Q&A


Karen Ensley, a leader of FPCA’s International/ National Missions Team, discusses plans for our church to help build another well in Honduras.


Why is FPCA building a well in Honduras?


In a hot, humid climate, many Hondurans have a choice of drinking sugary drinks or dirty water. FPCA began building a relationship with a medical clinic in Honduras in 2013. Tree teams from FPCA have now served at the clinic and witnessed firsthand severe tooth decay, serious diabetic health problems, and life- threatening waterborne diseases caused by the lack of clean drinking water.


When FPCA’s International/ National Missions Team decided to send the church’s first well-drilling team in 2014, it chose Honduras to complement the medical mission and create a greater impact in both treating and preventing these lethal diseases.


Where will the well be built?


Currently, Living Water International (LWI), our partner organization, is working along the north coast in the Tela/El Progreso region. Our well mission team will learn the specific location upon arrival.


How does Living Water International contribute to the mission?


Te LWI mission model is exceptional. A U.S.-based 501(c)3 nonprofit, LWI employs local people in every country where they work. Te jobs help the economy, and the resident staff know the terrain, language, and culture. LWI


will identify a village where there’s great need and the villagers are willing to help—this is part of the LWI model. Te well is not a handout. A villager must be willing to donate the land for the well. Te men in the village agree to do an enormous amount of manual labor. Te women will be expected to prepare lunch daily for our team. Tis model helps build a meaningful relationship where we work side by side with our Honduran brothers and sisters.


Providing clean water is vital, yet there’s more to this mission model. Te LWI staff begin sharing the Good News of Jesus when they first visit the village. Members of our well mission team will teach hygiene and Bible stories. LWI will regularly service the well, and each time they return, they preach the Gospel.


Why do people in this village need a well?


During the first well mission, dirty water from a river was used for the well-drilling process, then used to clean muddy tools. Te water was outside in an open barrel. One day when the team arrived at the site, unbelievably, a young boy was drinking from the barrel! Can you imagine? How desperately thirsty was he to drink that obviously dirty water? Did he get sick from drinking the water? We’ll never know. But we do know that, thanks to


FPCA, the village received a well that is providing generations of his friends and family with lifesaving, clean water. Yet in many other regions, children are just as desperately thirsty.


How can the congregation help?


At the well site, a plaque will state that the well was donated by First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA, U.S.A. It’s not only the members of the well-drilling team but also you, the members and friends of First Presbyterian Church, who are making this well possible.


What can you do? Share the message. Teach your children. Be thankful for clean water. Your financial support is paramount. Watch for upcoming fundraisers and support them enthusiastically. Embrace the mission and the team. How exciting it would be if a crowd from FPCA came to see the team leave and to welcome them home again!


Above all, pray. Pray for the team. Pray for the Hondurans. Pray that the well drillers will be successful in finding a good source of water. Pray that the people will come to know Jesus and remember how a group of Christians traveled from afar to bring both clean water and Jesus’ Living Water.


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