"THE WELL OF LIVING WATER"
- Elder Denny Blodgett
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
I love that our Church is involved in hundreds of humanitarian projects all over the world. President Oaks indicated that the Church donated over a billion dollars a couple of years ago to humanitarian projects all over the world and I’m sure that dollar amount has increased these last couple of years. That figure does not include the man hours members have given to help in areas of disaster. There is nothing better than feeling like one is helping those in need. These projects are not just for the members of our church , but they are projects done in villages and communities and countries……for all people who may be in need.....all over the world.
This week we attended a “handover” for a project that some friends of ours had been managing for months. The “handover” is where the humanitarian project is now finished and turned over to the people. The "project" was the drilling of a “borehole” to provide drinking water for a school and village. I have a few pictures and videos below. It was inspiring to be there and to feel the appreciation the children felt, the school administrators, along with the municipal and community leaders..... and even the Chief of the village was there. It was a very big day for them and you could feel the excitement.
In the New Testament, we read about a powerful moment in the Savior’s ministry recorded in John Chapter 4. He meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. As they speak, He tells her, “Whosoever drinketh of the water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water I shall give, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him will be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life”. I like the analogy. In that simple but profound statement, the Savior compares Himself to living water. That was what these children continued to say in the videos below…..”water is life”. And they were thanking us as a church for providing for them this water that will be piped to their school and village. This water has a filtering system, so it is even much better than the water they were carrying in buckets every day.
As we read in the Old Testament and even in modern times, water in the middle east meant survival. Wells are precious. Without water, crops fail, animals will die, and people cannot live. When Jesus described Himself as “living water”…..He was teaching us that just as our bodies depend on water, our spirits depend on Him. Water cleanses. It washes away dirt and refreshes what is dusty and worn. In the same way, Jesus Christ cleanses us from sin. Through His Atonement, we are made clean when we repent. Each week as we partake of the Sacrament and renew covenants, we have the privilege of allowing Him to cleanse our souls and begin again…..each and every week. I love we can get a fresh start each and every Sunday. What a wonderful blessing in our lives because of what the Savior has done for all of us.
Sometimes in life we try to quench our spiritual thirst with things that cannot truly satisfy…..worldly things such as success, possessions, or the approval of others. But those are like salt water; the more we consume, the thirstier we become. Only Christ satisfies completely and eternally. If we feel spiritually dry or weary…..the invitation is simple…..come to the well.
In addition to the humanitarian project, we also visited a Chocolate Factory. It was a fun experience as we made some chocolate. Chocolate happens to be one of the top three commodities in Ghana….GOLD, OIL, CACAO. The cacao bean is grown here and countries all over the world come to buy it to make their chocolate. Chocolate is made by harvesting, fermenting, and drying cacao beans.....they are then roasted, cracked, and winnowed to isolate the "nibs". These "nibs" are ground into a liquid "cocoa liquor" and mixed with sugar, cocoa butter, and milk. We were able to visit this company that was started by a young woman and has now grown to become one of the popular chocolates in Ghana.....and the chocolate we made was delicious.
I am grateful for our Savior. I know that He lives and that He loves each one of us. I hope you all enjoy the upcoming week and that you continue to “drink from the well of living water”.
A cute family coming to church last week.
Follow up pictures from Elder Cook's visit last week.
This little child has no idea who this man is.....and he is an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
More of the beautiful faces we each. Sister Salimo on the right.
Only in Ghana !!!
This was at the "handover" project ceremony.
These young ladies came out to welcome us.
It's a good thing they have brothers and sisters over here to carry them everywhere.
Jill, along with Patrick and President campbell.
This is Nancy Waterfall.....who was the point person in getting this project finished.T
Patrick and Jill
The big guys.....so very different as they appear to be "tough", but are so kind and friendly.
A walk through the classrooms.
When she takes their picture.....she likes to show them and they love to see themselves.
The Project..... and wonderful, filtered water coming out the faucets.
They sat in these chairs for close to three hours. The program was way too long.
They are a shocker to us.....these kids can sit and behave for hours. I don't get it.....we wouldn't see this in the United States. They sat and sat and sat.....almost three hours.
Who is this old, white guy taking our picture?
They like doing the "knuckles".....it must be a universal thing.
Very cute.....especially up close.
Another shot of the completed water project.....filtered water.....no more carrying buckets on their heads to the school in the mornings.
The road to the Village. I just wanted you to see what we are driving through each week.
This is a cocoa been pod.....shaped like a football and grow on trees.....the cocoa tree. The "nibs" are inside the white sacks.
Jill waiting to get her chocolate.
The finished product.....love the hair net.
Two hair nets.
Add a little of this and a little of that.....but the chocolate tastes good when it is done.
We were making milk chocolate on this particular day.
Afterwards, we went to her little cafe and she showed us the five most popular chocolates that she makes. She also fed us sandwiches and lemonade. It was a fun day and very interesting.
Giving us Tastes of her five most popular candies.
Sitting around learning about Ghanaian chocolate.
I guess I had to show these little girls once again.....very cute.
The ribbon (or balloon) cutting.
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