Living water has taken on a whole new meaning for the community at Harvest Bible Chapel Paynesville, in Liberia.
In 2008, together with Harvest West Olive (Michigan), Harvest Bible Fellowship began a journey of filling the vital need for clean, safe drinking water for the community in which this international Harvest was planted. In that, God led us to form a well-drilling partnership with a ministry in Africa.
We’re thrilled to report that the project is complete! Given that the entire area of Paynesville is built over undrillable rock — allowing just a single hand-pump for the whole town — it is a work of God's hand, and a testimony to this body's faith, that drilling on the church property was a resounding success. While Pastor Moses spent the month of December in training at Harvest Elgin, his church chose to wait for Moses’ return to Paynesville to open the well with a community-wide service dedicating it to the Lord.
In Liberia, access to water equals life. For the church in Paynesville, this well offers something, perhaps, even greater—access to multitudes in need of life in Jesus Christ, who alone quenches our deeper thirst for all that is eternal.
“I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.” Revelation 21:6b
Months of dry season are now at hand, with Liberians taking to the road at dawn, moving from community to community in the daily, and even costly, search for a live well. Harvest Paynesville’s desire and passion is to see many find life “without cost” and meet the Giver of eternal life through this well project and ministry.
All who are thirsty, all who are weak
Come to the fountain
Dip your heart in the stream of life
Let the pain and the sorrow be washed away
In the waves of His mercy, as deep cries out to deep
Come Lord Jesus, come... (Brenton Brown)
Nearly 400 people daily will draw from this well — and we have faith to believe that, with God’s grace, lives will be changed by it for eternity!
Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water...whoever drinks of this water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:10, 14
Amen!