Our first well
In August of 2008 a group of teenagers at First United Methodist Church in Pensacola, Florida decided to take on the mission of raising funds to build our first borehole for our Living Water program.
The team of youth raised money over the next eight months. They sold T-shirts. They sold Christmas decorations. They had a garage sale. They sent out letters to loved ones asking for donations.
They even gave up drinking everything but water for a month to set aside the money they would usually spend on other beverages.
In the beginning of 2009, the youth partnered with a larger body that holds a retreat each year called Meltdown in Panama City Beach, Fl. The retreat includes about 52 churches and over one thousand youth each year. In Febuary Living Water was the mission for the weekend and over $6000 were raised by the attending youth. They donated money, they bought t-shirts and they bought water bottles designed specifically for our program.
By April, a small group of the youth and a few adults were ready to come to Nigeria and be a part of the building process. They spent a total of one week with us and though the well was not entirely finished by the time they left, the water was on its way.
The village of Ihiala has changed dramatically since this borehole was built. Women come to thank Rev. Fyne every time he is there. He receives phone calls from all over the country from people who have heard about this wonderful access to water. One woman shared a story of a boy who had to cross the main highway each day to get water and was unfortunately struck and killed by a car. She was so grateful that such circumstances would no longer arise for the local area because of this clean and free water they all now have access to.
We are overjoyed at the incredible experience this well has been so far. We are amazed at the sacrifices and the teamwork of the youth in Florida. We are grateful to God for all who donated to this well and we are just excited to get to play the role of the liason. We know that the fruits of this labor will only continue to show itself as time goes on and we wait eagerly for the next opportunity to bring water to another village.
Below is the video put together by one of the youth, Liam Dunaway, on return from their trip.
The team of youth raised money over the next eight months. They sold T-shirts. They sold Christmas decorations. They had a garage sale. They sent out letters to loved ones asking for donations.
They even gave up drinking everything but water for a month to set aside the money they would usually spend on other beverages.
In the beginning of 2009, the youth partnered with a larger body that holds a retreat each year called Meltdown in Panama City Beach, Fl. The retreat includes about 52 churches and over one thousand youth each year. In Febuary Living Water was the mission for the weekend and over $6000 were raised by the attending youth. They donated money, they bought t-shirts and they bought water bottles designed specifically for our program.
By April, a small group of the youth and a few adults were ready to come to Nigeria and be a part of the building process. They spent a total of one week with us and though the well was not entirely finished by the time they left, the water was on its way.
The village of Ihiala has changed dramatically since this borehole was built. Women come to thank Rev. Fyne every time he is there. He receives phone calls from all over the country from people who have heard about this wonderful access to water. One woman shared a story of a boy who had to cross the main highway each day to get water and was unfortunately struck and killed by a car. She was so grateful that such circumstances would no longer arise for the local area because of this clean and free water they all now have access to.
We are overjoyed at the incredible experience this well has been so far. We are amazed at the sacrifices and the teamwork of the youth in Florida. We are grateful to God for all who donated to this well and we are just excited to get to play the role of the liason. We know that the fruits of this labor will only continue to show itself as time goes on and we wait eagerly for the next opportunity to bring water to another village.
Below is the video put together by one of the youth, Liam Dunaway, on return from their trip.
Nigeria Mission Experience from Liam Dunaway on Vimeo.
