As we have just celebrated Mother’s Day this month, we are reminded of the importance of motherhood in our lives - motherhood that truly penetrates most every thought—while shaping our learning and our response.
One of the goals of our work is to help provide basic resources, such as clean water and sanitation, to promote an environment where a mother can not only exist, but thrive while raising her children.
According to UNICEF, 663 million people on the planet today still lack proper drinking water and sanitation facilities – that is 32 percent of the overall population of the world – mostly women and children.
A Lesson From David Lipscomb
David Lipscomb, a noted 19 Century Bible scholar and minister, said:
“As highly as we appreciate the Bible, and it’s necessity to the temporal and spiritual well-being of man, a loaf of bread today, in the name of Christ, would do more good in opening the hearts of our southern people to the reception of the gospel than any number of Bibles, tracts or preachers.” (Gospel Advocate,1867)
As we reflect on the words of David Lipscomb, it becomes seemingly clear that we have, in many ways, displaced our focus of demonstrating the love and power of God in our evangelism. In fact, we have, mistakenly, ignored the physical needs of many - while saying that the world no longer desires to know God and His goodness and grace.
Example in Acts Chapter 6
In Acts Chapter 6, the apostles established a distribution program for the widows that were lacking proper needs. The solution was that they would appoint additional men to administer this program. We learn from this message that regardless of the problem, the solution is to cooperate with one focus, in order to advance the gospel.
"And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” Acts 6:7 ESV
GWAM Working Toward Solutions
At GWAM, our goal is to develop programs in northern Ghana to address the specific needs of the people living there in extreme poverty; needs such as clean water and sanitation. We focus on developing solutions to the problems, so that the power and love of God can be demonstrated through good works for which we were created.
In doing so, mothers and children don't have to walk several miles every day to fetch water. Mothers can spend more time nurturing their children to be healthy while more effectively earning a living for their families. In addition, their children spend much less time fetching water and more time in school and studying. When this happens, we all win.
You are a partner in this good work and we thank you for helping us help those in northern Ghana.
