South Sudan Church History: God himself set us free from the grip of Isl...

Operation Nehemiah blessing of Water - Borongole & Beth Israel farmland,...

Water is life. Jesus declared himself to be  the true Living Water, promising that  who ever drinks of Him  will never thirst again.

Perhaps nowhere else on earth is the essential nature of water more valued than in Africa, where available water is scarce and often contaminated with dangerous pathogens. 

Hand pumped, shallow wells dot the landscape throughout South Sudan, with a single well often supplying the daily needs of hundreds of families. Women often travel miles on foot to reach these wells, where they will wait for hours in line to fill their five gallon jugs, one at a time. Tragically, this very water they labor for is the source of  a host of deadly diseases and incalculable suffering, with 25% of infants dying before they reach their first birthday as a result of these water borne pathogens.

Operation Nehemiah seeks to bring the thirst quenching power of Jesus Christ  to the people of South Sudan through the preaching of the Gospel  and the provision of safe , accessible solar powered wells.

In 2013, we facilitated the drilling of our first  220 ft deep well at  our mission base in Borongole, Eastern Equatoria State that now supports the needs  of over 2,000 people living in and around the mission. The solar pump fills a large holding tank, where the water  is then dispersed to five faucets located around the community. 

Since this  water is sanitary  and free of pathogens, there has been  a drastic reduction in the incidence of water-borne illness and deaths in the surrounding villages. 

A precious  added benefit of the well is that the women are now able to spend more time with thier families as a result of the powerful water pressure that fills their five gallon jugs in less than three minutes.

A process that used to take hours to compete is now reduced to minutes, which is changing the dynamics of family life, one household at a time.

Joyce Levi, wife of our country director Timothy Levi has this to say:   "Thanks be to  God for the solar well!  It has reduced tension and  bickering among women at the pump who were competing to get water so that they can go home to their families. Nowadays people  are more friendly to one another because they are not so stressed out waiting for their turn to get water".

 Perina said:  "  The technology that Operation Nehemiah employed to establish this efficient source of water to serve the community  demonstrates the power of God to provide for his people through the local church without the need for relying on UN handouts".    

      

In addition to the mission base well, we were also able to drill a second solar operated well in our Beth Israel Farm, five miles east of our mission base to make drip irrigation during the lenghy dry season a reality.

Our goal is to help facillitate the drilling of clean, solar  wells throughout the region to serve local churches as they reach thier communities with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.