A couple years back my husband and I were sitting in a boarding area at the Newark airport on our way home to Ohio from a visit to Cameroon, West Africa. We had just gone through two weeks of pretty rough travel (by our standards) involving hours bouncing in buses and taxis, random military checkpoints, and routine and unexplained three-hour delays. I reached a particularly low point after about ten hours on a bus, my legs crammed sideways against the floorboards behind the driver's seat. Then a lady got on, squeezing her ample body into the front row of seats beside me, and put a sack of cooked cassava in front of me. I crimped myself up a little more to make room, feeling my muscles ache and twitch, and then the smell from her sack wafted up to my nose. I don't want to disparage this woman's cooking, but to me it smelled like warm feet. At that point, all I wanted to do was arrive at our destination, and failing that, curl up into the fetal position and cry. Luckily for me, I was already pretty much in the fetal position. I stared out the bus window at the blur of palm trees and mud brick houses, and I asked myself: How much longer can I wait?
Now, our journey was almost done. Our two children were waiting for us at home, and we only had one more flight to board before hugging and kissing them. But first we had to wait some more. It turned out that our flight was delayed--for eight hours. As the time wore on, my fellow travelers began to mutter. One particular woman, who earlier had been talking about her faith in Jesus, now began cursing and complaining to anyone who would listen. She berated the airline and the airport for their incompetence and began punching buttons into her Blackberry, calling her colleagues and friends to invite them to share in her misery.
It's pretty clear we Americans don't like waiting. But most of the time, waiting is just an inconvenience. Waiting for what we want--to reach a destination, to see a loved one, to pay for the pack of toilet paper--will not prove life-threatening. But for 884 million people on this planet, right now, waiting is a life-threatening activity. These are the people who are still waiting for access to a safe supply of water. In a world where some of us fly on airplanes and have $200/month cell phone plans, there are others for whom a cup of disease-free water is out of reach.
Next time I find myself being forced to wait for something inconsequential, I want to stop and pray for those who are waiting too--for life, health, and dignity itself. Maybe you can join me.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Wait. Receive. Respond
Waiting for Water supports organizations which are providing safe water in Christ’s name and equips his followers to show God’s love to the world through acts of compassion in their communities and across the globe.
Join this growing movement as we bring back the real meaning of Easter—to go out into the world and be Christ’s witnesses through the message of the gospel and acts of compassion.
Easter Sunday! A final destination or a launching pad?
Churches throughout the world spend months thinking about and preparing for Easter. Some follow the traditional church calendar which includes Lent, the forty days leading up to Easter, while others do not. Regardless, Easter is considered the most important event of the year, a final destination of worship where we proclaim, Christ has Risen; Christ has Risen indeed!
God sent his son, the living water, to satisfy our thirst for forgiveness and grace. We leave church to celebrate God’s love with our family and friends over food and fellowship, waiting anxiously for our next major celebration—Christmas!
But is that how the first disciples experienced Easter? Did Jesus ever command them, “Now that you’ve received me, go home, eat a great meal, and give thanks for my love?”
Actually, he commanded them to “go out and be my witnesses first locally and then globally.”
Easter was never intended to be a final destination where we pause to celebrate and then move on; rather, it’s the beginning of our journey with Christ as we are sent into the world to share the living water we’ve received.
Waiting for Water can help your church or small group become an agent of change in a world longing, like the woman at the well, for both safe and living water. You’ll do that in three simple steps.
Wait.
Receive.
Respond.
Wait.
Beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2012, you’ll spend time waiting for Easter through a time of preparation. Through small group Bible study and a six week sermon series, you’ll be invited to explore scripture that will cause you to reflect on your life as it currently is and how God might want to shape your life as a person of compassion.
During this time, you are also invited to give up something for forty days, taking the money you would have spent on that item or activity and donating it to an organization working to bring clean, safe water to areas of the world which are in need.
Receive.
On Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012, attend your local Christian worship service and receive the living water of Christ. If you’ve been a follower of Jesus for years, then receive his powerful love and grace again. If you’ve just begun to consider Jesus, let this be the day that you receive all that God has given you in his death and resurrection.
You’ll also receive a call to change the world through the love of Christ. This is a call to live out God’s greatest purpose in your life: to show His love to others in very practical ways, both at home and in faraway places.
Join this growing movement as we bring back the real meaning of Easter—to go out into the world and be Christ’s witnesses through the message of the gospel and acts of compassion.
Easter Sunday! A final destination or a launching pad?
Churches throughout the world spend months thinking about and preparing for Easter. Some follow the traditional church calendar which includes Lent, the forty days leading up to Easter, while others do not. Regardless, Easter is considered the most important event of the year, a final destination of worship where we proclaim, Christ has Risen; Christ has Risen indeed!
God sent his son, the living water, to satisfy our thirst for forgiveness and grace. We leave church to celebrate God’s love with our family and friends over food and fellowship, waiting anxiously for our next major celebration—Christmas!
But is that how the first disciples experienced Easter? Did Jesus ever command them, “Now that you’ve received me, go home, eat a great meal, and give thanks for my love?”
Actually, he commanded them to “go out and be my witnesses first locally and then globally.”
Easter was never intended to be a final destination where we pause to celebrate and then move on; rather, it’s the beginning of our journey with Christ as we are sent into the world to share the living water we’ve received.
Waiting for Water can help your church or small group become an agent of change in a world longing, like the woman at the well, for both safe and living water. You’ll do that in three simple steps.
Wait.
Receive.
Respond.
Wait.
Beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2012, you’ll spend time waiting for Easter through a time of preparation. Through small group Bible study and a six week sermon series, you’ll be invited to explore scripture that will cause you to reflect on your life as it currently is and how God might want to shape your life as a person of compassion.
During this time, you are also invited to give up something for forty days, taking the money you would have spent on that item or activity and donating it to an organization working to bring clean, safe water to areas of the world which are in need.
Receive.
On Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012, attend your local Christian worship service and receive the living water of Christ. If you’ve been a follower of Jesus for years, then receive his powerful love and grace again. If you’ve just begun to consider Jesus, let this be the day that you receive all that God has given you in his death and resurrection.
You’ll also receive a call to change the world through the love of Christ. This is a call to live out God’s greatest purpose in your life: to show His love to others in very practical ways, both at home and in faraway places.
Respond.
In response to the Easter message, you’ll take the following three weeks to consider how your church or small group can initiate a ministry of compassion in your local community. Once you’ve discerned how the Lord is leading you to minister to those in need, launch this new ministry and begin to experience the huge blessing of showing Christ’s love to the world.
You’ll be united with Christians all over the world by practicing compassion on behalf of those in need.
You’ll also be asked to respond by sharing the stories of God working through these new ministries on the Waiting for Water Website throughout the year through videos, blog posts, and pictures. Sharing your ideas and accomplishments can help inspire others and spark off new ministries in other parts of the country and throughout the world.
You’ll be united with Christians all over the world by practicing compassion on behalf of those in need.
You’ll also be asked to respond by sharing the stories of God working through these new ministries on the Waiting for Water Website throughout the year through videos, blog posts, and pictures. Sharing your ideas and accomplishments can help inspire others and spark off new ministries in other parts of the country and throughout the world.
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