I hope you are all doing well during these challenging times. I was thinking about your church this week as my wife (who is also the associate pastor at Ojai Presbyterian Church) shared with me the challenges of online church. I know it is hard for your congregation right now but I am encouraged by the fact that the church has weathered every storm yet and that God is always good. This too shall pass!Given that your church is near the end of the Lenten Significant Sacrifice campaign, I thought that you might appreciate an update on the village you served LAST year through your previous campaign. Perhaps it will be a way to encourage you and your congregation as part of the last week before Easter.
Last year your church's Significant Sacrifice efforts helped sponsor the village of
Deko Huleti in Ethiopia. This village of 252 people was in desperate need of clean water and gospel hope. Since your sponsorship, however, a lot of progress has been made. The village has completed most of the steps to become a healthy village.
Throughout 2019, Deko Huleti had been working on steps toward becoming healthy. The most recent milestone is that on November 2019, the village met all community prerequisites to receive a clean water source. This means that the village already has a number of certified
healthy homes, a water committee has been formed, and the community has contributed 15% of the cost of the new water source - helping ensure a sense of ownership in their new water source. This is a big milestone!
Unfortunately, with COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing in place throughout Ethiopia, we have had to suspend our drilling/ construction in Ethiopia for the time being. A lot of drilling was scheduled for March/April 2020 that is now on pause. Our field teams tried to finish as much as they could before they were sent home (last Friday). Sadly, I do not have an update on whether or not Deko Huleti was one of the communities to receive one of the final wells before the restrictions were imposed. If not, the community will have to wait for the construction until coronavirus restrictions have been lifted. Our field teams will be communicating via phone with village leaders during the hiatus to continue to encourage them to implement healthy home practices - with hand washing being especially important during the outbreak.
Please continue to pray for the community in the meantime. Pray that they continue to be encouraged by the improved health they are seeing through healthy home practices. Additionally, please pray against discouragement among community members given the coronavirus restrictions. Finally, pray for their protection in the midst of the pandemic. Lifewater is essentially the only NGO providing any public health guidelines working in the region. Deko Huleti is very vulnerable and with no other safety net so to speak.
Finally, thank you for all your church does. We are so grateful for Orchard's partnership and the impact you are making on villages like Deko Huleti.
Many blessings on this upcoming Holy Week. Stay healthy and well!
In Him,
Tyson