On this unforgettable episode of Life Today --
>> What have you seen when you go out
into these impoverished areas?
>> People walk long distances to find safe drinking water
but they can't.
They end up drinking polluted,
contaminated water and some die.
>> The need could not be greater.
Right now we need your help.
Coming to you from the continent of Africa,
Life Today starts right now!
♪
RANDY: Welcome to LIFE Today
-- a very special
and urgent Life Today.
I hope you will stick
with me for the next
few minutes because
we have spent the last
several days in what most
consider the poorest nation
on the face of the earth.
And we have gone into
the most impoverished areas
of this nation.
It's Burundi;
it is in East Africa.
And we have seen situations
that frankly, most of us
haven't seen before.
A lack of clean drinking water
is causing sickness
and death and it hits
those under the age of five
especially hard.
At LIFE Outreach
International,
we have a program called
Mission: Water for LIFE
that is designed
to address it.
And through the help
of many people just like you,
we have been able to change
some situations.
But right now,
the need could not be greater.
And it is not just here
in Burundi, it is in
many nations where
clean drinking water
is not readily available.
In fact, in some places,
it is nowhere to be found.
We have a solution
but we need your help.
So please, take a few minutes
as we walk you through
the harsh realities
of what's going on
in our world and look for
a way to be God's blessing,
his hands and his feet,
to those in desperate need.
Watch this.
Water!
Earth's most abundant natural resource;
yet out of this abundance
only a tiny fraction of it is suitable for drinking.
And suitable is a loose definition.
JAMES: You know if you were thirsty in Africa
or in many remote parts of the world,
you would walk up to a stream like this
and say, oh, I've got great water!
But what you don't realize is in this area alone,
thousands of people got cholera,
serious severe diarrhea.
Many people, it cost them their children.
Our mission teams have seen these water conditions firsthand
in several countries around the world,
and they have ministered to families
whose lives are torn apart by contaminated water.
TAMMY: I've sat with mothers
who have just buried their children.
I've cried with them. I've wept with them.
Asked them what they needed.
The only thing they would ever tell me was, "Water --
Just if we had clean water
I know my children would still be alive."
JOHN: So I'm here in Boma, South Sudan with Lakukum.
She is a mother from a local little village
that is right up the hill here.
She brought me down to her water source.
I wouldn't let my dogs drink from this water.
This is the story all over the world.
Statistics show that one child will die every 20 seconds
from a waterborne disease
-– and it doesn't have to be that way.
RANDY: Amiable, you see these kids down here
getting this water but this is not clean water, is it?
AMIABLE: It's not. It's very contaminated water.
It has worms, frogs, all the animals come here
and drink from this water so
it is not really safe to drink.
RANDY: I can't help but notice that
they're working so hard to get water
that actually could kill them.
AMIABLE: Yeah, but they have no other choice.
RANDY: They don't have the choice right now.
It's just the death in the water.
But we can give them the choice.
While the problem here is serious,
the solution is surprisingly simple
-– a clean water well.
LIFE Outreach and its mission partners
have the experienced teams and necessary equipment
ready to drill hundreds of safe
life-giving water wells around the world.
TAMMY: Clean water is here in this village
and it's literally giving them water for life!
Thank you so much everybody
for all that you've given, all that you've sacrificed.
It has changed so many lives of children
all around the world just like here today.
RANDY: One of the things
we want to do when
we face this global crisis
is infuse the gospel
into the outreach because
the two are inseparable.
And so I'm excited to have
Pastor Amiable with me
who helps us here;
really runs all the outreach,
coordinating with the people
that put the wells
in the ground here in Burundi.
And he is our frontline guy.
You see it all.
What have you seen
when you go out into
these impoverished areas
where people don't have
clean drinking water?
AMIABLE: Thank you
so much, Randy.
As a citizen of Burundi,
I do not wish my people
to suffer.
But when you go out there
you see people trying
to get clean water in vain.
Some will walk long distances
to go to look for or
to find safe drinking water
but they can't.
They end up drinking
polluted contaminated water.
People get sick and some die.
But at least God is sending
people into Burundi
like you to help us
provide clean water
in some areas,
and that is helping a lot.
RANDY: Let me ask you that.
So you've seen villages
that didn't have a well,
they didn't have
good clean water.
What is the difference
before they have a well
and after they've had
a well that you've seen?
AMIABLE: The impact
is very remarkable.
Before they had clean
or safe drinking water
you could see --
you could tell people
were not healthy.
I think of children vomiting,
have bad tummy --
RANDY: Yeah, the tummies,
the diarrhea, all that.
AMIABLE: Yes, exactly.
And now that they have
clean water you can
see them health --
you can tell they're healthy.
They have appetites.
They go to school.
RANDY: They seemed to have
more energy in
the one place we went.
AMIABLE: Exactly!
The impact is huge
when they have safe
drinking water because you can
-- and they don't complain
as they used to.
The mothers will say,
look, our children
are getting sick because of
dirty water that they drink.
But now when they have
clean water, they praise God.
RANDY: And praise God.
So that is an important
thing because you're a pastor.
The water outreach,
of course, from LIFE Outreach
International, we believe
that it is a demonstration
of the gospel but we also
believe in preaching
the gospel.
What happens when you go
into these villages?
Are you able to tell them
about Jesus?
Do you preach to them?
Do they come to your church?
Most of the distance
wouldn't allow for that
but is there any kind of
discipleship and evangelism
that is going on?
AMIABLE: Well, the fact
that we are going
into these communities
connects us with people.
The number one thing
that comes to our mind when
we go to --
when instructing people is
how can we bring
in the gospel?
Which is the most important
thing that we need.
We wanted them to receive
something that will
give them life --
life in abundance.
But the greatest need
will be Jesus and eternity.
So we preach, we share
the gospel with them.
Whenever they're around
the well, we tell them
look, you can drink this
and be healthy,
but you can drink this
and end up in hell.
But there is another water
of life that you can drink
that will give you
eternal life.
That's why we're bringing
the gospel.
Whenever we share the gospel
there are people who accept,
we pray over them,
and then sometimes we will
send teams to disciple them
just to help them
walk with the Lord.
RANDY: I love it.
Thank you!
Thank you for being here.
And thank you for
partnering with us.
It just means the world.
It's been a real pleasure
being with you this week.
It is an honor to know you.
You are a brother in Christ.
AMIABLE: It was a pleasure
to work with you.
Thank you so much
for walking alongside us
as we save our people
in Burundi.
RANDY: And it's only
made possible by
our viewers like you.
You heard him talk about
what Jesus said to
the woman at the well,
if they drink this water,
they will be thirsty again.
But the water that
Christ gives will
last for eternity.
Up from their inner beings
will spring fountains
of living water.
So it's a whole thing,
a whole project.
We view it as hand in hand,
in word and deed.
Now, while some good things
are going on here,
the impact on the individual
is very real.
The pain that a mother feels
is very real.
The siblings, the community,
when they lose so many
like we've seen
just this week.
A mother's love across
the world is
largely the same --
a mother loves her child,
a father loves his children.
And children are suffering.
I want you to take a moment
to watch one mother's story
and when we get back,
we're going to get into
the details of how you can
make a difference in
the lives of these mothers
and their children.
Watch this.
[Rooster crowing]
Life -- carefree,
nurturing, loving, secure.
Universal needs for children and parents alike,
yet in many places of the world
such qualities are threatened every day
by a simple and basic need -- water!
At that point, nothing could be done.
Her daughter fell unconscious
and never again awoke.
Nown knew the cause.
The lifesaving solution of clean water
is so incredibly simple.
However, it is one we can only deliver
with your help today.
RANDY: I can't imagine
that pain as a father
of four children.
I can't imagine
losing a child.
To lose a child to something
that can be easily addressed
is not just a tragedy,
it is a real shame.
There are a lot of reasons
we could go into but
the bottom line is we have
a situation where
we see a need,
we see thirsty people,
we see mothers grieving
lost children,
we see mothers concerned
about their other children.
There is something we can do.
It is within our power
to do something very good,
and we don't want
to withhold that blessing
from these people.
Here's how it works.
We go into these communities
with your support
and we drill a water well
that goes down and gets
fresh, clean drinking water.
It is tested.
We maintain these wells.
And it provides what
we call Water for LIFE.
The average cost of a well
is $4800.
There is a lot of variation
but when we look at
our overall budget
for the wells
that we're doing in
an individual year,
the average is about $4800.
What that means is
your gift of $48 today
will provide clean drinking
water for ten people.
And I've got to tell you,
if you're a mother
and her other children
are one of those ten,
it makes a world
of difference.
And you know what?
We've talked to medical
experts, the ones that
have been in situations
where we've drilled
these wells, and they say
it doesn't take long at all.
You put clean drinking water
into your body
your body celebrates,
it absorbs it immediately
and the changes can be drastic
in a very, very short
period of time.
So a $48 gift today
will help provide
clean drinking water
for ten people.
Now many of you
can go beyond that.
A gift of $144 will help
provide clean drinking water
for 30 people.
A gift of $1200,
if you're able to do that,
can be combined with
three other gifts
and it will provide
clean drinking water
for about 250 people.
And a gift of $4800
will provide an entire well.
Some of you can do that.
Some of you can do two wells.
You have no idea
the impact you will have
on people.
You will save lives.
You will restore health.
You will open up
opportunities for the gospel.
Whatever gift you can give
today is significant --
it is huge,
I believe in the eyes of God.
And I know it is huge
in the impact on those
who are dying of
contaminated water.
I pray that you will go
to the phone
or go online right now.
Make the best gift you can.
Do it with the Holy Spirit
leading, but do something.
We need to act quickly.
Children are dying every day.
We can stop it.
Go online, go to the phone,
make the best gift you can,
and let's give them
Water for LIFE.
Every day thousands of lives
are lost to waterborne disease,
and nearly half of those are children
under the age of five.
Through Mission: Water for LIFE,
you can give mothers hope and children a future
as we provide clean life-giving water
for thousands of children and their families
before it's too late.
With your gift today, you can help drill
and establish 350 water wells this year!
Your gift of $24 will help provide clean water
for five children.
A gift of $48 will help provide for ten.
$72 will provide for 15.
And $144 will help provide life-giving water
for 30 people for a lifetime.
With a gift of any amount, we'll send you Daughter,
written by James and Betty's granddaughter, Laney Rene.
This insightful book invites all girls and women
to walk in the freedom of their God-given identity,
and embrace who they really are.
With your gift of $100 or more,
you may request the "Great is the Lord" decorative blanket
featuring the words of Psalm 145:3.
This beautiful blanket is perfect for comfort and cold weather
and a reminder of your help with Water for LIFE.
Finally, please consider a gift of $1200
to help provide water for 250 people
or a gift of $4800 to help sponsor a complete well,
and request our new, bronze sculpture,
"A Cup of Water"
inspired by Jesus' words in Mark 9:41.
Please call, write, or make your gift online.
RANDY: In so many places around the world,
we see people that don't have water -- any water to drink.
If they do, they're scraping it
from the worst places possible.
But in some places, like where I'm at right now in Burundi,
there seems to be an abundance of water.
But the water is not safe.
RANDY: It was this water source
where she would come and get the water every day in these jugs
and take it back to her children.
And it is this water source
that took Stella's life.
RANDY: I don't want Jacqueline to go through this again.
She has other children.
She's doing all that she can.
Are we doing all that we can?
We can change this.
We have the power.
It is within our power to give them clean drinking water
so that she doesn't get to the point
where she wants to die.
That's why it is critical we do something right now.
You and I can do something.
We can come in and we can put a well in this village
and they will have clean water.
There are so many other villages just like this.
So many other mothers
that are experiencing the same pain
that Jacqueline is feeling.
We want you to join us
in reaching around the world to places like this
and giving them clean, pure, drinking water.
Will you do that? Will you give life?
Will you give Water for LIFE?
When you do,
you will be changing the lives of mothers like Jacqueline
all over the world.
Do it today.
RANDY: When I see situations
like that I can't help
but look into scripture
and see a pattern,
I think with Christ.
He was thirsty --
he was thirsty.
Jesus Christ was thirsty
and went to the well
and asked a woman
to give him a drink.
And that's where he talked
about the eternal water
that he gives to us.
As he was preaching
and people got hungry,
he fed them.
He even said, "I was thirsty
and you gave me a drink.
I was hungry and you gave me
something to eat."
There's this pairing
of meeting practical needs
and sharing the gospel.
We call it demonstrating
the gospel, the love of Jesus,
in both word and deed.
And I really don't think
you can separate them.
That's why it is critical
to me and all of us,
as my parents have done
for years, to say
we're going to show someone
the love of Christ by meeting
that practical need.
That's why we give them
clean drinking water.
It does replenish
their physical health.
But we also give them
the living water of
Jesus Christ which will
give them eternal life.
It is interesting when Paul,
after receiving the gospel
himself directly,
went to validate it
with the apostles, James
and John, to be specific.
He went to Cephas.
And the apostles who had
walked with Jesus
bore witness to what
Paul had received.
And then, there is
this interesting
little statement.
And Paul says, "I was
reminded by the apostles
and I agree with them,
we don't forget the poor."
The ministry of Christ
was all about reaching
the poor, "The least of these"
he called them;
what society would consider
the lowest,
the most underprivileged,
if you will.
Those who are thirsty.
Those who are suffering.
Why do we do what we do?
Why do we ask you
to join us right now?
Why do we believe
it's urgent?
Number one, it is out
of obedience to scripture.
It is following
Christ's example,
and we're privileged
to be able to do that.
And number two,
it opens the door to having
a relationship with people
who are in desperate need
by providing for
their physical needs
and tending to
their spiritual needs.
This is the complete
Water for LIFE mission.
It is a mission to give life
to those who are facing death,
both temporarily
and eternally.
We want you to be
a part of it.
In fact, we can't
do anything without you.
My dad likes to say,
"We can only give what
you put in our hands,"
and that is exactly right.
We've done this
thousands of times.
We've drilled thousands
of wells in places so we know
the impact that it has.
But right now there are
so many factors that have
led to people being
in situations like
you've seen today.
We need to do something.
I feel like it is a matter
of both urgency and obedience
and compassion, yes,
to reach out today,
for you to join us,
to join those who are on
the ground in many countries
where they don't have
clean drinking water
and say, you know what?
I want to do my part.
If all of us will
do something,
whatever God leads us to do,
I can tell you
the impact will be huge.
It will be real.
It will meet
the temporary need,
and the immediate risk will
go away, but we will also
be reaching into eternity.
I don't think we really
understand fully
how big this is.
But it starts by you
going online,
going to the phone, and
making the best gift you can.
Remember $48 will
give water to ten people.
A gift of $144 will provide
clean drinking water
for 30 people.
A gift of $1200 can be
combined with three others
to provide an entire well.
That well is $4800.
And you know what?
You may be the one that can
provide an entire well --
maybe two or three,
whatever God enables you
to give.
God bless you for doing it
because you will
be blessing others.
So go online,
go to the phone,
make the best gift you can,
and join us in this
beautiful Mission:
Water for LIFE.
Every day thousands of lives
are lost to waterborne disease,
and nearly half of those are children
under the age of five.
Through Mission: Water for LIFE,
you can give mothers hope and children a future
as we provide clean life-giving water
for thousands of children and their families
before it's too late.
With your gift today, you can help drill
and establish 350 water wells this year!
Your gift of $24 will help provide clean water
for five children.
A gift of $48 will help provide for ten.
$72 will provide for 15.
And $144 will help provide life-giving water
for 30 people for a lifetime.
With a gift of any amount, we'll send you Daughter,
written by James and Betty's granddaughter, Laney Rene.
This insightful book invites all girls and women
to walk in the freedom of their God-given identity,
and embrace who they really are.
With your gift of $100 or more,
you may request the "Great is the Lord" decorative blanket
featuring the words of Psalm 145:3.
This beautiful blanket is perfect for comfort and cold weather
and a reminder of your help with Water for LIFE.
Finally, please consider a gift of $1200
to help provide water for 250 people
or a gift of $4800 to help sponsor a complete well,
and request our new, bronze sculpture,
"A Cup of Water"
inspired by Jesus' words in Mark 9:41.
Please call, write, or make your gift online.
RANDY: The situation
is urgent.
We need to let
our mission partners know
how much we can help them.
So please, go to the phone,
go online, and make
the best gift you can.
And if you plan to write
a check or make a gift
at a later date, would you
just call us and let us know
so we can prepare to bless
as many people as possible?
Thank you for the blessing.
Whatever you can do,
you will be giving life.
So I hope you will do
what God puts on your heart.
God bless you!
And thank you for being
such a blessing to others.
We'll see you again
next time.
♪
LIFE Today is made possible by the supporters of LIFE Outreach International.
Your gift will be used exclusively for the exempt purposes of LIFE.
The ministry features specific outreaches
as examples of the programs it supports and conducts.
Gifts are considered to be without restriction
as to use unless explicitly stipulated by the donor.
The ministry is a member of the ECFA.