As we embark on this spring’s campaign to provide access to fresh and clean water to all of the seniors we have the honor of serving, I am reminded of the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well when his disciples were traveling from Judea to Galilee (John 4:1-43; see photo above of the Sea of Galilee). In that story, Jesus used His encounter with this woman to share what He had to offer.
A simple statement, “Give me a drink” was the door to opening a discussion with this woman ~ ultimately changing her life and afterlife in eternity. Jesus exposed her real spiritual thirst by simply asking for a simple drink of water.* The woman asked why He was asking her for a drink of water; (noting that she was a woman from Samaria and Jewish men were not to make contact and that Jews looked down on Samaritans because they were not full-blooded Jews). Jesus then turned the question around to her, asking if she knew who He was. If so she would be asking Him for this “living water” Jesus then shares with her how she can have this “living water” He is offering her.
Jesus’ ultimate response was that He gives water that when drank, would cause her to never thirst again. Essentially, Mary was searching for acceptance all those years, But Jesus cared about this woman enough to have a deep and tough conversation. And, his end goal wasn’t to crush and reject her; it was to reveal himself as the solution to her sin, the living water to wash away her sin and quench her thirsty soul.* But the story shows the importance of fresh water for our physical body and how, though it is temporary, it is an illustration of the importance of God’s spiritual water that leads to eternal life.
So imagine, when one of our ROTOM Seniors has to walk several miles just to get some dirty water from a borehole also used for livestock how this must feel? Then when offered a water tank that can capture fresh rainwater in a storage system so they can have access to it right near their home, how excited they might be with that offer!
In much the same way, ROTOM desires to provide those who search for that Living Water as well as a water storage system to every senior so they have easy access to clean and fresh water for life! Receiving this opens the door for ROTOM staff to share about God’s love and the good news of Jesus being their “living water”. You see, when you are thirsty and dirty and you know the only water you have access to is hard to get and also not safe, you can’t see past that to hear God’s good news. However when they receive a water tank that provides them fresh water, it opens their hearts to listening about how Jesus offers them eternal life with no strings attached!
John 4:14 says, “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a (well)spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Your gift to provide new water storage tanks will help provide the remainder of our seniors with a water tank as well as the opportunity to hear the message of the gospel. Out of the 450 U.S. supported seniors, we have about 175 more seniors to go in order to meet our goal! I know many of you helped by providing a water storage for your senior, but some of our seniors are still without.
We’re hoping you can help us finish a project we began back in early 2019. The goal was to make sure every ROTOM Senior has access to fresh, clean water within 200 meters of their home by having a water storage tank. Since then we have made great progress – we still have about 105 seniors that don’t yet have one.
Be on the lookout for ways you can help us accomplish this ambitious goal through Just One Drop water tank campaign.
Will you give out of your abundance so that these remaining seniors can experience living water near a source of fresh and clean water because of the love that Jesus has shown to them through the gift of “living water” that He has given us?
*WELS daily devotion sermon reference, online 2023-03-15