Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY017084A
|
00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:06 Yes. 01:08 Hello, and welcome once again to 3ABN Today. 01:10 We're so glad that you have tuned in. 01:13 And I was thinking as I was listening to the song, 01:15 Mending Broken People, that what a way, 01:19 what a privilege 01:21 and a way to live a life with purpose. 01:24 And our guest today also, that is their heart cry 01:31 is that they want to mend broken people. 01:33 Before we begin, before I introduce our guest, 01:36 let me read to you a scripture. 01:39 And I think this is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. 01:42 Let me set it up. 01:43 Jesus was sitting by a well, 01:46 when a Samaritan woman showed up, 01:49 and the Samaritans and the Jews 01:51 didn't have any kind of relationship. 01:54 But to cut to the chase, 01:56 as He starts talking with this woman, 01:58 and she's shocked that He is speaking to her. 02:01 He tells her, and I just believe that 02:05 with all the emotion that was in His spirit, 02:10 He said, "If only you knew the gift of God 02:16 and who it is that asks you for a drink, 02:20 you would ask Him, 02:22 and He would give you living water." 02:25 And then the story goes on in verse 13. 02:28 Jesus answered and said to her, 02:30 "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again," 02:34 speaking of the water in the well, 02:36 "But whoever drinks of the water 02:38 that I shall give him will never thirst. 02:41 But the water that I shall give him 02:44 will become in him a fountain of water, 02:47 springing up into everlasting life" 02:49 And of course, 02:51 He was referring to the Holy Spirit. 02:55 The reason I thought that this scripture 02:56 would be so perfect today is our special guests 03:00 are from a wonderful ministry called Water for Life. 03:04 You and I take for granted that we can go, 03:07 and turn a faucet, and have clean water. 03:10 And as one of the guests told me 03:12 in the green room today, 03:14 we water our yards with clean water, 03:19 everything that we have is clean water. 03:21 But there are people who are dying 03:24 for clean water around the world, really. 03:27 So let me introduce to you our very special guest today. 03:30 First we have Tim Rasmussen. 03:33 Tim, you are the president of Water for Life. 03:36 Yes, I am, thank you very much to be, 03:38 we're happy to be here. 03:39 Oh, we're so glad that you here, 03:40 and thank you for the work that you do for the Lord. 03:43 Oh, thank the Lord. 03:45 We have the coordinator for Guatemala, 03:48 the Water for Life. 03:49 And that is Berny Leonardo. 03:52 Berny, we're so glad you're here as well, Brother. 03:55 Thank you, Sister Shelley, 03:56 thank you for giving us this special time 03:59 because I know the Lord has blessed us 04:02 through you also. 04:03 Oh, praise God. Well, we just love it. 04:06 I know, I've interviewed you a few times at ASI, 04:08 and you've been here several times before. 04:11 So we're very thankful to you 04:14 for this great ministry that you do. 04:16 But before we actually jump into the story 04:21 of Water for Life, and it is a fascinating story, 04:24 and wait till you hear what happened 04:27 to one of the local witches in Guatemala. 04:32 We always like to start with some music here. 04:35 We have Steve Darmody today that's going to sing for us, 04:39 The time that remains. 04:59 I know my days were numbered 05:03 Before I drew my first breath 05:07 And I have no way of knowing 05:11 When I'll close my eyes in death 05:16 I only have this moment 05:20 And before it slips away 05:23 I want to make a difference 05:26 While it's still called today 05:34 In the time that remains 05:39 I will lift high the cross 05:43 And in Jesus' name 05:47 Be a light for the lost I pray 05:52 I won't live one moment in vain 05:59 For all that I have is the time that remains 06:20 The grains of sand are slipping 06:24 Through the hourglass of time 06:29 As I sift through all the memories 06:33 Of the life I've left behind 06:37 All of my accomplishments 06:40 Will vanish in the wind 06:45 But only what I've done for Christ 06:49 Will matter in the end 06:52 In the time that remains 06:56 I will lift high the cross 07:01 And in Jesus' name 07:05 Be a light for the lost I pray 07:10 I will live one moment in vain 07:17 For all that I have is the time that remain 07:28 Every minute, every hour of every day 07:35 With all my heart and soul 07:39 I know I'll find a way 07:44 In the time that remains 07:48 I will lift high the cross 07:52 And in Jesus' name 07:56 Be a light for the lost I pray 08:02 I will live one moment in vain 08:09 For all that I have 08:12 Is the time that remains 08:21 For all that I have 08:28 Is the time that remains 09:01 We thank Steve Darmody, a friend of 3ABN's ministry. 09:06 And he has such a beautiful voice, 09:07 and thankfully, he is using his talent 09:10 for the glory of God. 09:11 If you joined us just a little late today, 09:14 our special guests are Tim Rasmussen 09:17 who is the president of Water for Life, 09:19 and Berny Leonardo 09:20 who is the Guatemalan coordinator 09:23 for Water for Life. 09:25 So, gentlemen, once again, welcome. 09:27 Thank you. Gracias. 09:29 What we'd like to hear first 09:32 is a little personal background. 09:36 Tim, did you grow up in a Christian home? 09:39 Tell us a little of your life. 09:41 Yes, my father was a pastor in the Michigan conference 09:44 for many years. 09:45 Ted Rasmussen, he's passed away. 09:47 Okay. But I grew up... 09:48 So he was a Seventh-day Adventist Christian? 09:49 Yes, he was, and my grandfather 09:51 was an Adventist Evangelist, Grant Hosford in the Ohio 09:56 and Michigan conferences for many years. 09:59 And so I grew up going to Adventist schools, 10:02 and my family moved all over in Michigan, 10:06 but I attended Andrew's University, 10:08 and then after that, 10:10 I went to the University of Michigan. 10:12 I got a master's degree in social work there 10:13 and worked for a while for the state of Michigan. 10:16 And then I worked for seven years 10:17 at Loma Linda University 10:19 in the Medical Center in California. 10:21 And then I went back to school. 10:23 In my second life, 10:24 I became a lawyer while I worked in, 10:25 I went to Georgia State University in Atlanta, 10:28 and I was in private practice in North Carolina 10:31 and Georgia for about 15 years, 10:33 and then I moved to Washington State 10:35 to be near my family, 10:36 and my wife's family was out there. 10:39 And for the last 10 years, 10:40 I've been the elected prosecutor 10:42 of the district attorney for Stevens County, Washington 10:45 which is my present job. 10:47 That's what I do for a living. 10:49 But what I do for life is I work with Water for Life 10:53 with Berny Leonardo and other people, 10:56 bringing water to the people in rural areas of Guatemala, 10:59 and it's a wonderful thing to do. 11:02 You know, anybody who knows the responsibility 11:08 of your elected position knows 11:11 that you don't have just a whole lot of time, 11:13 but I just want you to know, no matter what you do, 11:16 you can do some thing for the Lord, 11:19 and we're going to get into the story 11:21 of what this wonderful ministry does. 11:24 And thank you so much 11:26 that you've got a heart for the Lord, 11:27 but it sounds like this is something that 11:30 as you grew up, what I am curious, 11:34 you're having all these good seed planted in you, 11:37 but at what age did your personal relationship 11:41 with the Lord become real to you? 11:46 When I was a young man, 11:48 I was not particularly interested in things, 11:53 maybe it was because I was a pastor's kid, 11:55 I'm not sure. 11:56 But when I became about 30, I was about 30, 11:59 I began to feel that I was an adult. 12:02 And at that time, I began to get more interested 12:05 in spiritual things, 12:07 and the Lord wouldn't let me go. 12:11 He's been chasing me. Amen. 12:12 And through the work of Water for Life 12:15 and also my friend Berny in the last, 12:17 probably 20 years, 12:19 I've gotten more and more sensitive to the Lord. 12:23 And I'm trying to do... 12:25 Maybe, I'm trying to make up for lost time. 12:27 We don't have a lot of time but... 12:29 That's true. That's true. 12:30 Water for Life is a way to do that, 12:33 and a way to bring people closer to the Lord, 12:35 and that's what I want to do. 12:36 Praise God. 12:38 So, Berny, tell us, you grew up in Guatemala. 12:42 I did. Was it a Christian home? 12:45 We were from no denominations. Okay. 12:49 Even my grandfather was kind of a little witch, you know. 12:55 So Seventh-day Adventist messengers 13:01 came in to Puerto Barrios. 13:05 Then they went to my grandfather's home. 13:08 And he was a witch? Yeah. 13:11 And they opened their homes for them. 13:15 Then they started to do evangelism work, 13:19 and my mother and some other sisters, 13:22 brothers started to attend the meetings. 13:26 But one of my uncles used to pedal for half a day to go 13:31 and bring the missionaries, and take them to their home, 13:35 and bring them back. 13:38 So it started that they were interested in the message. 13:44 Then they grew up. Some were baptized. 13:48 But my dad was not a Seventh-day Adventist. 13:51 He was no Christian. 13:57 So my mother kept that little message in her heart, 14:02 and, you know, water it, water it, 14:07 and she used to send us to church. 14:10 She didn't go. She used to send us to church. 14:13 So finally, I grew up in the Seventh-day Adventist 14:18 from six years up. 14:22 But my interests were not so strictly going to church. 14:28 We move on to another place where we had to walk 14:32 for three miles to go to church. 14:36 It was fun, walking to church three miles back and forth. 14:41 Then they send me to a Christian school, 14:44 and I learnt more about the Lord, 14:46 and finally, I accepted him. 14:50 Praise God. Here we are. 14:53 Afterwards, I went on to college, 14:57 and we came back, 14:59 worked with the associations, continued to study, 15:06 went back to Panama, was there working. 15:09 My wife used to work in Costa Rica also. 15:12 We have three kids, nice kids. 15:16 And we try to set them in the way to Lord. 15:19 Praise the Lord. Then they stick to it a little. 15:23 We hope they would never lose it. 15:24 Amen. 15:26 But when we were there at a Seventh-day Adventist academy 15:30 we used to get water from a river. 15:34 At the beginning, you used to go 15:37 and drink the water. 15:38 It was safe. 15:40 But, you know, people started to go around, 15:44 and inhabitant, 15:47 and there is an orphanage close by it too, 15:50 and the same source of water was there. 15:55 But we got some visits from good hearted people, 16:01 and some of them got sick, and we got sick too. 16:05 From drinking the water from the river? 16:07 Yeah. 16:09 It's an open river, anything goes in. 16:12 And from there, the Lord sent good man 16:17 and good families and He tied us. 16:23 So, Tim, take us to connect to this story, 16:27 and tell us about the gentlemen 16:29 who actually began Water for Life 16:31 and how you became interested? 16:33 Gary Bartholomew is the founder of Water for Life, 16:36 and he became interested in providing water 16:39 for the school and orphanage 16:41 in the Peten region, Poptun, Guatemala 16:43 is where the school is and the orphanage. 16:46 And Gary had adopted a child 16:47 from this orphanage about 30 years ago now. 16:51 Meaning that he was sponsoring the child that he actually... 16:54 He adopted the child. Actually, adopted, oh, oh. 16:57 Brought her to Washington State, 16:59 and raised her. 17:00 She's a good Christian girl. Wonderful. 17:02 And he maintained an interest in that orphanage and school. 17:07 And as Berny mentioned, 17:09 they were depending on river water, 17:12 they just had a submersible pump in the river, 17:15 and the water became more and more contaminated 17:18 as years went by, and some people got sick, 17:22 almost died from amoeba and parasites in the water. 17:27 And Gary determined 17:28 that he would do something about this. 17:31 Gary is from a well drilling family. 17:32 His father owned 17:34 Gary Bartholomew Pump Well Service in Washington, 17:37 there in Spokane for a long time. 17:39 And Gary was familiar with this. 17:42 And so he began to try to do something to help these people 17:46 get clean water. 17:47 He, first of all, 17:49 hired a Guatemalan well drilling company, 17:51 spent a lot of money, 17:53 was unsuccessful, and took many months, 17:56 and was basically didn't produce anything to help. 18:00 So Gary put an ad in the 18:02 Northwest Well Driller's Association magazine 18:06 and asked if someone would help. 18:09 A generous Mennonite family from Silverton, Oregon, 18:12 Stately and Sons called him and said, 18:14 "We have a drilling rig that you're welcome to." 18:18 And after checking it out and checking with him, 18:21 they refurbished this rig. 18:23 And Gary and some friends of his 18:25 and volunteers from the countryside church, 18:28 and Adventist church, there in Spokane 18:32 shipped the well drill down to Guatemala. 18:36 And I became aware of it. 18:37 I was preaching a sermon on religious liberty 18:40 there in that church, 18:42 and I heard Gary stood up and said, 18:44 "The drilling rig has been seen in the custom's yard 18:47 at Puerto Barrios," and it was general affirmation. 18:51 Praise the lord for that. 18:52 And afterwards I said, 18:54 "Gary, what are you talking about? 18:55 What is this about?" 18:57 And he told us about the need down there 18:59 and the drilling rig that had just been sent. 19:02 And I called my wife, 19:05 and she was in Seattle visiting her grandchild. 19:08 And I said, "Do you want to go to Guatemala?" 19:10 And she said, "Well, what for?" 19:14 Through that weekend, I convinced her that 19:15 we ought to go and just check it out. 19:18 And so we went down, and we're there 19:19 when the first wells were drilled 19:21 at the orphanage campus, and on the school campus, 19:25 and clean water was made available to those people. 19:29 And what year was this? 19:31 This would have been in 2003, I think, or 2004. 19:35 This is our 14th year that we've been down there. 19:38 And after we drilled that well, village people began to say, 19:44 "Well, why don't you come to our village and drill?" 19:46 And we had the drilling rig, 19:47 and pretty soon Gary was fully invested in doing 19:51 what we could for those people, 19:53 and I just stayed involved with it. 19:56 And through these last 14 years, 19:58 we've been drilling every year. 19:59 We drill from January through April. 20:02 All our drillers are volunteers from across the United States, 20:05 they're non-Adventists. 20:07 Some of them are nothing at all as far as religious people. 20:11 But they all have one thing in common. 20:13 They have a heart to help people. 20:15 Amen. 20:16 And they leave their businesses 20:18 and come to Guatemala at their own expense. 20:21 We provide drilling rigs. 20:22 We provide a place for them to stay, 20:25 and we provide villages that have needs, 20:28 and we turn them loose in these villages, 20:30 and they drill wells. 20:32 This year, we have completed our 100th well. 20:36 Glory to God. In the Poptun region there. 20:39 And by our calculation, which is probably not accurate, 20:44 but we have about 30,000 people that every day get clean water 20:48 as a result of the work of the Lord 20:51 that we are able to just help a little bit, 20:53 help Him do this. 20:55 Amen. And there is great need. 20:57 And Guatemala is a beautiful country. 20:59 It is beautiful. 21:00 But it's a very poor country 21:01 in the rural areas particularly. 21:03 So there is great need for clean water. 21:07 And as I said, we so take this for granted. 21:11 But when you go down there, 21:15 and you're drilling for these people... 21:17 I've got two questions, 21:18 so let me forget to ask you about your volunteers, 21:21 and how they end up being impacted by this. 21:24 But what do the people think? 21:28 How do they view you when you go into a village, 21:31 and you don't ask for any money but you're just there saying, 21:36 "Hey, we're here to provide clean water for you." 21:39 At first, they're a little suspicious. 21:42 "What are you doing?" 21:43 They think that we'll drill 21:45 and then charge them for the water later. 21:47 But it's a wonderful thing to be in the village 21:49 when the drill gets to the water. 21:54 The well comes in. Yes, it is. 21:55 And the people, 21:57 they are a little nervous at first, 21:59 but we usually put an electric pump down to test it, 22:02 run by a generator. 22:04 And they are sometimes a little nervous about it 22:07 but then we will drink the water, 22:09 and when they see the Gringo is drinking the water, 22:12 they know it's safe for them, and pretty soon, 22:14 they're just smiling, and a very happy time, 22:17 and then we install a hand pump 22:19 because these are villages with no power. 22:21 And they realize that the water is there, 22:25 and it's free, and it's just there. 22:28 And then they want to know, "Well, why do you come?" 22:31 And it's a natural platform for us to tell them, 22:33 "We come because we love you, 22:36 and we want to tell you about the love of God, 22:39 and that Jesus loves you." 22:41 And it opens the hearts of the people. 22:43 Berny? 22:45 It breaks down barriers, you know, 22:47 we have been conquered by Spaniards. 22:51 And that stays for generations. 22:55 And first when we used to go there, 22:59 they would just, the natives would just peek 23:01 between the cracks of their homes. 23:03 "Who are these persons?" 23:06 You know, and they are strangers. 23:07 "Well, what are they doing here?" 23:11 But afterwards, when we explain to them 23:14 what's happening, they would just come around, 23:17 and try to help, 23:19 and they would keep card on the machinery, 23:24 so not even a bolt would move away. 23:27 So it breaks down any barrier. Amen. 23:30 And so the platform for the Word of God to going. 23:34 And you are using it as a platform. 23:36 Not simply that you are providing clean water, 23:39 but now you have branched out into the Ministry of Health, 23:44 and evangelism, and baptisms. 23:47 Tell us how the ministry began to expand. 23:54 In our area, around Poptun, 23:56 there has been an Adventist presence there. 24:00 And of course, as we were drilling in villages, 24:02 we have partnered with several organizations, 24:05 Light Bearers has sent millions of pieces 24:08 of Spanish literature for us, and we distributed. 24:11 And we also sent medical workers 24:14 or dental workers to meet with villagers 24:17 while we are drilling the well. 24:19 And they know that it's Water for Life, 24:21 and we do basic medical care for them, 24:23 and pass out literature 24:26 while we are doing this at these well sites. 24:29 And sometimes, there is an interest that develops, 24:33 and then Water for Life will pay a Bible worker 24:36 to be there for a year in the village, 24:38 and work individually with people, 24:40 and tell them about the gospel of Jesus 24:45 and our Soon Coming Savior. 24:47 And the people are hungry for the message in Guatemala. 24:52 We pass out thousands of Bibles per year, 24:55 and Spanish Bibles that we get from Remnant Publishers 24:58 there in Michigan. 25:00 They give us a good price on these Bibles, 25:02 and Remnant Publications are all over Guatemala, 25:05 as the messages that we send that, 25:12 the people are like 25:14 they are thirsty for clean water, 25:16 they are thirsty for the word of God, 25:19 and people will stand in line to get literature 25:22 that we're passing out, and Bibles. 25:25 But the well, the well really provides a center 25:28 for the whole community. 25:31 When we come back a year later or two years later, 25:33 there is pathways like the spokes 25:35 of the wagon wheel that go out into the jungle 25:37 where people every day come for water. 25:40 And people walk two kilometers, three kilometers, miles. 25:44 There are villages that Berny knows 25:46 that people stand in line 25:48 all the night long to get to the pumps, 25:50 and to get their water, 25:52 and they take it home to their villages. 25:54 People, they are dying for the clean water. 25:57 I have seen villages where women are getting, 26:01 before we drill, women are getting water 26:04 from one side of a small pond, no larger than this room, 26:08 and cattle are standing in the water. 26:09 Oh, mercy. Oh, mercy. 26:11 And the children are sick. 26:13 And after we come there, things change. 26:17 We've gone back to a village after two years later 26:20 to see how things are going. 26:22 And a village elder would say, "This is the first year 26:27 that no children have died in our village." 26:29 Oh, glory to God. 26:31 Unsafe water is the largest killer of children 26:34 in undeveloped countries in the world. 26:37 And providing clean water is a way to change their lives, 26:42 and then providing the water of life, 26:44 living water changes their life too. 26:48 And we partnered with groups, 26:51 Amazing Facts has sent groups down, 26:54 The Quiet Hour has sent groups down, 26:56 and they constrict churches, 26:58 Upper Columbia conference's volunteers go down. 27:01 We have aided in the construction 27:03 of 14 churches in our area, 27:06 and these churches are bursting with people. 27:09 And we really praise the Lord for that. 27:12 It's the Lord's business. I say we do Water for Life. 27:15 This is the work of the Lord. Absolutely. 27:17 We just help a little bit if we can. 27:19 We understand that completely. I know you do. 27:22 If you want to be happy, you have to make someone happy. 27:26 That's right. That will bless you. 27:28 And whenever you invest with the Lord, 27:30 you're not losing. 27:32 That's exactly right. 27:33 He who gives to the poor, lends to the suffering, 27:38 so you have a check to collect from the suffering, you know. 27:41 When drillers go down, 27:43 when voluntary people goes down, 27:45 they are more blessed. 27:48 In times when these drillers go down, 27:53 they say, "The work is so hard 27:56 that we don't have much income right now." 28:00 When they go back, 28:02 and even this great man that's here, 28:08 when they come back, they have triple blessings. 28:13 I have asked every one of them, they say, 28:15 "The Lord has been so good to us." 28:18 So there's two things. 28:20 I want to come back and ask you about 28:22 the population of Guatemala. 28:26 But while we are talking about your workers, 28:29 you said many of them come, not all of them are Christians, 28:34 not all of the Christians are Seventh-day Adventists, 28:37 but it sounds like they go there, 28:42 and you said God triples their business 28:44 when they come back. 28:45 They are going down 28:46 because it's lull in their business 28:48 but then they end up... 28:49 Do you see a spirit I mean, as people are there, 28:54 the volunteers, 28:55 is there a spiritual impact on the volunteers? 28:59 I think so. 29:01 Some of our volunteers come from across the country. 29:04 They are cable drillers, which is an old technology 29:07 that we use there. 29:09 But we have volunteers from across the country, 29:11 from Ohio, there is a man coming this year from Canada, 29:15 drillers that come from Washington state, and Utah. 29:20 They have just heard about Water for Life, 29:23 and they hear about Water for Life 29:25 because I've been invited to write an article 29:27 in the National Well Drilling Journal every month. 29:30 And I talk about what we do in Guatemala, 29:32 and I invite drillers to come and help us. 29:35 But they are very respectful of our beliefs 29:40 when we are there, when they are there, 29:43 and they participate. 29:45 We have worship with them. 29:47 They know what we are doing and what we are about. 29:50 Amen. 29:51 And I think they are blessed by it. 29:55 We have some that are Catholics, 29:56 some that are Baptists, some that are nothing at all. 30:00 But they go home to their home communities, 30:03 and they spread the gospel in their home communities, 30:06 and they get people to help them 30:09 come and do the work. 30:11 So the Lord is working through them 30:15 to reach other people to do the same thing. 30:17 So we just thank the Lord 30:21 because we have the ability to influence people. 30:25 I say we have the ability, the Lord has the ability 30:28 to work through us. 30:29 He uses you as his hands and His feet. 30:31 That's what we would like to be, 30:32 His hands and His feet, just like 3ABN is His mouth. 30:36 You spread the gospel by word of mouth, 30:40 by the words that you say, and the music that's here, 30:42 and we are happy that you can help us, 30:45 and maybe we can help you. 30:47 Amen. 30:48 So, Berny, the people, you said that, 30:51 "When we go in," and you build or drill well, 30:56 this is breaking down the barriers 30:57 because you're not asking for anything. 31:00 But are most of these people do... 31:03 You've mentioned witchcraft, 31:05 I know that there is the local cultural, 31:08 are there a lot of Catholics there, 31:10 or is it not a very religious country? 31:14 It is a variety of religion. Okay. 31:18 But remember, ancestors are Mayans. 31:23 So they have their own culture, and it's very tight. 31:28 So whenever we give them free water, 31:35 they would invite us to go to their homes 31:39 and open scripture. Amen. 31:41 It doesn't matter who. 31:44 We do not fight over it. 31:47 But they say, "Come in, 31:49 let's have some frijoles and tortillas. 31:54 You know, their hearts are ready to give and receive. 32:01 So it's amazing. 32:02 There is that basic exchange that goes on 32:07 between human beings 32:08 when you're doing something to help them, 32:10 they want to do something for you. 32:13 So tell me about the health ministry 32:16 because you branched out beyond 32:19 just giving them the Bible studies, 32:22 I know you bringing down people, 32:23 they're doing evangelism series, 32:26 you've had baptisms, you do health ministries. 32:28 Can you tell us which came first, 32:31 the chicken or the egg? 32:32 I think that the drilling was the attraction 32:38 and forms the platform. 32:40 And then we began to try to help the people 32:43 with basic health screening things in villages, 32:47 and a little bit dental care, 32:48 and when we have a dentist that'll come, 32:50 we have dental equipment, and he'll go to a village, 32:53 and do free dental work with people. 32:55 But we have also had some generous donations 32:58 of medical equipment that we have made contact 33:01 with the Ministry of Health there in the Peten region. 33:04 And over the last seven or eight years, every year, 33:07 we have been sending thousands of pounds 33:09 of donated medical equipment 33:12 that we give to the Ministry of Health. 33:14 Praise God. 33:15 And they put it in their local government hospital, 33:17 and we send thousands of syringes, 33:20 and thousands of pieces of equipment, pounds. 33:24 The Deaconess Hospital there in Spokane, 33:26 we have a connection with them. 33:28 And when they refurbish areas of the hospital, 33:31 they're gonna throw that equipment away, 33:32 and we say, "Well, let us come." 33:34 And they come and say, "Take whatever you need here." 33:37 And then we load it in our container full 33:39 of drilling equipment, and import it, 33:41 and we take it to the Ministry of Health, 33:44 and give it to them. 33:46 And so they are very benefited by it, 33:50 and they know that what we are doing. 33:53 And every year, when we go down, 33:55 we deliver things, it makes them very happy 33:58 to get all these equipment, bedding, and beds. 34:01 'Cause it's a poor country. 34:03 Guatemala is the poorest country 34:05 in Central America. 34:06 I didn't know that. It's the poorest. 34:09 But the Ministry of Health, 34:10 they know that what we do 34:13 in the villages benefits their people. 34:15 And the physicians at the Ministry of Health say, 34:18 "We know villagers who come from villages 34:21 where there is good water, their health is better, 34:24 their child infant mortality rate is less." 34:27 And so they know that we care for them, 34:31 and we are able to provide for them. 34:33 Berny and I just in July, I was down there attending 34:36 to some business. 34:37 We went to the Ministry of Health, 34:39 and Dr. Menda said, "We have a crisis right now, 34:42 we have typhoid fever in a village near here, 34:45 and we need to help these people if we can." 34:49 And we said, "Well, what can we do? 34:51 Can we do anything?" 34:53 He said, "Well, I don't know what you can do." 34:54 And they were talking about an injection pump 34:56 to put in the water to chlorinate the water 34:59 while typhoid is really passed by parasites, 35:03 and fleas, and things like that, 35:05 bad sanitary conditions contributes to it. 35:10 And we went back to the shop, and Berny scraped around, 35:14 and we found a chlorine injection pump 35:17 that we use for wells when we are cleaning a well. 35:22 And we brought it back, 35:23 and they put it to immediate use. 35:25 It's just a little thing. 35:27 But at the same time, Water for Life 35:29 is able to be of benefit to the people, 35:32 and the Ministry of Health doctors 35:34 are aware of what we do, 35:36 and they know that we are a blessing 35:39 to their whole community. 35:41 We have participated in many aspects in the community, 35:44 and are well known there for the work that we do. 35:49 And Mr. Berny has been there for many years. 35:52 He is Water for Life. 35:54 He talks about me, 35:56 but he is Water for Life in Guatemala. 35:58 He and other workers maintain these wells year round. 36:02 It's very important to Water for Life 36:03 that we maintain these wells. 36:06 And these wells need maintenance. 36:08 The hand pumps that we put in, if you put one on your farm, 36:11 it would last 20 years. 36:13 But when you have 400 people using it, 36:15 in two, three years, it needs service. 36:17 Less than that, and in four months, 36:19 we have to go and rebuild them 36:22 because they're using so much that they worn up. 36:26 You know, sometimes we need to go to our village 36:28 that's five hours driving. 36:32 There is no hospital there, there's no facilities. 36:37 And the equipment these gentlemen sent for us, 36:41 they reach far as those villages. 36:45 So a mother that's giving birth, 36:49 five hours, you know what... 36:50 Yes. 36:52 So now they have a nice bed, and they say, "Wow, it's good." 36:56 So they stay there, you know, 36:58 they don't have to go so far to delivery. 37:02 Praise God. 37:03 So now I just realized our time is beginning to click down. 37:09 You go in, you've got a group of volunteers, 37:12 even not just the drillers and the cablemen, 37:15 but the doctors or dentists that go with you also. 37:19 You get the spiritual interest started, 37:22 hire a Bible worker to work there for you, 37:25 you're doing evangelism series. 37:27 Tell us about the reaping. 37:30 Have you had many baptisms through this? 37:33 The area, we have had hundreds of baptisms. 37:38 And Berny has had conversations with the division, 37:42 and the union there, and the area around 37:44 where Water for Life is the fastest growing area 37:48 of the Adventist message in Guatemala, 37:51 and maybe in the region, 14 churches, 37:53 I say, that are new in the last 10 years in that area, 37:57 and the churches are bursting with people. 37:59 Glory to God. The Lord is working there. 38:04 Berny, tell us the story about the witch of Barial. 38:08 Well, I will let him say. 38:12 Barial. Barial. 38:13 Barial is a village near the Belize border. 38:16 It's about... 38:18 And when Berny mentioned five hours drive 38:19 that might be just be 20 miles. 38:22 Roads down there aren't like roads here. 38:23 Yes. 38:25 To go 10 miles, sometimes, 38:27 will take two hours or three hours 38:29 because the roads are just holes. 38:32 And after the rainy season, it's just terrible. 38:35 But Berny, 38:37 we built the directors of Water for Life. 38:40 In this village of Barial, we became aware 38:45 of an Adventist interest there, and so we got together. 38:49 And among the directors, we bought some land, 38:52 and we built this little church. 38:54 And Berny was, kind of, close to this church. 38:57 And he traveled out there to look one day, 39:00 how things were going. 39:01 And the people there were sitting on planks 39:05 and cement blocks. 39:08 While he was there checking on the situation, 39:10 a lady came to him and said, "Would you come? 39:14 A little girl is sick, 39:15 would you come and look at her?" 39:17 Berny said, "Sure." 39:19 They walked about 15 minutes 39:20 out through a track into the jungle, 39:22 and came to a rude little building, 39:24 and in the corner of the building 39:25 was a little foam with a little child of about seven, 39:30 and her leg was swollen, and Berny touched her, 39:34 and she was burning with fever, 39:35 tried to get her to take a little water. 39:37 She wouldn't take any water. She was listless. 39:40 And they said a little snake had bitten her in the leg, 39:42 and they pointed to a couple little marks on her ankle. 39:45 It was in the night. 39:47 And Berny asked about the family, 39:50 and it was an aunt. 39:51 She said her parents were gone, 39:53 and the aunt was taking care of this little girl. 39:55 And Berny noticed that in the corner of the room, 39:57 there was an elderly woman, and she was saying, 40:00 "This child will die. This child will die." 40:03 And the aunt said, "Berny would you help her?" 40:06 Berny said, "Well, I don't know, but I'll try." 40:08 And he scooped her up, and with the aunt, 40:10 they walked back to the vehicle, 40:12 and started the trip back to town. 40:15 It's about an hour and a half or so to get back to Poptun. 40:20 He stopped on the way at a man who does some medical work, 40:24 and the man came out and looked at the girl, 40:26 and he said, "I think that this is a Fer-de-lance, 40:29 a very deadly snake amarilla. 40:32 And he said, "I think the child may die." 40:35 But Berny took the child to the hospital 40:37 and on the way... 40:39 Did Berny do the charcoal poultice? 40:41 Who did this? Yes, yes. 40:43 The man helped him, and they got some charcoal, 40:45 put a poultice on the wound, 40:47 and try to get the girl to drink a little water 40:50 but she's pretty listless, she was very sick. 40:54 And on the way, Berny talked with the aunt. 40:56 And he asked about the lady in the corner. 41:00 He said, "Well, she's a witch." 41:03 And she tried to help the child 41:05 but then she just has decided that this child must die. 41:10 And so Berny prayed to the Lord, 41:12 and took this child to the hospital, 41:14 and in four, five days, 41:15 it was clear, she was going to live, 41:17 and Berny took them back home, and everybody was happy. 41:23 And he went back in about six or eight months 41:25 to check on things again. 41:27 And this little girl was in church, 41:29 and the aunt was in church, 41:30 and over in the corner was the old lady. 41:33 The witch? The witch was there. 41:36 And through the work of the Bible worker, 41:38 she became a Seventh-day Adventist. 41:40 Glory to God. 41:42 And when I was down there last January, 41:44 I went with some workers. 41:46 And her home had mysteriously burned. 41:50 And a group from Florida had come 41:53 and had constructed for her 41:55 a little concrete house, a little small house. 41:58 And I went there, and I met the little girl 42:01 who had this snakebite, she showed me on her leg. 42:04 And I met the lady, 42:05 it shouldn't be the witch from Barial, 42:07 she's the ex-witch from Barial. 42:10 And she's one of the leaders in the Adventist Church there, 42:12 and I got some nice pictures of this beautiful lady. 42:15 And she's a very... 42:18 Did you bring a picture? I did not. 42:20 Okay. I'm sorry. 42:21 I should have. Okay, I wish you have. 42:23 I didn't know you were gonna ask me about her. 42:25 Well, I've heard that story before but I love that story. 42:29 So also your Bible workers in your evangelistic outreaches 42:35 in the area have impacted other churches. 42:40 That's true. 42:41 Tell us about a couple of churches in particular. 42:44 Near the village of Kayin, I believe it is, 42:48 our Bible worker was in that area 42:51 and there had been no interest in the Adventist message. 42:55 There had been a church there about 25 years 42:57 before that, but it died away. 43:00 And we were trying to raise up the interest there. 43:05 In two nearby villages, there were two, 43:07 well, maybe in one village, 43:08 there are two congregations of Sunday keeping people. 43:12 I'm not sure of the denomination, 43:14 but they received some of the literature, 43:15 and they listened to the Bible worker. 43:18 And they went to their pastor and said, 43:19 "We think that the Sabbath is the right day. 43:22 Why aren't we worshiping on Sabbath?" 43:25 And through the work of the Bible worker 43:27 and these people, they convinced their pastor 43:29 that the Sabbath was the right day. 43:33 So pastor saw the truth in the scripture. 43:35 The pastor did. 43:36 And now both groups are keeping the Sabbath. 43:40 And the Bible worker is still working, 43:41 maybe they'll all be baptized as Adventists, 43:44 I don't know, but they are people of God 43:47 who have learned about the Sabbath truth. 43:50 And it's through the work of Water for Life. 43:52 And similar things like that 43:55 where people can learn about Bible truth, 43:58 and it's changing people's lives. 44:01 Amen. 44:02 Saving their lives and changing what they do. 44:05 Plus, I would like to say that some of them listen to 3ABN. 44:09 Yes. 44:11 And they say, "Good, It's a very good channel." 44:14 3ABN is poplar there. 44:16 And some brethren from upper Columbia joined us, 44:21 and they went and build up, with their kids, two churches. 44:25 Praise God. 44:26 So they have a well in the church here 44:28 and also a church. 44:30 I think we have a picture of a churchyard 44:32 with a well in the front. 44:33 Wonderful. There. That's it. 44:36 The church in country, 44:38 and that's a nice little church, 44:41 typical of what we try to build there. 44:43 It's a pretty little church. And the volunteers. 44:45 And there is the pump in the foreground. 44:47 Amen. So it's been 14 years. 44:49 And in 14 years, you've drilled 100 wells. 44:53 Yes. 44:54 Saved lives, brought people into the church, 44:58 hundreds of baptism. 45:00 When you go down, how often do you take 45:04 a volunteer team to go to Guatemala each year? 45:08 Our volunteers come and go from January through April. 45:12 Okay. 45:13 That is the drilling season, and that is when we are there. 45:16 Mr. Bartholomew is generally there for two months. 45:19 Some volunteers come for just two weeks, 45:22 some come for a month, as much time as they can. 45:26 And we provide housing for them, 45:29 we have place for them to stay, 45:30 we can provide vegetarian food at the school, 45:34 and we provide work for them to do. 45:38 And it's not just drillers, we can use... 45:41 The Lord can use anybody. 45:44 And we can use anybody who has two hands 45:48 and a willing heart. We'll put you to work. 45:51 And if people want to come and want to contact us, 45:55 we can use them. 45:57 Some of the workers are dignified and wonderful, 46:01 painting, fixing, helping, welding, going to villages. 46:06 Sometimes, I'm not a driller but sometimes, 46:08 I know the way, 46:10 and I will just drive teams of people out to these villages 46:14 because I know the way, and they don't know the way. 46:16 So it's mainly what's required 46:19 is a willingness to be of service. 46:22 And that's all that's really required. 46:24 Amen, and amen. 46:25 So you have also have doctors, nurses, dentists, 46:30 people who can do this. 46:32 How great is, I mean, you've had good success. 46:36 How great is the remaining need? 46:42 We have 100 wells, about 85 of them 46:46 are right close to us 46:47 but there are more than 200 villages 46:51 within 40 miles of our headquarters, 46:53 and all over Guatemala. 46:55 If you would drive 20 miles off the highway, 46:59 you would find villages where there's no decent water, 47:01 no electricity. 47:03 The people are suffering there, they have nothing, 47:06 and life is very hard. 47:09 But if we can provide some clean water 47:12 that does something for them that changes things for them, 47:16 the need is huge, and tremendous, and growing. 47:19 We can't keep up. 47:21 We would like to be able to use more modern equipment 47:26 and a rotary drilling rig, if someone would donate a rig. 47:31 It takes two weeks for our drillers to drill a well, 47:34 and our wells are 250 or so feet deep. 47:37 But it takes two weeks of work to get that done. 47:40 Here in the United States, 47:42 if you call a well drilling service, 47:43 you'll have that well done with a rotary rig in two days. 47:48 And down there, it's two weeks. 47:50 But that equipment costs money 47:53 but we also know that the Lord owns 47:55 the cattle on a thousand hills. 47:57 Absolutely. 47:58 And what we would like is for Him 48:00 to have someone help us to upgrade our equipments 48:04 so that we could do more. 48:06 There is more to be done. 48:07 And if we had the ability, we know the Lord 48:10 would provide the way to do it. 48:12 So we just wait for him. 48:14 Lately, he was down there, and people knew it. 48:16 I don't know how they knew. 48:18 And they took many requests, isn't it? 48:21 Yes. Yes. 48:23 So all over the country plus, we have had calls from Africa, 48:28 and from Dominican Republic, and other countries would like 48:33 to have us there helping. 48:36 Amen, amen. 48:38 Well, I'm just extremely excited about the work that... 48:43 I'm excited that God allows us to be a part of His work. 48:47 You know, I say, "We do this," but it's His business. 48:49 It's His business. He does this. 48:51 And I'm sure, we could sit here and talk all day long about 48:56 how God has changed you, 48:59 how it has impacted your life personally 49:02 just being involved. 49:04 There's nothing like helping to mend broken people. 49:09 And these people are broken. 49:11 If you don't even have clean water, 49:13 but thank you that you're there to show them 49:15 the love of Christ. 49:18 And as He reached out to the woman at the well 49:21 and said, "If only you knew, I am the gift of God, 49:27 and ask me and I'll give you living water." 49:30 Well, I just truly believe that the Holy Spirit 49:34 is probably impressing you, 49:37 someone that's listening at least, 49:40 that you would like to be a part 49:42 of one of these missionary trips 49:44 or take your children. 49:45 Maybe you're a doctor, or a nurse, or a dentist, 49:48 or maybe you can handle a paintbrush, 49:50 you're a cable worker, we want to let you know 49:53 how you can get in touch with Water for Life. 49:57 And perhaps, you can't go but you would like 50:00 to support their ministry, 50:02 here is their contact information. 50:07 You can make a difference 50:09 for the thousands of children and adults 50:11 who have struggled with polluted water 50:13 by helping Water for Life 50:14 bring pure water to the people of Guatemala. 50:17 Discover more about their well drilling projects, 50:20 read inspiring stories, 50:22 and see the results for yourself 50:24 through their photo gallery by visiting their website, 50:27 H2oForLife.org. 50:30 That's H2oForLife.org. 50:33 If you would like to call them, their number is (509) 842-3952, 50:40 or write to them at Water for Life, 50:42 Post Office Box 2330, 50:45 Deer Park, Washington, 99006. 50:52 You know, I always get so excited 50:54 when you can penetrate the barriers that keep... 51:01 Some people are walled behind these barriers 51:04 that keep them from knowing God. 51:06 And when you have a ministry that you can reach out 51:10 and let God use you to penetrate those walls 51:14 so that His love, and His light, and His life 51:18 can shine into their darkness, 51:21 it's an exciting thing. 51:22 We're going to take a quick break. 51:25 We have a news break for you now, 51:27 and then we'll come back for a closing thought. |
Revised 2017-12-31