water System in Guatemala - Living Waters
Two children drinking fresh water from cups
Children and jug of clean water

Living Waters Project

Living Waters for the World mission teams empower their partners to provide clean, sustainable water and health education for their communities.

Living Waters for the World Mission Project

“The Flow”
Stories and News from Living Waters of the World

The Future of Water
A brief and inspiring look at the miracle of water. Beautiful. Beneficent. Buoyant. Bountiful. Birthing. Water is quite literally the birthplace of life on earth. But what happens when water changes? What happens if it becomes an agent of toxicity?

In a short video created by Fred Neuschel, let’s look at how concern about the future of water is inspiring people around the world and specifically in Santiago, Guatemala, to change their lifestyles and celebrate the gift of water.(approx. 6 minutes).

Other Video Links

water SystemLiving Waters for the World mission teams empower their partners to provide clean, sustainable water and health education for their communities. Living Waters for the World (LWW), a mission project of the PC(USA) for more than 20 years, serves communities that have only contaminated water available.

LWW has developed a simple, clean water filtration system that is easy to install and maintain. The systems are usually installed in public buildings, such as a church or school, and are supervised by a committee from the community. LWW also teaches people to become trainers of good health practices, without which the clean water would not be effective. LWW partners have installed and operate over 1000 clean-water systems in developing areas of the world. Over 85% of these installations continue to operate. LWW has been a mission project of our congregation since 2015. RCLPC has partnered with Belén Presbyterian Church in Jerez, Ciudad de Refugio Presbyterian Church in La Felicidad, Monte Los Olivos Presbyterian Church in El Chico, and Padre Apla’s Catholic School in Santiago, all located in Guatemala, to bring pure water and health education to their communities. We are about to begin a new partnership with Familia Horizonte in La Fragua, Zacapa, Guatemala. Our partner houses an orphanage of court referred children, a school, and a mission outreach to three communities nearby. They intend the water distribution and educational outreach to assist families in building their own safety and independence, while inviting them to educate their children within their school. You can support the LWW project by keeping team members and partners in your prayers, supporting the project’s fundraisers, donating items or providing funds towards the purchase of materials, preparing teaching materials, or driving the team to and from the airport. You are invited to consider traveling to Guatemala to work with our partners to install the water system or to provide health training to those who will teach others in the community. We need new educators, hands-on installers, and planners to join our team. We look forward to this journey together to improve the lives of many, especially the children.

Mission Sites

church Belen

Belén (Bethlehem) Presbyterian Church
RCLPC partners with Belén (Bethlehem) Presbyterian Church in Jerez Village, a small community in the southwestern part of Guatemala. The people of Jerez Village have a well that provides water, although not safe, throughout the year. Before the installation of the water system, they traveled 6 miles to obtain safe water. Members of the Belén church constructed a building for the water system on land adjacent to the church.

Our partnership with the people of Belén began in January 2016 with a development trip to build a good relationship, assess and test the water, and make agreements for the water treatment system and educational experiences. Then in July 2016 we returned to teach our partners how to install the water system and instruct the children and families of the community about safe water and hygiene. Two sustainability visits to Jerez have followed to work together to ensure the sustainability of the water project and celebrate its success together.

well Digging

Ciudad de Refugio
 Ciudad de Refugio (City of Refuge), another Presbyterian church, is in the village of La Felicidad in the same region of Guatemala. The church is surrounded by tropical fruit trees and views of distant volcanoes. In February 2017 RCLPC and Ciudad de Refugio covenanted together for a water project. The people dug a well that yields a steady supply of water and prepared the room to hold the system. We returned in December 2017 to provide health and hygiene education to the community and install the water system.

Monte Los Olivos
Monte Los Olivos (Mount of Olives) is in El Chico, a small village on a strip of land between the Pacific Ocean and an estuary. It is located two hours by vehicle and 30 minutes by boat from the other partners. The well yields water during all but the driest stretches. With no source of electricity other than generators, the church benefitted from solar panels that provide enough electricity to run the water pump and provide some excess for other purposes. The water system and solar panels were installed and health education provided in October 2018.

Volunteer

We invite you to explore the opportunities described here, opening your heart and answering the call. You can support the Living Waters for the World project in a variety of ways.

Support At Home:

  • Keep team members and partners in your prayers
  • Attend or plan fundraisers and presentations
  • Donate items for the education lessons
  • Give old suitcases in good condition that will be left in Guatemala
  • Prepare teaching materials
  • Drive the team to and from the airport
  • Make a monetary gift to purchase parts of the clean-water system or pay for in-country transportation, drivers, and translators (write Living Waters on the memo line of your check, and place it in the offering)

Become a Mission Team Leader:

  • Attend Clean Water University, the training school for LWW, to learn the skills necessary to form partnerships with communities in need of clean water, equip local leaders to provide education, and install the clean-water system
  • Choose one of two 5-day sessions held annually at Hopewell Camp and Conference Center in Oxford, MS

Travel to Guatemala to work with our partners:

  • Installers – learn how to install a water filtration system; training to be provided at RCLPC or through attendance at Living Waters’ Clean Water University
  • Teachers – provide health and hygiene training to Guatemalan leaders, who in turn teach adults and children; training and curriculum available at RCLPC or at Clean Water University
  • Project leaders – build, empower, and orient LWW teams through the assessment, development, implementation, and sustainability of water projects; training and curriculum available at Clean Water University
Map of Guatemala

Donate

To make a financial gift to RCLPC’s Living Waters Project, write “Living Waters” on the memo line of your check, and place it in the offering. All donations are tax-deductible, and 100% goes directly to the projects.

Contact Us

If you have questions or want to volunteer, contact a team member:

Living Waters for the World Mission
Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church
8505 Church Street
Crystal Lake, IL 60012
815-459-1132

FAQs

Living Waters for the World (LWW) is the global mission resource of the Synod of Living Waters of the Presbyterian Church USA. Its mission is to serve as a resource to churches of all denominations, civic organizations, and others in mission, enabling them to share safe water with their partners in need. LWW has been working for more than 20 years to provide sustainable, safe water to communities. The ministry fosters longterm, mutually beneficial relationships between volunteers and communities in need.

LWW has installed more than 850 systems in 26 countries. Regional networks exist in 11 countries, where in-country LWW staff identify safe-water opportunities, bring partners together, and support the projects.

780 million people around the world lack access to safe water, and 5,000 children die each day from preventable, waterborne illnesses. That’s one child every 20 seconds worldwide, a number too staggering for us to grasp. We can be part of the solution for God’s people in need.

A group of LWW team leaders was trained at Living Waters’ “Clean Water U” in April 2015. The RCLPC Session approved LWW as a new mission project in June 2015.

LWW is under the umbrella of the Mission Team and reports to them at each bi-monthly mission meeting.

We build together a system that is simple, sustainable, and affordable. We teach installers how to put in and maintain the system. We teach the local trainers to teach others in the community about safe water through health and hygiene education. The low-cost sale of their safe water allows the local operating partner to save funds for the purchase of replacement parts and filters. As part of our covenant with an operating partner, we agree to make return visits for three years, and likely many more as our relationship continues to grow.

To make a financial gift to RCLPC’s LWW, write Living Waters on the memo line of your check, and place it in the offering. All donations are tax-deductible, and 100% goes directly to the projects.

Talk to a current team member: Mary Finch, Lois Johnson, Rick Johnson, Jac Kelewae, Sarah Kelewae, Ann Legg, Fred Neuschel, Andrea Pracht, Carol Richardson, Cindy Theobald, David Theobald, Ed Waters, Bill Weller.

Contact one of the LW team members or Pastor John Dillon.