Living Water

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 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.” The Samaritan woman at the well said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

-John 4:13-15

“I’m thirsty!” is a phrase heard daily by moms everywhere. Thankfully we live in a place where the question of where to get clean, safe water for a drink is easily answered.  Any faucet in our home, school, stores, or church is safe to drink.  I don’t worry about my child getting sick from a simple desire to quench thirst.  Tragically, this is not the case in many parts of the world.

This Sunday in worship we will watch a short video of our church history working with Living Water World Missions in Guatemala.  Kennewick First Presbyterian Church has actively supported this organization since 2014.  Living Water World Missions is a non-profit organization that trains nationals in the building of water purification systems to make it safe to consume. In addition, they train parents, children, and others in germ theory, hygiene, and the appropriate uses of clean water. They have also established an evangelism program.

Funds from the 2023 Mission Auction Fund were used by Living Water World Missions this year to install a water purification system in San Estaban, Guatemala. LWWM’s current plan is to use 2024 Mission Auction funds to install another water purification system in Chicaco, Guatemala.

LWWM and their in-country local sponsors continue to really appreciate the support Kennewick First Pres has given to the mission program over the years. This was the 108th system that LWWM has installed in Guatemala since 2010. Two people from our church went on the mission trip in July 2024 to Pajapita to install the water purification system and to help LWWM with their evangelical outreach program with the local church project sponsor. This was Vic and Julie Epperly’s seventh mission trip to Guatemala.  

If you are interested in learning more about Living Water World Mission or possibly joining a team to assist with installation and education in Guatemala, please contact the church office or Vic and Julie Epperly directly.

O thou Eternal God, out of whose absolute power and infinite intelligence the whole universe has come into being. We humbly confess that we have not loved thee with our hearts, souls and minds and we have not loved our neighbors as Christ loved us.  We have all too often lived by our own selfish impulses rather than by the life of sacrificial love as revealed by Christ. We often give in order to receive, we love our friends and hate our enemies, we go the first mile but dare not travel the second, we forgive but dare not forget.  And so as we look within ourselves we are confronted with the appalling fact that the history of our lives is the history of an eternal revolt against thee. But thou, O God, have mercy upon us. Forgive us for what we could have been but failed to be. Give us the intelligence to know thy will. Give us the courage to do thy will. Give us the devotion to love thy will. In the name and spirit of Jesus we pray. Amen.