"I knew the wells would save these mothers' children"

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, I brought missions teams to places like Haiti and Jamaica. I can’t tell you how many women I saw lose children…all because of the water.

In Haiti, our teams would have to go to the river to clean up and take a bath. But you could look up the river and see that the people’s animals, their cows and oxen, were in there too. And they were in there for anything and everything you can imagine.

That’s where the people got their drinking water.

Sick Babies

I remember being in a little area with our interpreters and hearing loud wailing coming. The nurses on our team had just told a woman how sick her child was.

We thought her baby was an infant, but the child was actually about 18 months old…so little and emaciated.

The nurses took the mother and baby to a different city that had a clinic, but the child was just too far gone and ended up dying.

A Simple Solution

Over and over, this is the heartbreaking scene we saw, and so much of the problem could have been solved simply by having clean water.

One thing I quickly realized was that these mothers love their children the same as we love ours. Just because they lose them so often doesn’t make the sorrow any less.

So when I saw that Joyce Meyer Ministries, Hand of Hope brings clean-water wells to people in need around the world, I knew I had to become a partner.

I knew that these water wells would change lives forever. They would save these mothers’ children.

A Beautiful Mosaic

The thing with partnership is that there are so many people who come together.

You may have a small amount to give or a large amount to give, but every piece comes together to make one big mosaic, and that mosaic might be a well.

It might be a neighborhood you helped rebuild after a flood or a brand-new start for a woman who was pulled out of an abusive situation.

That mosaic is a beautiful picture for all those people who will testify to how their lives have been changed. And you can play an important part.

To can help us reach more people around the world by giving a special gift today. Visit joycemeyer.org/Partnership

- by Kathi Ryks, Joyce Meyer Ministries partner