The streets of the villages in Mali are awfully dusty, and Monica Maxwell gets really thirsty.
Maxwell, a member of Clearwater Community Church, Birmingham, in Shelby Baptist Association, spends her days walking around the villages of the West African nation, working to get an oral account of Bible stories recorded in the Senufo Supyire language.
The Southern Baptist worker could be worried about things that many are worried about in Mali — rampant and potentially deadly diseases like cholera and diarrhea that come from unsanitary water.
But thanks to the gifts of Alabama Baptists and others to Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU), she can focus her worry instead on learning the language and helping others who are ill.
Through WMU’s Pure Water, Pure Love (PWPL) project — which celebrates its 10th anniversary with WMU this year — Maxwell has water filters for her home and her travels.
“[M]y teammate and I are so, so, so thankful for the Pure Water, Pure Love program,” she said.
When the water runs dry and Maxwell and her teammate pull up a bucket of dirt mixed with water from the bottom of the well, they realize just how much they are blessed to have a filter, she said.
“As we are still in the process of learning the language, we foresee one day sitting by that dry well and telling the women of a story in His Word that this reminds us of,” Maxwell said.
Started by the Southern Baptist Brotherhood Commission in 1995, PWPL became a WMU program in 1997 when the Brotherhood’s work was transferred to the North American Mission Board. PWPL’s main purpose at that point was to support international missionaries with pure, safe drinking water by providing filters and water purification equipment.
In 2005, the ministry expanded to include assisting with disaster relief, digging wells and providing other long-term solutions for clean water access in areas where missionaries serve.
“Giving has continued to increase; that’s why we could expand,” said Kristy Carr, PWPL project manager. “The support has been overwhelming.”
Dogwood Grove Baptist Church, Montevallo, in Shelby Association, for instance, has taken on PWPL as a permanent project for several years.
In 2004, a Women on Mission group at the church read in WMU’s Missions Mosaic magazine about missionaries in need of clean water and their hearts were gripped, according to church treasurer Pat Jones.
The group purchased Dogwood Grove Baptist’s first filter in September of that year and then opened the project up to the rest of the church, keeping a running tally in the church bulletin. Since then, the church has purchased 16 filters.
“Rarely does a week go by when some money doesn’t come in for Pure Water, Pure Love,” Jones said.
Thanks to churches like Dogwood Grove, in the last decade:
– Thousands of filters have been provided to missionaries, according to Carr. The project also went from providing one type of filter to four types.
– Parts are now being supplied to missionaries in anticipation of their need for replacement parts for their filters.
– More than 10 wells or purification systems have been provided to nations in need.
– $37,000 worth of water purification equipment was sent to Indonesia after the devastating tsunami hit in December 2004.
“I think a tremendous amount has been accomplished. We get ‘thank yous’ so often that say, ‘We appreciate this ministry; it’s not going unnoticed,’” Carr said. “Clean water is becoming available for our missionaries and for their neighborhoods, too, thanks to the expansion.
“For the missionaries to be able to serve their communities by having clean water is huge.”
And it’s not just a WMU thing, she added. “When you’re talking about water, people … get involved — they realize it’s a basic necessity, not a luxury.”
Wanda Lee, WMU executive director, agreed. “[M]any other groups and individuals continue to recognize the need for clean water around the world and respond with donations to Pure Water, Pure Love that make the supply of water a reality.
“Because the provision of clean, safe water is such a concrete, tangible way of serving others, Pure Water, Pure Love provides a way that everyone, even young children, can support missions by meeting the needs of our missionaries and the people whom they serve.”
For information about PWPL, visit www.wmu.com/VolunteerConnection/pwpl or call 205-991-8100.
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