plaque had the name of a Gospel for Asia-supported church written on it, so he went in search of the church to ask the local pastor about the verse. After Lanal met GFA-supported pastor Mahir and learned more about the Giver of Living Water, a thirst for the Lord began to develop. Today, Lanal and his family eagerly attend church and are growing in Christ. And it all began with a refreshing drink from a Jesus Well.
Jesus Wells are placed near GFA churches or Bible colleges to provide hundreds of opportunities for missionaries to share the love of Jesus with the villagers who come for clean water. You can provide a Jesus Well for an entire community for $1,000. Click here to learn how Jesus Wells offer communities clean water, along with Living Water for those who desire it.
