Living WaterSample

Water for all who thirst

Rivers of living water — John 7 

Since the Israelites’ story began in the desert, they knew the importance of water and the perils of having none. During their 40 years in the wilderness, God miraculously provided water for the entire community. 

Later generations commemorated this journey with Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. Families would live in shelters for a week in remembrance of their decades of tent dwelling. 

Each day of Sukkot, priests would draw water from the Pool of Siloam and carry it back to the temple, passing through the Water Gate. They would walk around the altar, then pour out the water as an offering to God. 

It was at the high point of the festival that Jesus shouted His invitation to come and drink living water from Him. This scene is the capstone to all the other water scenes in John’s Gospel, revealing that Jesus is the Giver of new life. 

New life is something Pedro Antonio Goday Sosa of Honduras desperately wanted for his community. Every day, he watched families trudge down a muddy trail to the river (the one you read about yesterday). The 70-year-old grandfather, known as Don Pedro, saw how drinking this water was making people sick, and he was determined to find a solution. 

At a community meeting with World Vision in 2016, Don Pedro appealed to Noe Rodriguez, one of the organization’s water and sanitation experts — asking for help on behalf of the children. 

After consulting with staff, Noe learned that a well had been planned into the budget for their community in 2018. But Don Pedro couldn’t let the children keep suffering for two more years.

He pursued the issue, making phone calls to Noe “morning, noon, and night.” Noe was at a loss for how to help. Then, a breakthrough came. Through his World Vision colleagues in the U.S., a company had seen a video of the community at the filthy river and pledged the funds needed for the project. 

Noe raced to tell Don Pedro the good news. “I told him, ‘… Your problem is solved.’” The two hugged each other in jubilation, giving thanks to God. 

Today, this clean water is seen as a gift from heaven. “The power of God has [been] shown here,” says water committee member Julian Ordonez, a father of four. “God put His eyes on us.”