Living WaterSample

Waters of transformation

 Jesus washes the disciples’ feet — John 13 

Foot washing was a necessity in Jesus’ day since people traveled either barefoot or sandaled along dusty roads and dirt paths shared with animals. It was also an important act of hospitality. Failure to wash a visitor’s feet — or to offer water so they could wash their own — signaled disrespect. 

Typically, foot washing was done by the lowliest servant or slave, reinforcing the social order. 

But when Jesus gathered with the disciples for one last meal, He took the role of a servant — kneeling before each one and cleaning their feet. If the shock of that wasn’t enough, Jesus drove the point home by telling the disciples they were to follow His example by washing each other’s feet. 

With just a basin of water and a towel, Jesus taught an unforgettable lesson: the living water He offers isn’t just so we can live forever. It’s so we can live transformed. 

Julia Lolem of Kenya needed a transformed life. She struggled to care for her family after her husband was killed in an accident, and worried she wouldn’t be able to keep the children in school, which had been her husband’s dream. The lack of clean water in the community made things worse. Julia had to walk three hours each day to collect water from the river, leaving little time to farm or maintain her household.

The family’s church and World Vision staff helped keep them afloat and boosted her courage. “When discouraged and things felt very difficult, I thought about God’s plan,” says Julia. 

And in 2015, Julia and her community — partnering with World Vision — completed a project that changed everything: tapping a mountain spring and piping water down to their village. Since then, her family and neighbors have experienced the transformation and hope that clean water brings. 

Now, Julia and her 5-year-old daughter, Kamama, can walk to the nearest water source in less than seven minutes. With more time for farming, they tend plentiful crops — and Kamama, who recently entered her second year of school, is thriving. 

Julia says, “To drink clean water and keep your children clean, this is a good life.”

To help people like Julia and her family, register for World Vision’s Global 6K for Water at worldvision6k.org . Every step you take is one they don’t have to!