Brandon & Jessica

Living Water International (water.cc)

Living Water International exists to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water, and to experience “living water”—the gospel of Jesus Christ—which alone satisfies the deepest thirst.

Nearly 20 years ago, Living Water set out to help the church in North America be the hands and feet of Jesus by serving the poorest of the poor. More than a billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day. 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water.  For all practical purposes, these statistics refer to the same people; around the world, communities are trapped in debilitating poverty because they constantly suffer from water-related diseases and parasites, and/or because they spend long stretches of their time carrying water over long distances.  In response to this need, we implement participatory, community-based water solutions in developing countries. Since we started, we’ve completed more than 9,000 water projects (and counting!) for communities in 26 countries.

It all began in 1990, when a group from Houston, Texas traveled to Kenya and saw the desperate need for clean drinking water. They returned to Houston and founded a 501(c)3 non-profit. The fledgling organization equipped and trained a team of Kenyan drillers, and LWI Kenya began operations the next year under the direction of a national board. That pattern continues today; Living Water trains, consults, and equips local people to implement solutions in their own countries. Remembering the life-changing nature of that first trip in 1990, they also lead hundreds of volunteers on mission trips each year, working with local communities, under the leadership of nationals, to implement water projects. It’s hard to know which lives are changed more—those “serving” or those “being served.” Their training programs in shallow well drilling, pump repair, and hygiene education has equipped thousands of volunteers and professionals in the basics of integrated water solutions since 1997.¹

Haiti

The Republic of Haiti was established following a successful slave revolt in 1804, from France, making it, at the time, the second sovereign nation in the western hemisphere following the United States. 90-95% of Haitians are of predominately African decent³. Haiti has been plagued with political violence for most of its history. This lends it to be the poorest nation in the western Hemisphere. 80% of Haiti’s population lives on less that $2 a day, 50% on less than a dollar. Haiti ranks 205 out of 229 countries in GDP per capita at $1,200 a year. Comparatively, GDP per capita in the US is $47,400² (10^th in the index).

The two official languages of Haiti are French and Creole. French is spoken by most educated Haitians and is spoken throughout the government. The entire population speaks Creole. Haitian Creole is French based and contains influences from tribal African languages and Spanish. Of persons 15 and older 53% can read and write².

80% of Haitians claim to be Catholic, 16% claim to be Protestant but over half the population practices Haitian Voodoo. Haitian Vodou is polytheistic with Roman Catholic and African influences. Veneration of the dead (ancestral worship) is practiced as part of Vodou³. In simple terms, “Haiti is 80% Catholic, 20% Protestant and 100% Voodoo.”

Cap Haïtian is located on the northern coast of Haiti.  It has the only other international airport outside of Port au Prince.  It is know for its historical downtown and historic sites including the Citadelle and Sans-Souci Palace.

Brandon & Jessica

God is the reason we are here. The whole story of how we got to Haiti is a good one-since God wrote it and all-and if you haven’t already heard it we’d love to tell you about it. Since we can’t meet up with you around the corner at Starbucks, send us an email and we’ll give you all the details. But it’s enough to know that about three years ago He started changing our hearts and lives through various events. He began stirring in us a deep desire to serve the poor and needy in other countries.  Still today we are amazed that God would choose to use us-with all our faults and issues- to glorify Him here in Haiti. Our story is His story, He is the author and creator.

This is our second year in Haiti.  We spent the first year in Port-de-Paix constructing and operating an Outside the Bowl food distribution center that is currently providing meals to over 800 kids through 6 different partners.  Our first year in Haiti was a tough one, for many reasons, but the Lord continued to work in our hearts and taught us many things-about ourselves, our marriage, ministry, and Haitians-and when it was time to leave the functioning OTB kitchen, God made it clear we were to still stay in Haiti.

And so He led us to Living Water International. We have been working with them for about six months now. The more we get to know the organization as a whole, and the people who work for them, the more we are so glad to be a part of the team. LWI’s strategy and ideas for the future of the organization and the work they want to accomplish in Haiti is exciting. We are in the part of figuring out how to implement that strategy, and best serve the communities around us.  The simple version of our job description is that we provide leadership and implementation of clean water projects including pump repair, well drilling and hygiene and sanitation education along with sharing the gospel through each project. The more realistic but vague version is that we in the process of figuring out how to take an amazing five year strategic plan written by LWI and make that happen here at the ground level. No wonder we need to completely rely on the Lord!

¹LivingWater International “Who we are”, ²CIA world fact book – Haiti, ³ UNdata– Haiti