Participants:
Series Code: JFAN
Program Code: JFAN000009A
|
00:21 Hello and welcome to Jesus for Asia NOW.
00:23 I'm Natalie Wood and I have my husband Jon here 00:26 with me on the show. 00:27 Honey, when Christ was here on earth, 00:28 how did He minister to people? 00:30 He spent a lot of His time meeting people's needs, 00:33 where their needs were. 00:34 And there is a quote about that in the ministry of healing. 00:37 "Christ's method alone will give true success 00:39 in reaching the people. 00:41 The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. 00:44 He showed His sympathy for them, 00:46 ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. 00:49 Then, he bade them, 'Follow me.' 00:51 So then, it's like a three-step process. 00:55 So Christ demonstrated in physical ways 00:58 that He had their best interest in His heart. 01:01 So He demonstrated something that was intangible 01:04 by something that was tangible. 01:07 So Jesus went out, He healed the people, 01:09 He did nice things for people 01:10 until He earned their confidence. 01:13 Honey, what project do we want to talk about today 01:15 that is an example of showing love in order to share Jesus? 01:20 Well, this is a project 01:21 that meets a very, very basic need, 01:24 so basic that we often just take it for granted 01:27 here in North America 01:29 and that is-- everyone needs to drink water 01:32 and use water in their everyday life. 01:34 So we're gonna talk about clean drinking water today? 01:37 Yes. 01:38 Because in many parts of world, 01:40 people don't have access to clean drinking water 01:42 and it's a really tough struggle. 01:44 We've been aware of this issue for a number of years, 01:47 but it wasn't until recently 01:48 that we could actually do something about it. 01:50 Yeah, you know, whenever we traveled to India, 01:52 we would look and see 01:53 how people were getting their water, 01:55 and especially, like when I went to Mumbai 01:57 and went to the slums 01:59 and saw people lining up with their little buckets 02:02 with water that came on once a day for a short time 02:06 and people get as much water as they could 02:08 and they would have to live 02:09 out of that water, 02:10 and then we went out to the country, 02:13 we did an evangelist series, 02:14 as you remember, with our family. 02:16 Yes. 02:17 And the people there were sharing with us 02:19 how difficult it was for them to have clean water 02:21 for cooking, for drinking. 02:24 This was a little village out in the middle of nowhere 02:26 and they were getting the government water also. 02:30 Well, we have a clip that kind of explains it. 02:32 Right. 02:33 Now this video is special 02:35 because what we did was we sent a team to India 02:38 to document what was going on there 02:40 and they were inspired to compare that 02:42 with our lives here in America. 02:44 So you'll see an American family 02:46 in this video 02:47 and they are challenged by the water situation in India 02:53 and it is bit of a perspective comparison. 02:56 It's entertaining, to say the least. 03:02 Water, we use it for many things 03:04 often without thinking about how much we use, 03:08 but what if your water was limited? 03:12 What if that water wasn't always safe to drink? 03:15 What If you only got access to water 03:18 a few times a month? 03:19 That's the situation with many villages in India 03:22 including this one. 03:29 I'm Kirk with Jesus for Asia. 03:31 And we're here to discover 03:33 what we can do to help these people 03:36 find consistently available pure water. 04:18 It's hard to imagine that 97 million people in India 04:22 lack access to safe water. 04:27 The second largest country in the world by population, 04:30 India is rich with culture and resources. 04:34 With a growing economy and advancing technology, 04:38 yet with such growth, 04:40 the nation as a whole faces a monumental challenge. 04:45 Jesus for Asia has many projects 04:47 throughout India 04:48 and we have realized that the need for clean water 04:52 is a huge evangelistic opportunity 04:55 to share the love of Jesus with these beautiful people. 04:59 So a team was sent to research 05:01 how we can help provide clean water to those in need. 05:07 Water is one of the most 05:09 basic needs of every human being on earth. 05:12 People understand that water is not optional. 05:15 It's a necessity. 05:17 That's why for thousands of years, 05:19 cities have been built near sources of fresh water, 05:24 but for the village of Bharathy Nagar, 05:26 there is no local water source. 05:29 The only source of fresh water comes from the government 05:32 and that is heavily rationed. 05:34 We asked Jesus for Asia India director Israel Prasad 05:38 to explain the situation to us. 05:45 In this village there is a lot of difficulty with the water, 05:49 getting good water, regular water. 05:52 Weekly once, they get government water, 05:55 and that to, it's only for one hour. 05:58 And that is not regular. 06:00 Sometimes they get and sometimes they don't get. 06:03 During the one hour time, 06:05 four families will take water in one tap. 06:08 So the first family will be taking 06:11 three pots of water. 06:13 And once they're done with three pots, 06:15 then the next family will be taking. 06:17 So it is like that with the four, 06:19 and by the time it comes to the next, 06:22 if the water is still coming, they'll go for the next round. 06:26 And then, if some more water comes, you know, 06:29 they will go for the third round. 06:30 Which means, per family, 06:33 the maximum water is 90 liters of water per week. 06:38 The whole week, they have to spend with that water only. 06:41 So that water is not only the water 06:43 that they cook with, it's the water they bathe with, 06:46 and the water they drink. 06:47 Yes, drink. They do. 06:49 That's not very much water. Yes. 06:50 They have a lot of difficulties. 06:54 Ninety liters of water is equivalent to 23.8 gallons. 07:00 But there are weeks they don't even get 90 liters. 07:06 We have to go walking and look for water. 07:09 They will go nearly 6 to 7 kilometers 07:13 to get good drinking water. 07:15 Wow. 07:16 Mostly, the ladies will go walking. 07:18 They keep one on their head, another one on their hip, 07:23 and they bring two at a time. 07:25 Now, that's pretty heavy. Very heavy. 07:27 Sometimes we find water close, 07:29 and sometimes we have to walk many kilometres to find water. 07:34 Oh, I just can't imagine. 07:35 I can't imagine doing that in the heat. 07:38 It's really difficult. 07:39 But anyhow, they have to survive, you know. 07:42 And they have to use their water 07:44 very sparingly, I would imagine. 07:46 Exactly. 07:47 You can imagine 90 liters of water for one week. 07:50 Washing and bathing are very challenging 07:53 with so little water. 07:56 Just think how much you appreciate 08:00 clean, pure drinking water. 08:03 How much do you appreciate 08:05 that you don't have to walk 7 kilometers 08:07 to go get water every day? 08:09 How much do you appreciate 08:11 that every time you turn on your tap, 08:13 you have water? 08:14 Well, this village, 08:16 as you have seen from our previous footage, 08:18 they don't have that luxury. 08:20 This should be a basic fundamental... 08:25 What am I trying to say? 08:26 This should be a need that everyone has met, 08:30 food and water. 08:31 Those are basic needs in life. 08:34 It's difficult for us to imagine a life like that. 08:40 I wanted to see what it would be like 08:42 for an American family 08:43 to live with the same amount of water 08:46 that the villagers in Bharathy Nagar get. 08:49 So I went to visit my good friends Brain and Chris 08:51 and their three children, Lillian, Sarah and Luke, 08:55 and challenged them to see if they could live 08:58 on such a limited supply of water. 09:01 The average American family of four uses 09:04 2,100 to 2,800 gallons of water per week. 09:09 That is equivalent to 300 to 400 gallons per day. 09:14 A family in Bharathy Nagar 09:16 gets a maximum of 90 liters of water a week, 09:20 which is equivalent to 23.8 gallons. 09:23 That is only 3.4 gallons a day. 09:30 One, two, three, 09:34 3.4 gallons of water a day. 09:41 For the whole family? For the whole family. 09:45 Can you survive your whole family 09:48 on 3.4 gallons of water for a day? 09:54 I don't know. How will we do that? 10:00 No dishwasher. 10:02 No laundry. 10:04 No showers. 10:07 No flushing the toilet. 10:09 We're not going to do anything? 10:27 Hello! 10:36 I've come to Bethel Children's Home in South India 10:39 because I heard they were having some trouble 10:41 with the water 10:42 and I wanted to find out from Israel Prasad 10:45 if the situation had improved. 10:48 We had water in this well 10:50 when I first came to see this property, 10:52 and later, it got fully dried up. 10:55 There was no water. 10:57 So there was a problem with the water. 10:59 Then we thought of putting a borewell, 11:02 you know, a deep well. 11:04 We went up to thousand feet, and there was no water. 11:08 And while drilling, it was just smoke. 11:11 Really? Yeah. 11:12 There was no water at all. 11:14 But, you know, we prayed, and the children prayed, 11:18 and so many prayed, God gave us water. 11:21 We have enough of water for the daily needs. 11:24 God gave them water because they prayed. 11:28 When at first, there was no water in the well, 11:30 a local witch doctor told them 11:32 that if they had let him perform a "puja," 11:34 there would have been water. 11:36 They refused and prayed to God. 11:39 And now they have water and the whole village knows 11:42 that it was their God who provided the water. 11:46 But unfortunately, it is little salty, you know, 11:49 it can't be used for drinking purposes, 11:52 for cooking purposes, you know. 11:54 Even sometimes, if you pour for the plants, 11:57 even the plants are not really growing up. 12:01 And we are still praying that God would change 12:03 that saltiness into tasty so that it will be useful 12:07 for the children and for the daily needs. 12:10 We have 16 orphans right now here. 12:13 And with the hopes of bringing in many more, 12:15 so we're going to need pure water for the orphans 12:20 and water for the agricultural needs 12:23 as well. 12:24 And Right now we are having a very difficult time 12:26 with this water, 12:27 because we are getting government water, 12:30 it comes once in a week sometimes. 12:33 And sometimes 15 days, once, it comes. 12:36 We cannot really rely on that. 12:39 And we are in need of good drinking water. 12:52 We would probably drink all of it, but, like, one. 12:56 We'd re-use the water for dishes, right? 12:59 What about rinsing them? 13:02 What about bathing? 13:05 Take a shower once a week. 13:08 And we'd save the water. 13:10 We'd all have to use the same bathing water, 13:13 unless we all used like this much. 13:16 I mean like, half of this. 13:19 And we would use... 13:20 How would you get the soap out of your hair? 13:21 Very carefully. 13:23 And we would use these two to drink. 13:25 And not to mention eating. 13:26 I mean, you have to have water to cook with. 13:30 One day you have to wash dishes for the week. 13:34 I don't how that works. 13:35 One day you have to take bath, 13:37 one day you have to wash all the laundry. 13:40 All the laundry in this? 13:42 Well, um, we need drink less that day. 13:44 Could we really wash all five outfits 13:47 in that much water? 13:50 We have to drink very less. 13:52 Now we have this part. 13:53 Now we have two. Okay. 13:55 So now we have this for flushing the toilet, 13:57 doing dishes, washing... 14:03 How long would you use one and a half of these. 14:05 Okay, so... 14:06 And how many times to we flush? 14:08 We can only do that once a day, maybe. 14:12 Well, I mean, you have to. 14:14 We could never flush the toilet, Mom. 14:16 Chris. 14:20 Do you want water or do you want the shovel? 14:29 Brian, how much water does this take to run? 14:32 Oh, probably only about 15 gallons. 14:35 Uh, won't do that. 15:03 So, honey, do you think, you could survive 15:05 with just that little amount of water? 15:07 Ooh. I know I would struggle. 15:09 Yeah, I can't imagine how you would manage 15:12 that little water for a whole week, for a family? 15:15 Incredible. Can you, as a woman? 15:17 No, no, I can't. 15:19 But you know, 15:20 the beautiful thing in that video 15:21 is they started talking about where to provide the water. 15:25 And that's one thing we want to point people to. 15:28 In Psalms 145:16, it says, "Thou openest thy hand, 15:31 and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. " 15:35 And so it's taking about where the provision comes from. 15:38 Thinking about that, 15:39 what about the birds and the animals? 15:42 I believe what the Psalms is still seeing 15:45 is that behind those mechanisms of feeding 15:48 is God designing a plan for these birds 15:52 or for these animals to get fed. 15:55 And so you see that God uses laws and rules and mechanisms 16:00 as His servants. 16:01 His tools. 16:03 And sometimes, God uses people to do His work as well. 16:07 What a privilege that is. It is a privilege. 16:10 He provides ways that we can enter 16:12 into His work of providing for His creation. 16:15 And as we enter in, then we enter into His heart 16:18 and we experience the same joy that He does. 16:20 Right. 16:21 And there is another verse that says, 16:23 "At you right hand are pleasures for evermore. " 16:27 And so it's like, His hand is there working 16:30 and His hand is there enjoying so we can be a part of that. 16:34 The greatest pleasure I've ever experienced 16:37 is doing God's work, 16:38 being a part of feeding God's kids. 16:40 And so I love the idea that this pastor came up with. 16:43 This village happens to have an SDA church in it. 16:47 So if we drill on the church's property, 16:49 the source of physical water is... 16:51 Very near to the source of... 16:53 The Water of Life. The Water of Life. 16:54 Exactly. 16:55 So it's a brilliant idea of a way to... 16:58 Encourage a relationship. 16:59 Yeah, 'cause the villagers 17:01 will be coming there every day, 17:02 and providing this water freely is a way 17:05 that they can serve the village. 17:07 Right, so the next section of video we want to share, 17:10 tell us about that. 17:11 The Lord has provided enough 17:13 that we can actually drill a well in this village. 17:16 And it's really exciting. 17:18 And the prayer that's involved with getting water in this well 17:22 is just really powerful. 17:29 Today is an exciting day 17:31 for the village of Bharathy Nagar. 17:33 Through the generous contributions of donors 17:36 in North America, 17:37 Jesus for Asia was able to hire a crew 17:40 to drill a well next to the Seventh Day Adventist Church. 17:45 A nearby Hindu temple 17:46 had attempted to drill a well seven months ago, 17:49 but they did not find any water. 17:52 We're praying earnestly 17:54 that God will provide water in our well 17:57 to be a witness to the whole village 17:59 of his power and love. 18:36 So this well that I know God is gonna bring water from today 18:41 is gonna make a huge impact on this village. 18:45 Definitely, yes. 18:47 It's going be a blessing for all the village people. 18:50 And that is the reason we have put this well here. 18:54 And our church is not going to be a church 18:58 only for Seventh-day Adventists. 19:01 It's going to be a place 19:03 where people will quench their thirst 19:05 from today on. 19:07 Wonderful. 19:08 So we thank the Lord for this beautiful project, 19:10 the vision for this project. 19:12 Absolutely, that's great. 19:13 I mean what a testimony it can be in this village, 19:17 where not everyone is a Christian. 19:19 Exactly, you're right. 19:21 It's going to bring a very good impact 19:24 on our church. 19:25 It sounds like we need to do this 19:27 in quite a few other villages. 19:28 Oh, yes. 19:29 There are so many other villages 19:31 where they don't have water. 19:32 Some places they have, but it's salty water, 19:35 but still people are using the same salty water. 19:38 So we're in need of more bores like this. 19:54 In Bharathy Nagar, 19:55 the borewell has been drilling for over seven hours 19:58 and scores of villagers have gathered 20:00 to watch the progress. 20:02 Two hundred and fifty feet down, 20:03 the drill struck water, 20:04 but it was not enough for a well, 20:06 so we had to keep drilling. 20:08 Since then, the drill has been spilling only dust. 20:12 And there is great worry that this well will also be dry 20:16 like the next to the Hindu temple. 20:18 Everyone is hoping and praying 20:21 that soon we will see a small change 20:23 in the color of the dust 20:25 indicating the presence of water. 20:29 Right now we are nearing about 760 feet. 20:33 And the dust which comes out is little wet, 20:37 and that's a very good sign. 20:58 When the borewell was drilling, 21:01 I just came to the backside of the church 21:05 to see those men who were drilling, 21:08 to talk to them, I was surprised to see, 21:11 there were two ladies at each side of the church, 21:15 crying bitterly, praying to the Lord 21:19 for the water. 21:21 You know, I was completely touched 21:24 because the whole church was praying. 21:28 Everyone was praying. 21:31 Because as you mentioned, 21:32 it is kind of like Satan didn't have water, 21:36 but the Living God, what is it with him, you know. 21:40 What is he going to do? 21:43 He did a miraculous thing. 21:51 We have prayed and prayed, not only one day or two days, 21:56 a very long time we prayed here in this chapel. 22:01 Really, God has answered our prayers. 22:05 Since we are praying here in faith, that faith, today, 22:12 we have seen with our eyes, 22:15 that bore well is already done here. 22:18 We will get water. Really, God is great. 22:22 He will help, not only with water, in every need, 22:26 our God will provide for us. 22:29 Unfortunately, we could not stay in the village 22:32 to taste the water, 22:33 but before we left for another area of India, 22:36 a couple of villagers came to our hotel 22:38 and brought a sample of the water 22:40 for Israel to taste. 22:42 The water is discolored 22:43 because of the grease from the drilling, 22:45 but all the greasy water will be pumped out 22:47 and it will be clear after that. 22:51 Is this water? 22:53 I mean a lot of the water x in India 22:55 can have a salty taste? 22:56 So you're gonna be able to determine 22:58 if this is salty or if it has sweet taste? 23:02 Yes. 23:04 Well, we're excited. Okay. 23:10 It is very nice, no salt, 23:12 only the grease taste was there. 23:15 You know, if all the grease and everything is gone, 23:18 the water is really tasty. 23:23 The Hindu people from across the street thought 23:26 we spent so much money but didn't find water, 23:29 but this morning, they saw the church members 23:31 letting a bottle down with a rope. 23:33 And when they pulled it up, there was water. 23:36 After the church member tasted the water, 23:39 a Hindu man tasted and said, 23:41 "Wow, it's nice drinking water. " 23:44 What an amazing witness for God, 23:47 despite the evidence that seemed to indicate 23:49 that drilling a well would be useless, 23:52 God blessed the faith and prayers of His people 23:55 by providing water in the well. 24:02 Pastor Gabriel is the minister 24:04 for Seventh-day Adventist church in Harur. 24:07 We asked him to explain in the potential impact 24:11 if we provide clean water for his village. 24:15 I think if we can drill a bore well 24:18 and purify the water and give to the people, 24:21 then through that, we can share the love of Jesus 24:24 and many people will turn from the world and follow Him. 24:28 I think of the Samaritan woman who met Jesus 24:31 while she went to get water. 24:33 And many people came to know about Him 24:35 because of her witness. 24:37 The same way, this place can be a blessing 24:40 if we have good water, 24:42 because the biggest need of this village is water. 24:46 If we give them good water 24:47 then they will be open to the gospel. 24:51 So when then pastor was talking 24:52 about the effectiveness of drilling a well 24:54 in his village 24:55 and how that would draw people to Jesus, 24:58 we can see that 24:59 the maximizing of the gospel outreach 25:02 as well as the temporal assistance. 25:05 This is something that would witness 25:07 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 25:09 You know, one thing I loved in that video is the testimony 25:13 that because the church members prayed, there was a difference. 25:17 The Hindu temple, they went way down 25:19 and didn't get any water. 25:20 And then the church members pray and they pray, 25:23 and it's obvious that they're praying 25:25 because they're standing there around the church 25:27 and the villagers know. 25:30 They see your God is strong. 25:31 Right. It's beautiful. 25:32 What a blessing. Yes. 25:33 You know, there are many more villages like that. 25:35 Thousands, thousands of villages out there 25:38 with a church that have the same problem 25:40 with not enough water, and so we can provide 25:43 for our brothers and sisters in Christ 25:45 as well as enabling them to be a bigger, 25:48 more active witness just by 25:50 opening that service up to the village. 25:52 Right. 25:53 And allowing them to be a part of the blessing. 25:55 So when the team came back, 25:57 this is what was on Kirk's heart. 26:01 Here in the "First World," our water supply is abundant. 26:05 As a matter of fact, my family and I use 26:08 more than 100 times the amount of water 26:11 that some families in India get in a day. 26:14 That got me thinking, 26:16 pure water is a basic human need, 26:19 as is the gospel. 26:21 No one should have to suffer for lack of water 26:24 or be poisoned by contaminated water, 26:27 especially the children. 26:29 Yet our brothers and sisters are suffering these dangers. 26:34 The water crisis in India 26:36 is a tremendous evangelistic opportunity 26:39 for the 97 million people 26:42 who lack access to pure water and a saving knowledge 26:46 of their only hope Jesus Christ. 26:49 While their biggest felt need is water, 26:51 the greater need is Christ. 26:54 While here on earth, He spent most of His ministry 26:57 meeting the felt needs of the people. 27:00 After winning their confidence, 27:01 they were then open to hear His teachings. 27:05 In providing pure water, 27:07 we're following Christ's example 27:09 by meeting their needs. 27:11 His love is seen in our actions and their hearts are softened, 27:16 the walls of prejudice are broken down. 27:19 When we drill a well on church property, 27:22 everyone who goes there to satisfy their thirst 27:25 is made aware of a greater thirst 27:28 that only Christ can quench. 27:32 We're so thankful for the donors 27:34 that made this well in Bharathy Nagar possible. 27:37 But many more need to be drilled 27:40 and more research is needed on water purification systems. 27:44 Please consider partnering with us today 27:48 to help meet both the physical and spiritual crises 27:52 that these many villages in India face. 27:56 If you would like to help provide the people in India 27:58 with abundant clear water, 28:00 please contact us at 413-7321. 28:04 You can also send your tax deductible love gift 28:06 to Jesus for Asia, PO Box 1221, Collegedale, TN 37315. 28:11 Or check out our website at Jesus4Asia. org. 28:15 God bless you 28:16 until we see you again next time 28:18 on Jesus for Asia Now. |
Revised 2016-07-27