2014 Year End Report
Living Water World Missions (LWWM), founded in the summer of 2012, is a 501(c)(3) corporation made up of representatives from different churches in the Central Valley area of California. LWWM exists to share the love of the Lord Jesus Christ in the context of installing clean drinking water filtration systems around the world. A 9-member Board of Directors oversees LWWM with elected officers, established By-Laws and Board Policies.
All Board Members have taken part in training and enabling them to:
All Board Members have taken part in training and enabling them to:
- Construct a clean water system using filters and ozone and/or;
- Plan installation activities in the world and/or;
- Train others about germs, personal hygiene, and the use of clean water.
Why? Because:
The Bible asks us, "If anyone has this world's goods, the resources for sustaining life, and sees his brother and fellow believer in need, yet closes his heart of compassion against him, how can the love of God live and remain in him? " It then instructs us, "Let us not love merely in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth, in practice and in sincerity." (1 John 3; 17-18, Amplified Bible)
While our main focus of installation has been in the Central American country of Guatemala, we have installed systems in other nations in the world including in Mexico, Haiti, Ecuador, Colombia, and Cuba. We are committed to go where God leads us, and including on trips persons who wish to participate in this ministry with us.
The year 2014 was a great year for Living Water World Missions.
We started 2014 with several goals in mind;
With those goals in mind we looked forward to the New Year with great anticipation, and I am pleased to report that each of those goals were achieved.
In January we installed a clean drinking water filtration system at Iglesia El Shaddai in San Lucas Sacatepéquez, Guatemala. On this trip we had a total of 16 Team Members, including two high school students who were working on a film project for their school, and three first time Team Members who joined us from their churches in Kentucky.
On January 24th and 25th, we hosted our first Education Training in which we trained 18 volunteers and prospective Team Members in the Health and Hygiene Curriculum that we use to train the end users of the product, when we do clean drinking water filtration system installations.
In March we sent 3 Board Members to Guatemala to meet with representatives of Compassion International (Guatemala) and conduct a series of site surveys at locations where they wanted to have clean drinking water filtration systems installed. Also on that trip we were able to pay return visits to places where we had previously installed systems, to check on their welfare and ongoing operations.
In April, over "Spring Break" we went to Ensenada Mexico with a multi-church group of over 100 people. The group built several homes, held two Vacation Bible School programs, and installed a clean drinking water filtration system at Casa Esperanza, an outreach ministry to the poor, in Ensenada.
After our return from the April trip, we held our first annual fundraising event. The event, called "Share the Mission", was held at Bennetts Ranch in Visalia Ca., and included an authentic Guatemalan style dinner, a Guatemalan marketplace, and a guest speaker, Lionel Xuya, who is the Development Director for Compassion International in Guatemala. The event raised almost all the funds we needed to see us through the end of year 2014.
In May we partnered with the First Presbyterian Church of Monterey to install a clean drinking water filtration system at Iglesia Evangelica Peruana in Cusco Peru. There were 9 persons on the Team, from four different churches, including churches in Visalia, Monterey and Stockton.
In June we sent a group from Visalia to help set up the Living Waters for the World, Clean Water Training Program (Also known as Clean Water U) which is held the second week of June at Calvin Crest Camp in Oakhurst CA. each year. Our "Team" worked for three days to prepare for the arrival of 70+ students from all over the United States, who came to Calvin Crest be trained in how replicate this Clean Water ministry in their home churches.
Also in June we partnered with Visalia First Assembly of God to install a clean drinking water filtration system during a "Youth Mission Trip" at the Abundant Life Family Center in Tijuana Mexico. There were a total of 40 persons on the Team, including 30 young people and 10 adults.
In July we sent a group of 21 persons, representing nine different California churches, to install a clean drinking water filtration system at Iglesia Casa del Alfarero in San Francisco Zapotitlan, Guatemala. This church was one of the Compassion International Program Sites we had surveyed in March. The Compassion Program serves 389 enrolled children each week. Also on site is a primary school that serves another 125 children who are enrolled in the school. The water system provides clean drinking water for the Program, the school, and the 1500 members of the church. This team had both our youngest and our oldest Team Members for the year. Our youngest was 3 years old, and our oldest was 84. This Team also had a multiple generational family group, with three generations represented, including Grandparents, Parents, and Grandchildren. This Team was also noteworthy because it had three married couples that celebrated their wedding anniversaries, as well as a team member who celebrated his 6th birthday.
During the July Trip, we met with the Directors of Compassion International in Guatemala to sign a Covenant in which we have been asked, and we have agreed, to install a clean drinking water filtration system at each of the Compassion International Program Sites in Guatemala. The initial agreement is to install 73 systems in the next three years.
In August we sent a group of 14 persons, this time from 10 different churches, including churches in California, Washington, Kentucky, and Michigan, to install a clean drinking water filtration system at Iglesia Cristo Del Rey in Pajapita San Marcos, Guatemala. This church was another of the Compassion International Program Sites we had surveyed in March. This Compassion Program serves 300 enrolled children each week. The water system provides clean drinking water for the Program and the 600 members of the church.
Also in August we hired Cesia Morales de Palomo, our second full time employee, as our In-Country Education Director and Logistics Coordinator. We had met Cesia while on the March Survey Trip when she had served as an interpreter for the survey team. She has brought a new degree of professionalism to the work the ministry performs in Guatemala.
In September we sent a group of 17 persons to Iglesia De Cristo La Hermosa in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, to install a clean drinking water filtration system at the church. This church was the third site we had surveyed in March. It too is a Compassion Program Site, with 309 children enrolled in the Compassion Program, and another 200 children who are enrolled in a K-12 school that is located on site. The church has 300 families as members in the congregation and the water system provides clean drinking water for all those persons. This Team was made up of persons from 5 different churches and had people from not only California, but Washington and Maine as well.
In October we sent 5 Board Members to Guatemala to conduct our long awaited, Operators Conference. The Conference was held at Colegio Bethel in San Pedro La Laguna, which is where we had installed a water system in July 2013. The Operators of the all of the 22 water systems we have installed in Guatemala were invited to the Conference, along with the Operators of other water systems (in the greater Solola area) that have systems that were installed by other orginizations. We had 54 Operators attend the Conference, including many operators of systems we have not installed. Three of those systems, along with all of the systems that we had installed that were out of Covenant, signed Maintenance Agreements with us, in which we agree to provide them with replacement parts, at cost, and help with any issues that might develop. These new Maintenance Agreements are Annual Agreements that are subject to renewal on the anniversary of their completion.
After the October Conference was over, we conducted 8 site surveys in 4 days, and paid return visits to 5 other sites in preparation for upcoming trips and to check on systems already in operation.
In November we really did something different. We sent a team of 17 persons, including people from 8 different churches, including people from California, Washington, and Indiana, to install clean drinking water filtration systems at two churches. This was our first "Back to Back" installation. The first system was installed at Iglesia Galilea in San Pablo, San Marcos, Guatemala, and the second was installed at Iglesia Filadelfia in San Isidro, Malacatan, San Marcos, Guatemala. These are also both Compassion International Program Sites. The first site (Iglesia Galilea) serves 383 children in the Compassion Program, and an additional 130 children in an on-site Kindergarten/preschool. There are a total of 280 persons in the church who also are served by the water system that was installed. The second site (Iglesia Filadelfia) has 247 children enrolled in the Compassion Program, and 200 members in the congregation, all of who now receive clean drinking water from the system we installed in that church.
After the November Trip was completed, we purchased a pickup truck for our Lead Technician, Josue Yax, to use in his work. Up until now he has been forced to use buses and hired taxis to make his rounds, which was a very inefficient use of his time. By having his own pickup to use, he has been able to increase his productivity by 50% or more.
Also in November we sent a representative to Cuba to meet with the National Leaders of the Church of God (in Cuba) to investigate the possibility of installing one or more clean drinking water filtration systems in Churches in the area around Santiago Cuba.
In December we sent a very small group of only 8 persons, from 4 different churches, all in California, to install a clean drinking water filtration system at Iglesia Cristiana Familiar Bethania in Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. This too was a Compassion International Program Site, with 230 enrolled children and 240 persons who attend the church. All of those persons are now receiving clean drinking water produced by the system that was installed in that church.
As of the end of December, 2014, a total of 1,708,279 gallons of Clean Drinking water have been produced by the systems that Living Water World Missions has installed in Guatemala.
Looking forward to 2015:
We will be returning to Guatemala each month, between January and October, to install clean drinking water filtration systems at Compassion Program Sites that are located in churches they partner with. We have already surveyed 9 sites, and have already scheduled and confirmed installations for January, February, March, April May, and June. Additional Sites surveys are pending as are additional scheduled installations.
In June, we will again send a group from Visalia to help set up the Living Waters for the World, Clean Water Training Program (Also known as Clean Water U) which is held the second week of June at Calvin Crest in Oakhurst CA. each year. Our "Team" will again be preparing for the arrival of students from all over the United States, who will come to be trained in how replicate our Clean Water Ministry in their home churches.
We will also be exploring possibilities of returning to Cuba and continue to work with the Church of God (in Cuba) to install one or more clean drinking water filtration systems in churches in the area around Santiago Cuba.
We have set a goal of completing at least 18 installations in 2015, and with your help, that goal can be achieved.
What we need from you are these things to accomplish the mission to which we have been called by God.
Working together, we can do something about that, and be the Body of Christ in this hurting world at this time.
The Bible asks us, "If anyone has this world's goods, the resources for sustaining life, and sees his brother and fellow believer in need, yet closes his heart of compassion against him, how can the love of God live and remain in him? " It then instructs us, "Let us not love merely in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth, in practice and in sincerity." (1 John 3; 17-18, Amplified Bible)
While our main focus of installation has been in the Central American country of Guatemala, we have installed systems in other nations in the world including in Mexico, Haiti, Ecuador, Colombia, and Cuba. We are committed to go where God leads us, and including on trips persons who wish to participate in this ministry with us.
The year 2014 was a great year for Living Water World Missions.
We started 2014 with several goals in mind;
- Install 8 clean drinking water filtration systems.
- Revisit the sites where we had previously installed clean drinking water filtration systems to encourage and strengthen existing relationships.
- In conjunction with #2 above, plan and organize an Operators Conference to include reestablishing relationships, refresh training in proper system operations, refresh training in on-going community education, and provide instruction in building a business plan that would lead to self-sufficiency.
- Hire a Guatemalan employee to assist the Installation Team in providing on-going, in-country, community based education.
With those goals in mind we looked forward to the New Year with great anticipation, and I am pleased to report that each of those goals were achieved.
In January we installed a clean drinking water filtration system at Iglesia El Shaddai in San Lucas Sacatepéquez, Guatemala. On this trip we had a total of 16 Team Members, including two high school students who were working on a film project for their school, and three first time Team Members who joined us from their churches in Kentucky.
On January 24th and 25th, we hosted our first Education Training in which we trained 18 volunteers and prospective Team Members in the Health and Hygiene Curriculum that we use to train the end users of the product, when we do clean drinking water filtration system installations.
In March we sent 3 Board Members to Guatemala to meet with representatives of Compassion International (Guatemala) and conduct a series of site surveys at locations where they wanted to have clean drinking water filtration systems installed. Also on that trip we were able to pay return visits to places where we had previously installed systems, to check on their welfare and ongoing operations.
In April, over "Spring Break" we went to Ensenada Mexico with a multi-church group of over 100 people. The group built several homes, held two Vacation Bible School programs, and installed a clean drinking water filtration system at Casa Esperanza, an outreach ministry to the poor, in Ensenada.
After our return from the April trip, we held our first annual fundraising event. The event, called "Share the Mission", was held at Bennetts Ranch in Visalia Ca., and included an authentic Guatemalan style dinner, a Guatemalan marketplace, and a guest speaker, Lionel Xuya, who is the Development Director for Compassion International in Guatemala. The event raised almost all the funds we needed to see us through the end of year 2014.
In May we partnered with the First Presbyterian Church of Monterey to install a clean drinking water filtration system at Iglesia Evangelica Peruana in Cusco Peru. There were 9 persons on the Team, from four different churches, including churches in Visalia, Monterey and Stockton.
In June we sent a group from Visalia to help set up the Living Waters for the World, Clean Water Training Program (Also known as Clean Water U) which is held the second week of June at Calvin Crest Camp in Oakhurst CA. each year. Our "Team" worked for three days to prepare for the arrival of 70+ students from all over the United States, who came to Calvin Crest be trained in how replicate this Clean Water ministry in their home churches.
Also in June we partnered with Visalia First Assembly of God to install a clean drinking water filtration system during a "Youth Mission Trip" at the Abundant Life Family Center in Tijuana Mexico. There were a total of 40 persons on the Team, including 30 young people and 10 adults.
In July we sent a group of 21 persons, representing nine different California churches, to install a clean drinking water filtration system at Iglesia Casa del Alfarero in San Francisco Zapotitlan, Guatemala. This church was one of the Compassion International Program Sites we had surveyed in March. The Compassion Program serves 389 enrolled children each week. Also on site is a primary school that serves another 125 children who are enrolled in the school. The water system provides clean drinking water for the Program, the school, and the 1500 members of the church. This team had both our youngest and our oldest Team Members for the year. Our youngest was 3 years old, and our oldest was 84. This Team also had a multiple generational family group, with three generations represented, including Grandparents, Parents, and Grandchildren. This Team was also noteworthy because it had three married couples that celebrated their wedding anniversaries, as well as a team member who celebrated his 6th birthday.
During the July Trip, we met with the Directors of Compassion International in Guatemala to sign a Covenant in which we have been asked, and we have agreed, to install a clean drinking water filtration system at each of the Compassion International Program Sites in Guatemala. The initial agreement is to install 73 systems in the next three years.
In August we sent a group of 14 persons, this time from 10 different churches, including churches in California, Washington, Kentucky, and Michigan, to install a clean drinking water filtration system at Iglesia Cristo Del Rey in Pajapita San Marcos, Guatemala. This church was another of the Compassion International Program Sites we had surveyed in March. This Compassion Program serves 300 enrolled children each week. The water system provides clean drinking water for the Program and the 600 members of the church.
Also in August we hired Cesia Morales de Palomo, our second full time employee, as our In-Country Education Director and Logistics Coordinator. We had met Cesia while on the March Survey Trip when she had served as an interpreter for the survey team. She has brought a new degree of professionalism to the work the ministry performs in Guatemala.
In September we sent a group of 17 persons to Iglesia De Cristo La Hermosa in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, to install a clean drinking water filtration system at the church. This church was the third site we had surveyed in March. It too is a Compassion Program Site, with 309 children enrolled in the Compassion Program, and another 200 children who are enrolled in a K-12 school that is located on site. The church has 300 families as members in the congregation and the water system provides clean drinking water for all those persons. This Team was made up of persons from 5 different churches and had people from not only California, but Washington and Maine as well.
In October we sent 5 Board Members to Guatemala to conduct our long awaited, Operators Conference. The Conference was held at Colegio Bethel in San Pedro La Laguna, which is where we had installed a water system in July 2013. The Operators of the all of the 22 water systems we have installed in Guatemala were invited to the Conference, along with the Operators of other water systems (in the greater Solola area) that have systems that were installed by other orginizations. We had 54 Operators attend the Conference, including many operators of systems we have not installed. Three of those systems, along with all of the systems that we had installed that were out of Covenant, signed Maintenance Agreements with us, in which we agree to provide them with replacement parts, at cost, and help with any issues that might develop. These new Maintenance Agreements are Annual Agreements that are subject to renewal on the anniversary of their completion.
After the October Conference was over, we conducted 8 site surveys in 4 days, and paid return visits to 5 other sites in preparation for upcoming trips and to check on systems already in operation.
In November we really did something different. We sent a team of 17 persons, including people from 8 different churches, including people from California, Washington, and Indiana, to install clean drinking water filtration systems at two churches. This was our first "Back to Back" installation. The first system was installed at Iglesia Galilea in San Pablo, San Marcos, Guatemala, and the second was installed at Iglesia Filadelfia in San Isidro, Malacatan, San Marcos, Guatemala. These are also both Compassion International Program Sites. The first site (Iglesia Galilea) serves 383 children in the Compassion Program, and an additional 130 children in an on-site Kindergarten/preschool. There are a total of 280 persons in the church who also are served by the water system that was installed. The second site (Iglesia Filadelfia) has 247 children enrolled in the Compassion Program, and 200 members in the congregation, all of who now receive clean drinking water from the system we installed in that church.
After the November Trip was completed, we purchased a pickup truck for our Lead Technician, Josue Yax, to use in his work. Up until now he has been forced to use buses and hired taxis to make his rounds, which was a very inefficient use of his time. By having his own pickup to use, he has been able to increase his productivity by 50% or more.
Also in November we sent a representative to Cuba to meet with the National Leaders of the Church of God (in Cuba) to investigate the possibility of installing one or more clean drinking water filtration systems in Churches in the area around Santiago Cuba.
In December we sent a very small group of only 8 persons, from 4 different churches, all in California, to install a clean drinking water filtration system at Iglesia Cristiana Familiar Bethania in Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. This too was a Compassion International Program Site, with 230 enrolled children and 240 persons who attend the church. All of those persons are now receiving clean drinking water produced by the system that was installed in that church.
As of the end of December, 2014, a total of 1,708,279 gallons of Clean Drinking water have been produced by the systems that Living Water World Missions has installed in Guatemala.
Looking forward to 2015:
We will be returning to Guatemala each month, between January and October, to install clean drinking water filtration systems at Compassion Program Sites that are located in churches they partner with. We have already surveyed 9 sites, and have already scheduled and confirmed installations for January, February, March, April May, and June. Additional Sites surveys are pending as are additional scheduled installations.
In June, we will again send a group from Visalia to help set up the Living Waters for the World, Clean Water Training Program (Also known as Clean Water U) which is held the second week of June at Calvin Crest in Oakhurst CA. each year. Our "Team" will again be preparing for the arrival of students from all over the United States, who will come to be trained in how replicate our Clean Water Ministry in their home churches.
We will also be exploring possibilities of returning to Cuba and continue to work with the Church of God (in Cuba) to install one or more clean drinking water filtration systems in churches in the area around Santiago Cuba.
We have set a goal of completing at least 18 installations in 2015, and with your help, that goal can be achieved.
What we need from you are these things to accomplish the mission to which we have been called by God.
- We need people willing to support us in prayer. We believe that, who we are, and what we plan to do is the result of God's goodness, and we will not take that for granted.
- We need people willing to go on installation trips with us. The approximate cost of each trip is $1,200.00, which includes airfare, lodging, food, and in-country transportation. These costs are borne by the participant. There are no particular skills needed to participate on a trip except a willing and service-oriented heart, and the ability to follow simple directions.
- We need your financial support. The systems we install cost approximately $3000.00 each, for not only the Filter System itself, but also the Community Education Materials, which are used to share the Gospel Message in the communities where the systems are installed, and all the replacement filters needed for three years of ongoing service. To be able to complete 18 installations this year we will need to raise $54,000.00.
- We need community support in helping us advertise and promote this mission. Our community is rich with human resources and we need and desire their support.
- Over one billion people in the world still do not have access to clean water, which is a number equivalent to over 3 times the population of the United States of America.
- And, every year, nearly 3 ½ million people die of preventable water related diseases including 27,000 children under the age of 5 who die EACH WEEK of such diseases.
Working together, we can do something about that, and be the Body of Christ in this hurting world at this time.
Thank you for all that you have done,
are doing, and will do,
to make this ministry possible.
are doing, and will do,
to make this ministry possible.
Mark Vanciel
February; 2015
February; 2015
