Water plays a starring role in the Bible. It appears in Genesis 1:2, with the Spirit of God hovering over the waters. Water is present in the last chapter of the Bible, where John is shown “the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God” in Revelation 22.

And in between those two images, the theme of water flows through Scripture: Noah and the flood, God parting the Red Sea for the Israelites or drawing water out of rock as they wander in the desert. In the Old Testament, people cross the Jordan River, and in the New Testament, they respond to God’s call with baptism in the Jordan.

Many of Jesus’ miracles involved water: turning water into wine, walking on water, calming the seas. Jesus reveals to the woman at the well that He is the source of living water, that we could drink of Him and never thirst.

To be sure, this list is not exhaustive. Since the beginning of time, water was a critical component of God’s work in the world. And in the ministry He has given us, we see that is still true today.

Today is World Water Day, a day set aside by the international community to draw attention to the importance of clean water – a day to remind ourselves of what we have and advocate for those who cannot access such a simple, critical resource.

World Water Day is also a reminder of how Jesus approached ministry, often meeting a person’s physical need to reach a deeper spiritual one.

We at Mission of Mercy strive for this very thing. Many of our programs begin with providing for those basic needs: clean water, nutritious food, a safe place to learn and grow. With that security comes the opportunity to hear about Jesus, the source of Living Water. From Egypt to Honduras, Nepal to Thailand, you are allowing us to be the hands and feet of Jesus on your behalf.

The children in our programs live in places like this, with this type of water for daily use:

Some of the communities we work with are so rural, where access is limited because resources are scare or not in close proximity. In addition to providing a water source for our projects, we work with a community to ensure families can store water. Most women made several trips a day with 5 gallon cans; these large barrels can hold 50 gallons, allowing families to spend more time together while safeguarding their water supply.

Access to clean water can be a life or death matter. In places like Haiti, an easily preventable disease called cholera wreaked havoc simply because clean water was not available. The water filters at our projects ensured communities had safe drinking water, but we also trained our project staff in preventative hygiene steps. Praise God for the trust He built in these communities – because we could intervene quickly, almost all of our children were protected from cholera.  This is God's work, of which we play a small part. He is the source of living water, trusting us with the means to provide for others. Thank you for joining us in this life-giving ministry. Tomorrow we'll explore how water plays another role in the life of our children; the rainy seasons and dry seasons, winter and summer -- what are those seasons like for your sponsored child?