The Great Inversion

I want to allow this page to be a place of communication about the developing well project in Togo.  I hope you will stay informed so that you will know how you can be involved physically and prayerfully.  I believe God is going to do great things through this project.  Once the actual digging begins and the project is off the ground then perhaps we can give the project its own blog or website.  However, for now this will have to suffice.  Thanks

 Thirsty?

Everyone needs water and no one can deny this truth.  Just walk out in the blazing heat of summer for a while without any and your body will soon tell you the truth.  Your mouth begins to get dry and then it seems that cotton is growing on your tongue and the roof of your mouth.  So you turn off the mower, run inside and have a nice cool glass of crystal clear water. We take this blessing for granted and don’t realize how wonderful it is to have clean drinking water.  Americans in particular are so spoiled with their clean water that now it is a rage or fad in the states to only drink bottled water.  For some reason the taste of the tap water just doesn’t appeal to many people.  The water we bath in is cleaner than most peoples drinking water and yet so many throughout the world who enjoy this abundance of clean water do not realize the situation of most people in the world.  I share this with you to raise your personal awareness of drinking water not just around the world, but specifically here in Togo and all parts of West Africa.  Clean, potable water does not exist in Togo unless you filter it or buy it in bottles.  By clean water I mean water you can drink without fear of becoming sick.  Even the water that we enjoy in our hometown of Kara must be filtered.  It is treated through a treatment plant, but the water still contains microbes that can cause terrible disease and sickness.  Outside of Kara and throughout the vast majority of West Africa the prognosis is much more severe.  Good deep wells are rare and most wells that people draw water from are contaminated because of their shallowness.  Most villages do not have a deep clean well and so it is necessary for the people to go to the nearest stream or river and draw from there.  The water crisis becomes more serious during the dry season when wells and small streams dry up and water becomes scarce. 

Westerners for years have been seeking to help those in need around the world.  An interesting aspect of this is that water is much more important than food and yet people are inclined to help with food before water.  Again, if you do not think this is true then I challenge you to take part in a wet and dry fast (that is no food or water) for three or four days.  I guarantee that you will yearn for water before you yearn for food.  Our bodies can obtain food from fat stores and muscle mass.  However, our bodies must maintain a certain level of liquids.  When the water begins to disappear our bodies begin to tell us right away.  Living and working in Togo has brought to the for-front of my mind the terrible need for clean, non-contaminated water.  During my seven years here, I have seen the wells dug by many NGOs and I appreciate very much the work they are doing.  However, their work is typically not sustainable or reproducible for the people here.  When there is a problem with the well, such as the pump breaking, repairs are impossible for the people because they do not have the knowledge or money to make the repairs.  A more viable alternative is needed and it is needed now!

 A well known proverb says, “Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”  This proverb has such and simple and profound meaning, yet it is not often applied in the area of development in third world nations.  This is not the case, however, with a small and relatively unknown development organization called Water For All International (www.waterforallinternational.org).  This organization puts the technology to drill deep and clean water wells into the hands of families and villages in countries all over the world.  I would encourage you to learn more about their technology at their website which I referenced above.  Our team here in Togo is currently working to begin using this technology so that clean water can be brought to the villages and homes of thousands here in Kabiye land and beyond.  

We are encouraging the help and involvement of our overseeing churches and friends who know of our work here and know how badly water is needed.  A door has been opened for God to physically bless the people of Togo.  We believe that a door has been opened to reach out to those who are in need not only physically but spiritually as well.  We have purposefully been waiting for this moment to come so that a church movement could be in place for this ministry to flow through.  The drilling of wells will not be a platform for ministry or missions.  Rather it will be an act of service that flows from the lives of those who have been touched by God.  And it will be a work that will be taught and handed to the people who have lived and worked here for generations.  We are very excited about this new work that is going to begin soon.  I ask you to refer to my blog for future information and developments in this ministry.  If you have questions concerning this work and how you can personally be involved, please email me at kabiye4christ@yahoo.fr and I will get back to you as soon as possible.  Please be praying for this work and may God use it to bless lives but more importantly to increase His Kingdom.  May God be praised!