We are the only people in our village who have running water. Did you catch that? The. only. ones. When I went to Germany more than a year ago, some American missionaries were talking about the village they lived in. I nodded sympathetically, fully understanding the difficult life that village life brings. Ahem... until I saw what a village is in Germany! {smile} A village in Germany is more like a neighborhood of warm, cozy cottages. So, I came home (to Ukraine) and looked up the meaning of the word village. Then, I realized that maybe I need to give my own meaning of the word village on here so that, as you read this blog, you will understand what I mean when I use the word.
village = a group of modest homes, outside of the city, usually without one or more (usually more) of the following: indoor toilets, running water, gas, electricity; with one or more (usually more) of the following: wood-burning stove, chicken or geese running wild, vegetable gardens and fruit trees, cows, goats, plenty of fresh airAh, yes.... fresh air. And the fresh air is what Ukrainians love to remind you is the beauty of living in a village. And, guess what? I love our fresh air! When life gets hard out here, I remind myself that we chose to live in a village.
So... back to the running water. The first thing we did after buying an empty lot in the village was to dig for water. The village people told us it could not be done. We are, after all, in an elevated area and many others before us had unsuccessfully dug for water. So, we prayed. And prayed, and prayed, and prayed. We prayed for Jacob's well. And God gave us water! With the help of a specialist we found two underground rivers that intersect 52 meters deep beneath our property. Our water supply is so abundant that we could probably supply the entire village with water. Now, as a testimony to the village people, we willingly share our water. We have a pump outside our front door that the people can freely use to fill their buckets. And, boy, do they come! All day long people come....
As the people come throughout the day, I am reminded of our purpose for being in Ukraine... to share the Living Water, Jesus Christ, with these dear Ukrainians. Yesterday, two teen girls visited our church. With the help of my Ukrainian friend Lena, together we shared the plan of salvation, and both of these girls, most likely from Muslim homes, accepted Jesus Christ! Thank You, Lord, for sending these 14-year-old girls to our church so that they could drink from Your water and never thirst again.
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:14
