Drinking From a Dirty Pothole

The Ma family lives in a barren mountainous region where much of the time, there’s very little rain.  For years, the only place they could find water was in potholes or muddy ponds, miles from home.

Mr. Ma explains, “There is a lot of bacteria and lots of parasites in it. It’s sour and hard to swallow.”

His daughter adds, “I can’t stand it.  It’s yellow and smells awful.”

Mrs. Ma weeps, “I hate this dirty water.”

She will never forget how her oldest daughter got an infection from drinking the bad water and died.

“Her intestines ruptured,” Mr. Ma reflects.   He continues, “I still remember her moaning ‘Daddy, please save me.’”

After their daughter’s death, the family was extra careful about boiling the water, but still scared to drink it.

“I was afraid that I might be tortured by it and die like my sister,” says the Ma’s youngest daughter, Jin.

The Ma’s son was in the hospital with inflamed intestines several times.   

“He got better,” Mrs. Ma remembers, “but there was always the threat of death.”

Jin says, “I made a wish from my heart that one day I wouldn’t have to drink it anymore.”

Her wish came true when CBN came to their village and found out about the water problem. We quickly built cisterns for the Ma’s and other families in the village. We also gave them water filters.

“I’ll never forget seeing the clean water for the first time.  The flavor is so sweet,” exclaims Mr. Ma.

Jin adds, “Now my brother and I drink as much water as we want. And we don’t worry about getting sick or dying!”

“Thank you CBN.  Because of your love, we’ll always have good clean water,” says Mrs. Ma.

And now, the whole family has something else, too.

Mr. Ma explains, “When CBN shared the story of Jesus, I accepted Him.”

And soon, his wife and children did, too.

“He brought us all peace! And I want everyone in my village to know Jesus,” says Mr. Ma.  He continues, “With your help, we have clean water for our bodies and now we have living water that nourishes our souls, too.”