Dear ElijahStreams Family and Friends,
You may think I'm exaggerating what I'm about to share with you... But every single word is TRUE!
A cup of bleach almost killed me... But let me start here... I'll come back to that in a moment.
You know, one of the best parts of getting older is when your grandkids come over. I'm not kidding. Mine come flying through the door, arms wide, laughing and yelling, "Poppy!"
I stop whatever I'm doing. That moment... when they come in full of life... that's something I hold onto.
A while back, I was in Uganda. And I saw something that stuck with me. There were kids there, too, full of life and joy, just like my grandkids.
But instead of running into a warm home or grabbing a snack from the fridge, they were walking. And walking.
Carrying these yellow jugs, looking for water. Any water, no matter how little or how unclean it is.
Some of them were scooping it out of dirty ponds. I remember seeing the leeches squirming around.
Some were drinking from a cracked pipe or a hole in the ground. And as I watched it, something in me just couldn't turn away.
That day, we dedicated a
well in the village... one that YOU helped fund.
And I'll tell you... those same kids who had walked miles for water started dancing. They were laughing. Singing. Praising Jesus.
And I stood there holding back tears thinking...
"These are our neighbors."
Now... I live in Oregon. Uganda is a long way from here.
But the Lord's been saying that over and over lately.
Even though they're on the other side of the world, Jesus had these beautiful people on His mind... and He actually calls them... OUR NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBORS!
It's not just a metaphor. But it's a prophetic truth.
That day, watching the kids drink fresh water... there was nothing like it. And that's what this is really about. Life. Real life. For children. For families. For entire villages.
And then God reminded me of something I hadn't thought about for a while.
A Cup That Should Have Killed Me
When I was just four years old, I was playing outside, and I got really thirsty.
So, I walked next door and asked the lady if I could have a cup of cold water.
She handed me a cup, straight from the refrigerator in one of those white containers... full of pure-looking water. You could see right through it.
I drank it hard and fast...
The next thing I knew, I was screaming and bolting through the screen door, throwing up on the ground outside!
You see, it WAS NOT WATER AT ALL! Shockingly, it was BLEACH—pure BLEACH. She'd accidentally given me a cup of cold bleach that she had stored in a container she thought she had saved for only water. I HEARD HER SCREAM, TOO, AS SHE REALIZED WHAT SHE HAD JUST DONE.
The Enemy Meant It for Harm... But God Redeemed It
The pain and the confusion were unbearable. I should have died. When a person drinks bleach, the penalty is always death by poisoning.
Honestly, it's a huge miracle that I survived, and beyond that, I have lived to share this shocking story of God's protection with others.
And just a few months ago, Mike Salley said something to me that hit deep. I was amazed by the word of wisdom through Mike, as I had never thought of it that way before.
"Steve, the enemy tried to take you out with a cup of water. And now... look what GOD is doing.
He's REDEEMING every cup." – Mike Salley
Now, that's a "God causing things to work for good" moment. He's using this ministry. He's using you. He's using me... to deliver thousands and thousands of clean, cold, life-giving
cups of water to children who've been waiting... asking for water... just like I was.
And here's another God thought...
Eons ago... God HIMSELF spoke and created streams of water under the
earth... right where He wanted it... throughout Uganda for HIS CHILDREN there.
And He waited... and WAITED SOME MORE! He waited until FINALLY, their neighbors across the ocean... you and I... saw their need... and chose to tap into those streams of water in Uganda so that His children living there could finally have clean, fresh, life-giving water!
Now I'll tell you something else... Not that long ago, someone berated me. They said, "Why are you helping people in Uganda, on the other side of the world? You could be using that money to help someone close by!"
And I thought, but they ARE close... they're our neighbors. That's what the Lord keeps speaking to me. And He won't stop!
In Luke 10, when the Pharisee asked, "Who is my neighbor?" He was all cynical.
But Jesus didn't answer with a definition. He responded with a STORY. A man was beaten, left for dead, and passed by all the so-called "good and upright" people. But he needed help. He needed a place to stay. He needed food and water.
Then came someone unexpected. Someone who stopped. Someone who saw the need and said, "I'm going to help."
Then Jesus asked, "Now, who was his neighbor?" The answer was clear: it was the one who stopped and helped that one in need. Then He says something even more intriguing...
"Go and do likewise." "Do this... and you will LIVE."
So, you'll find life when you live as a good neighbor. That's the life I want to live. That's the kind of neighbor I want to be.
And more than water, people are meeting Jesus right there at the wells. They're finding hope. They're giving their hearts to Him.
WILL YOU BE THE ONE who stops... sees... and
gives?
WILL YOU BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR?
Because YOUR gift might be the very one that brings water... AND
JESUS... to someone who's still waiting.
Because LOVE... never walks past.
