Its a sinking feeling. In some parts of the United States pipes can freeze during winter. When that happens you turn the faucet and nothing comes out. Now the nightmare begins as you try to figure out how to live life without water. Yet for most, this is just temporary. But what if you didn’t even have a faucet? What if your only source of water was to walk more than a mile to fetch muddy, contaminated water from a hole in the ground? What if you had to do this several times a day just to have water for cooking, bathing and cleaning? Worse yet, after all that work the water can actually make you sick. For many people this is not a nightmare, its a reality of life.
Zikomo means thank you in the native language of Malawi. This summer, because of a couple who gave a very generous donation, Y-Malawi was able to end the nightmare for an entire village of people. On the day of dedication, the whole village showed up. They were so happy. There was singing, dancing, and a drama performed about what life was like before clean water. Then there were the testimonies. The Chief gave one, the local Pastor gave one, women and girls stood up, all praising God for the blessing of clean water in their village. Y-Malawi testified too. We testified about who gives living water.
On the plaque that stands next to the well, there is no donor name, no mention of Y-Malawi. What is there is a passage of scripture, John 4:14. “but whoever drinks of the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” You see the couple that gave this gift understands. The gift wasn’t just about the water, it was about sharing the love of Jesus. Now everyone who comes to get this water will get a gospel message too. Zikomo for the water. Zikomo for sharing the love of Jesus.