Every gift a blessing

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At Shepherd of the Valley on August 12, we prayed, we walked, and we gave money to support water projects in Ikwavila and Mpalapande, Tanzania. Every gift of prayer, walking, and funding is a blessing.



Why did people walk three kilometers up hill to fetch a bucket of water on a hot, hot day?  Why, when we have a perfectly good spigot and all the water we could possibly want right within reach?




We walked to remember our friends in Tanzania. The girls and women in villages like Mpalapande and Ikwavila walk every day to collect every drop of water they use for cooking, drinking, washing, and watering their gardens. Girls spend so much time each day collecting water that they often are not able to attend school.

We walked to experience in some small way, the reality of their daily life.





Carrying water is hard work.  A five gallon pail weighs 40 pounds. 






We used the water that was collected to water the gardens around the church property.

Gifts have been collected for this water project since April.  Many, many families and individuals have contributed. We are so grateful for every gift.

The weekend of the Walk, Pastor Wendy shared stories in worship of her experiences in Tanzania. She was amazed at the generous hospitality she encountered, receiving gifts of Tanzanian clothing and fabric, to remember that the love of Jesus brings us together. She told about how the children at Mpalapande school bring their drinking water to school in bottles, until the spigot is connected to the main pipeline. She told about the seep of water where the women of Ikwavila come to scoop water into their buckets, with animals roaming nearby. She talked of her gratitude for clean, safe water right in her home.

People at Shepherd of the Valley responded with generous hearts. Some had written checks, others had contributed online. Some collected coins. And many, hearing the stories and seeing the pictures, emptied their wallets into the bucket at the narthex table.

The gifts were large and small, and sometimes sacrificial. Every gift, a blessing.

What's next?
Having raised the funds estimated for the project, we now wait while project managers from St Paul Partners make their final plans. They have two other projects in their queue ahead of these projects, and they tell us they are optimistic that the project can move forward in November.

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