A few days ago I had coffee with David Uttley. David is the leader behind The Thirst Project. The Thirst Project is another effort that The Well Project joins with to raise money for wells in the Mt. Elgon region of Uganda. Both projects are part of our local church's Outward Ministries. The Well Project uses music to raise money and The Thirst Project uses photographs. I thought I would share what I wrote for David's blog here on The Well Project blog. We are using different media's to accomplish the same goals...clean water and sanitation for the people in and surrounding Kapchorwa, Uganda. Thanks for reading.

There is a village high in the Mt. Elgon region of Uganda called Mengya. It is a small village with children whose noses run and who have small bodies with scabs that do not heal. The people look unwell. Ill. Tired and low on hope. They tread down a steep ravine daily to get their clean water. Little girls as young as three, make the trip alone to fill their water bottles. Trip after long trip, day after day. Weary bodies housing weary souls. Has God forgotten them? Is there a God?

In Kapchorwa, below the village of Mengya is a church of Jesus followers who have tasted life-giving, breathing water. The need in the village above is not so different from their own. Christ Glorious Church has more resources and they have dreams. They dream of taking the gospel of living water to this little village. They desire to put hands and feet to Jesus’ words by helping to provide clean water. They want to create a gravity water system so that the fresh mountain streams high above will pour water down to this thirsty village. They have a desire…a passion to follow Jesus in the practicality of meeting thirst. They lack knowledge and education to follow through with their dreams. The Thirst Project hopes to partner with them to provide some of the missing parts needed to accomplish their dreams for taking the gospel to Mengya.

The Thirst Project began with a similar desire. To use photographs to express the need of Uganda. The thirst of Uganda. It’s a Moses story of sorts…desire to help people but not feeling qualified to do the work. It’s a crawl before you run sort of story. The desire makes the team want to jump in and just start raising money for wells and installing them wherever people are thirsty. Then wisdom comes in and covers the desire with an impression that crawling must be done before walking or running. So, The Thirst Project is crawling now.

Crawling at this point is being educated about water systems from Lifewater. Lifewater is an organization committed to “equipping partner organizations and working with them to empower communities in developing countries to gain safe water, adequate sanitation, effective hygiene, and the knowledge of Jesus love.” Key people involved in The Thirst Project will be taking a course to understand how you walk into a culture that is not your own, and teach them how to use their own resources to improve their quality of life verses waltzing in and doing it for them. To inform, educate, and provide skills rather than create dependence and cripple initiative.

Crawling is fixing the existing wells that are in need of repair. In our zeal, we did run for a bit and put two wells in that are no longer functioning. What kind of message about Jesus does a broken well speak? It is on our agenda to repair these broken wells. The Thirst Project is committed to teaching the communities who house these wells how to maintain them and keep them fully functioning.

God is here. He is in this. You see his fingerprints in the orchestrating of details…four key people at a conference about water. A divinely appointed, yet impromptu meeting happened between David, Godwin, Dan Stevens (director of Lifewater) and Deleo Moses Ocen (director of Divine Waters, a Ugandan Lifewater partner). These key people are desire, passion, wisdom and knowledge put together. All the pieces needed for a complicated but inspired vision.
But, as much in our lives with God, there is waiting. Waiting to follow him. Watching to see where he moves first before jumping ahead.
The Thirst Project is crawling and waiting. But make no mistake, there will be stories coming your way of what it looks like to walk and then run. It will be exciting. It will be imperfect. It will be good. Follow the stories. Examine how God might want you to crawl, wait, walk and then run. Your story will look different. But it matters. We are all needed here.